Page 58 of Shifting Fate
Ambrose Howell was one of Foxgrove’s best enforcers. Built like a tank, his very presence commanded submission. However, he also tended to be as emotionless as a brick wall and he didn’t exactly have people skills. I couldn’t see him as a second, not when he was so good at what he did.
“I’ll think about it,” I agreed.
“Thank you.” He craned his neck to the side until I heard a soft pop, and he sighed with relief. “Much better. Okay, the plan for the day is this. We’re allotted five pack members, so it’ll be you and me, Jaeger, Ambrose and Van.”
“Van?” I blinked, surprised. It made sense, though. If we were headed to war with the Dreadhunters, we needed healers and medics at our disposal. Van was the best we had. I nodded. “Sounds good. I’m going to hop in a quick shower and get ready.”
“I’ll go inform the others,” Tristram agreed. “I’ll meet you at the car.”
When we arrived at Westwind, we were invited inside and pointed towards a sitting room. A fire crackled gently in the hearth, warming the air almost to the point of being suffocating. In the center of the room, several couches of different sizes and colors formed a circle. It seemed everyone had already made themselves at home.
We joined them without a word, and the doors clicked shut behind us.
I sat next to Tristram, with my father on the other side of me. Ambrose and Van sat together on the matching loveseat. I could tell the young medic was anxious by the way his gaze darted from side to side, his nostrils flaring. I felt bad for him, knowing how much anxiety he had.
Espen and Merrick relaxed together on a loveseat, holding hands. Cutter sat stiffly on the couch beside them. The pink-haired witch, Wiz Evans, was sprawled on the opposite end, playing on her phone with her legs hanging over the arm of the couch like this meeting wasn’t a big to-do.
But where was their fifth?
A moment later, the double doors opened and Colby Renard came striding into the room. As if suddenly realizing I was there, he froze in his tracks. I cringed at the fear that flooded through his eyes. Damn it. I needed to be the bigger man and apologize, but now was not the time.
Scowling, the other wolf gave me a wide berth and sat on the very end of the leather couch, as far away from me as possible. Guilt swarmed me like hornets, but I forced myself to ignore it.
To the left of Westwind, on another plush couch, Tegan and Rhine sat with their legs pressed against one another. Gage sat hunched over beside them, with Bastien standing behind the couch. His shoulders were tight and tense, as was the expression on his face, like he wasn’t exactly pleased about being here.
It made sense, seeing as the dark-skinned man was Jonas West’s brother. He’d survived Jonas’s reign and he wore those scars every day. Still, he was here. And, as Amber Run’s newly-minted second, that’s all that mattered.
Their fifth was none other than Harper Fleur. That surprised me. I knew that Rhine and Tegan had invited the witch to stay with them. They’d even rearranged the office so he’d have a room of his own, but to bring him to our first pack meeting? Sitting literally feet away from the man who desecrated his sister?
Glancing sidelong at my father, my stomach twisted. His face was expressionless, etched in stone. He kept his gaze locked on my brother. I could only imagine what he was feeling in this moment.
Espen stood and took a slow sweep of the room, his blond brows knitted together, then smirked. “I feel like I should be holding a microphone or something. This is so damn formal. Now, assuming that everybody knows everybody…”
He cocked his head to one side, considering that for a moment, then gestured for Harper to stand. I’d introduced them the day after Harper saved my life. Both Espen and Merrick had accepted the witch without hesitation. They knew the more manpower we had on our side, the better off we’d be, and Harper was strong.
All eyes in the room landed on Harper, who rose and gave a small bow of his head. Espen strode over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Before we begin, I’d like to introduce you to someone. This man is Harper Fleur. He is Liora’s twin brother, which makes him my uncle. He’ll be joining us today as an unofficial member of Amber Run.”
He smiled at his packmates. It was the kind of smile that promised retribution if they weren’t fully on board with the idea. Unsurprisingly, nobody made a comment, although Cutter and Colby both frowned.
My brother’s smile only brightened. He clasped his hands together in front of him and dismissed Harper. “Perfect. Now then, I might as well kick things off with the cold, hard truth: The Dreadhunters want us dead. End of story.”
Silence greeted him. We knew.
“Obviously, since none of us really like the idea ofdying, we need to do something about it before it truly is too late for us—and for shifterkind, as a whole. I know that we aren’t exactly the biggest or the strongest pack around, but what wedohave? Is solidarity. As individual packs, we might be small, but if we work together, we could have a fighting chance at defeating Liora Fleur and her hellish army.”
Merrick rose as well. His arms were linked behind his back, one hand gripping the other by the wrist. “We’ve reached out to surrounding packs, inquiring about alliances. Namely, the big cat pride of Fever Cove and a fellow Northpoint-based clan, the bears of Timberbrook. They’ve both lost friends and family to the Dreadhunters, and they’ve sworn fealty to our cause.” He nodded to his mate.
“The fact of the matter is, we might be at a disadvantage, but we don’t have to take down theentirearmy,” Espen said. “We simply need to cut them off at the root. We have strong reason to believe that if we can cripple their leader, the Dreadhunters’ magic will falter. They can’t fight back without it, and I think they will disband quickly. They hate us because they fear us, and we can use that fear against them.”
Harper cleared his throat. “If I may.”
My brother bowed. “The floor is all yours.”
“What Espen says is the truth. The Dreadhunters’ magic will wither the very moment Liora takes her final breath.” He sounded sad, but resigned. This was his twin we were talking about. His sister. The very thought of killing Espen made my stomach lurch. There was no way in hell.
He pursed his lips. “From what I’ve deduced, most, if not all, of the Dreadhunters are human. They only possess magic because of Liora. Namely, because of her magic inked into their skin. If their host were to perish, the core of their magic would simply…cease to exist.”
“Which is good news for us,” Espen said. “Taking out a singular target should be far easier than destroying an entire army.”
