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I held my breath and waited for the challenge, but none came. The door slammed, and the tension in the room disappeared to nothing. When I turned back to the Council, I placed my hands behind my back and waited.
“By unanimous vote, we pledge our service to you as Head Alpha of this Council,” Zane said.
I felt the rush of power—not enough, not the way it would be when it happened at the formal, public ceremony, but their deference was enough. My heart skipped a beat, but not because it was damaged.
“I will need time to adjust before we make this public,” I told them. “I’m currently working with a rehabilitation specialist to learn how best to navigate my new circumstances.”
Zane sighed. “Right now, we’re not in the position to do much beyond sending and receiving information. You have some time. Now, if there’s nothing else, I’ll call this meeting to an end.”
There was a quiet murmur of agreement around the room, and I heard them all stand.
“General Titus,” Zane said, his voice carrying across the din, “would you mind if we spoke privately?”
I shook my head, then waited for the other Alphas to approach me. We exchanged scents, their heads tilted as my hand touched their necks, and for a moment, I couldn’t fathom that I was standing there with this much power. But I had to shoulder it, accept it, if I was going to free both Wolves and humans from the most corrupt of each of our kind.
I could hear Zane’s heart beating behind me, and I turned once the door was shut. “If you have concerns…”
I heard his feet moving along the floor as he walked forward—a deliberate move, I realized, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be grateful for it. “Cameron is my brother-in-law.”
My eyes widened. “Oh?”
“He married my sister some years back. I was initially opposed to the union, but he changed my mind.” Zane laughed when I grinned. “You can trust him.”
“He’s already proven himself to me. I’m determined, just…” I dragged my hand through my hair and felt backward until I found the chair, then sagged against it. “I’m exhausted, and I’m angry. My mind is having trouble with the idea that there’s nothing I can do to change this.” I waved my hand toward my eyes.
“I’m not sure I could cope so well,” he admitted.
I shook my head. “You would. There comes a point where you realize you have no other choice. I’m surprised all of you were willing to trust me.”
“There was hesitation, but all of us are tactical thinkers. Well”—he paused, and I knew he was thinking of Lior—“most of us.”
“Do you trust him to leave?” I asked, and I felt him settle against the table next to me.
“I wouldn’t trust him under normal circumstances, but I don’t know that he’d go to the humans—or to the other Wolves. Two of his family members disappeared.”
I bared my teeth in fury. “That must stop.”
“Right now, we’re working on ways to track the disappearances. We have a couple of people who have hacked into the capital’s security mainframe and they’re analyzing right now if there’s a pattern. Our hope,” Zane said quietly, his voice almost sad, “is that we can get close enough to their transport vans to plant tracking devices. If we can get enough of them marked, we can start taking them out before they get to the border.”
“And what about the humans?” I asked.
I felt him startle. “What about them?”
“They’re selling their own kind for experiments. The human who saved me was taken against his will, and I doubt he was—”
“Orion told me you two have bonded,” Zane interrupted, and my jaw tensed. “We asked him to keep us updated if there were any major changes.”
“My bond mate is of no concern to anyone but myself,” I snapped.
“He is if he’s human,” Zane pointed out, and I scoffed.
“After what those labs did to him, I’d hardly call him human. He’s not Wolf, but…” I trailed off, and my heart ached for Misha. We had been bonded, his heat over only hours before, and I should have been by his side.
“It didn’t factor into our decision,” Zane said eventually. “We anticipate an influx of these… hybrids or whatever they are. We also expect an influx of injured wolves once we have the power to start taking down the labs.” He let out a sigh. “The structure of our society must change.”
“It’ll be a priority of mine,” I vowed, and I heard him chuckle.
“That was what factored into our decision,” he said. His hand fell on my shoulder, but I expected it and didn’t flinch. “Orion is waiting for you. We’ll reconvene after the moon and have you address the public. We will pledge ourselves to serve you, and by then, we should have a plan to give our people so they know we’re making progress.”
