“Didn’t even make it two minutes,” Lavinia muttered.
“Enough,” Arthur rumbled, and something tugged low in Dani’s gut at the way the clearing fell silent, dipping their heads in respect. “We focus on the hybrids. We leave any petty grudges aside. Deal?”
“Deal,” Lavinia called, her voice ringing clear as a bell. The wolves turned towards the witches in interest, some more curious, some clearly unsettled.
Alex scoffed, and Dani flinched at the iron that passed over Arthur’s face. “I think our history is more than apetty grudge, don’t you think?Witch?”
Arthur snarled, but Alex seemed unbothered. Dani swallowed, throat suddenly dry.
“I’m willing to set it aside for the greater good,” Lavinia said, her voice like ice, “as are many others here.”
There were a few murmured assents from the Volkhov and Severney. The Volnoye and the vampires watched with interest as the Nordan split became more obvious.
“Greater good,” Alex scoffed. “You ask me, the greater good would have been wiping your kind from the face of the earth.”
“Nobodydidask you,” Lavinia responded.
“Do you want to muzzle your pup, Arthur?” Leonid called in wicked delight. “His yapping is rather tiresome.”
“Shut your mouth, you treacherous shit,” Alex snarled, whirling on him.
“Bold words from a male who threatens treason against his own alpha,” Julian’s voice cut across the stone, dark and heavy. “Need I remind you of our warning?”
“Go to hell, youdemon.”
“Silence,” Dominic roared, stepping forward. The atmosphere had thickened, tense, and uncomfortable. It pressed in against Dani from all sides, and she fought not to choke on it. Even growing up amongst the pack, amongst shifters, she’d never gotten fully used to the oppressive blanket of so many of them on a knife’s edge.
She wanted Arthur, she realized with a start. She wanted to run to him, to stand beside him, to feel his strength at her back. The weight of his gaze hung heaviest of all, and she had to physically restrain herself from looking up. She didn’t trust herself to stay with her sisters if she did meet his eye.
“This is what they want,” Dominic continued, icy eyes cutting, “they want us fractured. Arguing. As likely to kill each other as we are to face them.”
“Come on, Dominic,” Leonid said, “even if we’re arguing now, it’s not like it’ll matter when we actually go into battle. Yes, there may be an invisible hand guiding them, but they’re still mindless rabid beasts. Wild animals.”
“And dangerous,” Dominic fired back. “It takes three of our wolves to take down one of those monsters. We need every advantage we can get.”
Before anyone could spit back, Rory spoke up from the tree line. “You’re half right,” he said.
His voice was soft but carried. Heads turned.
Rory stepped fully into the clearing, Severney wolves easing with him like a shadow. He inclined his head first to Dominic, then to Arthur, then to Lavinia.
“They are monsters. Ten-foot beasts. But that’s not all.” He tipped his head toward Kiara.
The witch at his shoulder stepped forward.
Dani felt rather than saw witches straighten around her.
“Most of you know the lore,” Kiara said without flourish. “Hybrids smell like death. Move wrong. You may not know that our magic around them warps and catches easily. They’re beasts. Easy to spot if you’re paying attention.”
Alex folded his arms. “We’ve all faced them. We know the rules. What to look out for.”
“Then you can forget them,” Kiara said, “or at least stop trusting them to save you.”
She scanned the circle, gaze passing briefly over Dani with a glint.
“Three months ago,” Kiara went on, “Severney patrol picked up a hybrid trail near the mountains. Scorch marks.Blood. The usual. We followed it to a logging camp just outside our border.”
She paused.
