“You thought Leonid Volkhov would follow polite instructions,” Julian said coolly. “That was your first mistake.”
Leonid laughed. “Julian, don’t be cruel,” he said, “we both know Arthur’s very busy. New mate, new luna, old prejudices to unlearn. He can’t keep track of everything.”
Arthur’s wolf lunged at the mention of Dani. He forced it back with effort.
“Leave my mate out of your mouth,” he said, voice low.
“Tempting as it is to rise to that line,” Leonid said, “I didn’t come here to flirt with you, Wells. Or to piss off Dominic. That’s just a delightful bonus. I came because of the hybrids.” His gaze raked the assembled wolves, the vampire. “You want to win this war? You need us. You don’t have to like it.”
“We don’t,” Dominic growled.
“Where I’m from, we never have the luxury of liking everyone on our side,” Casimir murmured.
“Where you’re from,” Theodore said pleasantly, “you set up dinner parties and then eat the guests.”
Casimir smiled, thin. “Where I’m from, wolf, we recognize an existential threat when we see one. The hybrids aren’t just nibbling at strays anymore. They’re organized. Our best trackers have lost them twice. That should scare you more than it apparently does. It certainly scares the witches.”
A few wolves snarled at the mention of witchcraft, and Kiara scoffed, stepping forward. “So what? My people are well within their rights to sneak off in the night if they so please. Especially given howhostilesome of our hosts can act. The majority of us will stand and fight.”
“Well said,” Rory said, stepping forward into the center of the miserable triangle, the Severney line parting to let him through. The winter light caught the copper in his hair, the spray of old scars across his knuckles.
“We all came because of the hybrids,” he said, voice deceptively mild, “because whatever’s behind them poses a very real threat to our existence. We didn’t come to replay the last century’s greatest hits.”
He looked at Leonid. “You and yours choose violence at every turn. Childish, really, but who can blame you given your history?”
Leonid’s smile didn’t falter, but something in it cooled.
Rory’s gaze shifted to Dominic. “And you and yours will never forgive them. Everyone here knows that, too.” He tipped his chin toward Arthur. “Nordan has one foot in each camp and a habit of making bad decisions under pressure.”
“Thank you for that,” Arthur muttered.
“Pleasure,” Rory said. “My point is, we can either stand here and scream at each other until the hybrids come and pick off whoever’s left, or we can do the thing we all said we’d do when we agreed to this summit and sit down like adults.”
“You make it sound very dull,” Leonid said.
“Good,” Rory replied, “means I’m on the right track.”
Silence stretched.
Snow creaked under someone’s boot. A crow called once, harsh and lonely, from a distant tree.
Dominic’s shoulders rose, fell.
He looked, for a moment, like he was going to tell Leonid exactly where he could shove his intel and his smug smile. His jaw worked. He closed his eyes briefly.
“This is still my land,” he said when he opened them again. “My town. My people.”
“Leonid Volkhov,” Julian said, stepping forward. The very shadows seemed to move at his feet, pooling around him. “Arthur is right, we need every scrap of information we can get if we want our children to live long enough to have children of their own.” His voice cooled, his dark eyes narrowing. “But heed my words. You will stand down now. You will come to the hall tomorrow at nine, when we begin the formal session. You will not set one foot in Skymist proper without Volkhov and Nordan consent. Is that clear?”
Leonid regarded him with interest. “My offer still stands, Julian. A wolf like you would do well in my pack.”
“Is that a yes?” Julian asked in that same, spine-chilling tone.
Leonid’s gaze flicked past him, to Dominic, something unreadable passing between them.
“We will attend your little council,” Leonid said, “we will share what we know. And in return, you will respect us and our input.”
“You step out of line once,” Dominic said, “and I will kill you myself.”
