Page 86 of His Claim
Rowan rubbed the bridge of his nose. “If the Watch agrees to stand down and fight with us, this looks possible.”
The night wind hissed through the trees. Somewhere in the dark a twig snapped, and every hand went to a weapon.
A familiar voice called from the shadows. “Relax, mutts and martyrs. It’s just me.”
Elsie stepped into the firelight, grinning like she’d just walked into a bar instead of a war council. Her coat was half buttoned, her rifle slung casually over one shoulder. She looked at the map, then at Soren. “Don’t everyone jump up at once. I know I’m late. Blame the mountains and a very talkative sniper.”
Soren’s brows shot up. “You’re making jokes?”
“That’s my default setting,” Elsie said. “I tried grim and silent once. Didn’t take.” She dropped into a crouch beside the fire,warming her hands. “But since we’re all friends now, let’s talk business. My name is Elsie. I met with the Watch. Good news, they didn’t shoot me. Bad news, they think I’m crazy.”
Silas folded his arms. “And?”
“And…” she said with a grin, “after a lot of shouting and a few threats I mostly meant, they agreed to an uneasy truce. The Watch, the human Resistance, and your furry freedom fighters are officially on the same page.”
Rowan’s mouth twitched, fighting a smile. “That’s… better than I expected.”
Elsie shrugged. “Don’t thank me yet. They still hate wolves. They just hate the Council more. But they’ll follow my lead long enough to storm the city.”
“Then that’s the plan at least,” I said, “The Council dies with its experiments. The women live. And the Watch doesn’t get to use what’s left of that poison serum to kill everyone else.”
Elsie blew out a long breath and straightened. “Guess that makes me the referee in this little apocalypse. Great.”
Soren’s mouth and brows both rose in a hopeful expression. “You’re certain you can keep your people in line?”
“Absolutely not,” Elsie said, deadpan. “But I’ll try. They’ll behave long enough to take the city. After that, we’ll see if we can manage not to kill each other.”
“We move as soon as possible and set our rendezvous point in the forest outside the northwest gate. The Council’s not expecting wolves, humans, and the Watch to stand on the same side. That’s our advantage,” I commanded.
Elsie stood, brushing ash from her knees. “Then let’s give them the surprise of their lives.”
Soren nodded once, decisively. “We end this.”
I met each of their eyes in turn.
“Together,” I said.
They nodded and then leaned down to look at the map more closely, working through some of the finer details of setting up an operation this big.
Elsie caught my sleeve and tugged me away from the map and the others, pulling me into the dark between two stacked crates where the firelight didn’t reach.
“I need to talk to you. Alone,” she whispered.
Even in shadow she looked fierce, cheekbones hard, eyes bright with a dangerous sort of focus.
“Is there something else?” I asked.
She smiled without humor. “Yes. We need to talk frankly.”
I leaned my back against the crates and watched her. She lifted her chin and pulled her shoulders back, almost as if she were preparing herself for a fight.
“We all agreed to a joint attack,” she said, no preamble. “Good. Smart. Pretty. But I have one ugly truth to shove onto the table.” Her eyes found mine. “If the Council sees wolves and humans march on their gates together, they will immediately drug the breeding compounds with the fertility drug. They’ll dose every woman in their keep before we can reach them.”
“They would, wouldn’t they…” I murmured, a cold feeling slicing through my chest.
“Oh, they absolutely would,” Elsie said. “They’ll be desperate. When the barn is on fire, the farmer throws the remaining grain into the flames if it means stopping the thief. It’s ugly, but predictable.”
“How do you know?” I asked. I didn’t doubt her, but I wanted to know what she knew, what her resources had found out.
