Page 20 of Knocked Up By My Fated Alpha
“Just let the girl stay, Damien,” he volunteered, his gaze lingering suggestively on Raven. “She seems…competent enough.”
I saw red, my claws digging into the softness of my palm as I struggled to remain in control. Killing human clients was bad for business, especially now with a werewolf serial killer still on the loose and unaccounted for. I forced a smile I could barely feel.
“I assure you, Trent, competency is an attribute Miss Caine doesn’t possess.”
The lie tasted wrong on my tongue, but if Raven stayed here for one more minute, I’d have Trenton’s blood on my hands. No man was allowed to look at her like that, except me.
Attuned as I was to her, I felt Raven stiffen at my words, her full red lips trembled with barely restrained rage, but she simply stood in a single fluid motion and quietly excused herself, the fire in her gaze at odds with her quiet professional tone. My frown deepened as I watched her leave, beyond annoyed and irritated at the way her every motion entranced me.
I didn’t like Raven, and from the routine glares she tossed my way, I knew the feeling was mutual. Yet I couldn’t stop watching her. I knew she wasn’t the woman from that night, yet I couldn’t stop myself…
In some ways, that made the situation far worse because it meant I was losing my edge, which was something I couldn’t afford. Not now. Especially with how the last council meeting had gone.
Shortly after thediscovery of the body of yet another victim, I calledfor a council meeting. As the human bureau claimed, the body, like the ones before it, held the tickling, familiar scent of my pack, but no base scent I could use to identify the murderer.
“It’s a coincidence? You can’t possibly believe that,” Elder Malcolm’s nostrils flared with anger.
“One minute, Alpha Matt’s wolves are sniffing at our borders, the next, human bodies are turning up with our scents. Coincidence? I think not.”
Elder Malcolm was known for pushing for more extreme actions, but from the looks of the anxious murmurs that broke out across the room, most of the elders seemed to be in agreement with him today.
Anger sparked within me, my wolf surging to the forefront of my mind, and I let out a pulse of dominance that had all the elders falling silent. “The Sky Pack wouldn’t dare threaten the alliance with the humans,” I spoke through gritted teeth. “Neither of us is fully recovered from the last war.”
Twelve years. It had been twelve years since it all ended, but the losses, on both our sides, were still remembered. I’d lost my family, my mate, and any inclination to ever have another mate.
My wolf grappled within me at the recall of that time and that betrayal, and it took everything to swallow my pain and anguish enough to stare down at my council, who suddenly found it hard to meet my gaze. In the silence that ensued, Sinclair was finally able to conclude his report, his expression surprisingly bleak.
“Alpha, it has also been confirmed that it was the Sky Pack who found the first body and notified the human authorities.”
Just like that, the entire room fell into chaos once again. As the Elders began to fling accusations about, I found myself missing the quiet of my office and even Raven’s cold glares.
I frowned, disquieted. Where did that last thought come from?
What was it about Raven that summoned her into my every thought when I could barely stand her? It was the first time in twelve years I was experiencing such an irresistible draw, and it wasn’t an entirely pleasant sensation.
The cutting tone of Elder Mia’s voice brought me back to myself.Elder Mia, Elder Malcolm’s ardent supporter, was adept at drawing and holding attention.
“They mean to use the humans as a means to subdue us. This can only mean one thing,” Elder Mia’s lips twisted into a grimace. “They are most likely preparing for another war.”
The energy of the entire room seemed to tilt on its axis as Elder Mia uttered those words. In the end, it was Elder Nolan’s levelheaded voice that cut through the tense silence.
“Perhaps we should try dialoging with Alpha Matt,” Elder Nolan cleared his throat. “He has always been reasonable, and he was the Alpha’s brother-in-law—”
Elder Malcolm slammed his fist on the table, his gaze dark with anger.
“Matt is just a bastard from a long line of treacherous alphas. Our alpha’s fated mate came from that cursed line, and see how it ended. With betrayal,” Elder Malcolm spat venomously. “We don’t need dialogue. We need to strike first—”
“Enough.” My tone might have been deceptively soft, but none of the Elders missed the edge of authority my voice held. They fell silent.
“There will be no war,” I declared. “We will resolve this by catching the culprit behind the murders and handing them over to the human authorities.”
Elder Malcolm’s bitter gaze didn’t abate.
“And if the culprit is the Sky Pack?”
My lips tightened grimly at the prospect.
I didn’t want the culprit to be the Sky Pack. I didn’t want to find out I’d been betrayed once more. But if they were behind those brutal murders I’d seen…
