Page 14

“Well,” said Felix in a breezy tone, though mild fear wafted from him.

One of the shifters who had been avoiding my gaze stopped to look at the man. The other vampire from the lower district had also averted his gaze from me. Clearly, my mother had set the tone for our representation.

“As always, we’ll go around the table. State your name and who you represent—as a whole and a member. I’ll start. I’m Felix Morgans, one of the representatives for the humans, Aethermore City.”

The moment it was my turn, a familiar scent—a presence—reached me. The door creaked open, and a handsome face with striking eyes emerged. “Sorry for the delay,” he said. That damn sonorous voice.

Felix waved him on, and the man’s gaze locked onto mine.

The beta.

My breath caught, heart clenching painfully as one corner of his lips lifted. The smug son of a bitch was going to expose me. Shit, fuck, dammit. Heart hammering in a room filled with Occults who could sense it, I inhaled deeply to collect my emotions. It was something I was usually good at, but with all eyes on me, including the beta who could destroy my life, it was difficult.

“I am Aurelia Nygaard,” I said, with more confidence than I truly had. “Sitting on behalf of my mother, Bellatrix Nygaard, Primal Born of the Blucrux Valley region.”

The person beside me started to talk, but I didn’t hear a word as I tracked the beta’s steps to the empty chair. Once he was seated, I made a point of focusing on whoever was speaking so I wouldn’t have to look at him. He was all the way at the end of the table with five people between us, but I could feel his eyes on me. It made my scalp prickle uncomfortably.

Then it was his turn to speak. His broad shoulders were pushed back with all the arrogance of an alpha, his smile disarming, and his voice stupidly soothing. “My name is Sylvan De Lacy, Beta of the Zilveren pack in Sublune Creek. I’m appearing today in place of my brother, Alpha Antoine De Lacy.”

There were two more after him, then the floor was handed back to Felix, allowing him to summarize what had occurred in the previous meeting.

“There has been an increase in animal attacks in the south,” said a brawny shifter with shocking white hair and eyes like rusty gold. “Rumors are spreading that they are lycan-related, but there is no evidence to point to this. I motion for the Ministry to work to dispel these rumors, because we’re only just regaining trust in human society.”

Another lycan with deep brown skin raised his hand. “I’d like to point out that not all packs want to be assimilated, however we would prefer not to be blamed. We like our peaceful life in the countryside, not angry mobs on our doorsteps.”

“Are there angry mobs?” Felix asked.

Tense silence rushed through the room, humans and Occults alike waiting for someone to speak up.

“Even if it’s only hypothetical,” a voice began. His voice. Everyone’s attention shifted to Sylvan. “The rumors threaten the peace. Whether the lycan pack wants to remain isolated or wants to assimilate, we should have that right.”

“It’s hard to dispel rumors once they get started,” said Alexei, a vampire from the other side of the country who had a build that resembled the beta’s. “Nothing can be done about that but to just grin and bear it.”

“Oh, alright,” said Sylvan. “So, if these rumors were about vampires, would you just grin and bear it? If I recall, there are rumors spreading of more civilians being unwillingly Turned in the last few years.”

Everyone started to speak at once until Felix banged his hand against the table. “One at a time,” he reminded us.

There were more interruptions across the table before everyone concluded that should any rumors continue to spike, there would be a public meeting in which a few representatives from the Ministry appeared to show everyone the peace was still alive.

Yet being here at this table, and having been at Sublune Creek last night, I know the peace was as fickle as always and hate lived on.

As the meeting dragged, I waited for Sylvan to expose me. When Felix asked, “Does anyone have anything else to discuss?” my eyes snapped to the beta, my muscles tense. He met my gaze, that smug partial smirk appearing on his lips again, a small dimple deepening in his chin. He’d shaven, I realized, though stubble remained on his face.

“Wonderful,” said Felix. “Meeting adjourned. Until next month.”

Chairs scraped along the floor as members stood and began to make their way from the room. I gathered my briefcase under my arm and rushed out, eager to get away from the others, eager to start my day and check on my distillations.

“Aurelia!” someone called to me as I rounded the corner.

My stomach lurched. Was he following me? I kept walking, but light footsteps hurried behind me.

“Aurelia! Or should I say, Aura?”

I spun, and there was a metallic clicking sound. Thoughts of last night barreled back into me. The blood painting my neck, my chest, coating my hands. The disorientation and lack of memories of what I had done to show up bloodied and naked in Sublune Creek.

The thwack of my notebooks against the floor and the swish of loose pages brought me back to the present. I turned to see a couple of pages sliding away from me.

Straight toward Sylvan.