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“I believe I’ve found the place where shifters are being experimented on,” he replied.
“What?” Several elders yelled at once, and chaos erupted on the other side of the call. “That is mere rumor. Fiction to explain why a disgruntled shifter would choose to leave the protection of the clan.”
Hudson growled. He did not have time to argue with them about this. Every moment spent talking was another moment they weren’t going after Hannah. Another moment where she was still in the hands of those monsters.
“They are not just rumors,” he bit out. “They are very real. They have taken Hannah and are holding her captive there. I need the clan here to back me upnow!”
“You are certain that is where they have taken her?” another one of the elders, Enzo, asked.
Hudson dug his nails into the branch below him. “Elder Enzo, are you questioning an alpha’s ability to track?”
“He is not questioning your ability to do anything,” Elder Gabriel put in. “He is merely confirming the facts.”
“I don’t have time for this,” he snapped. “A little girl’s life is on the line. We don’t have time to argue.”
“This matter absolutely needs to be debated,” another one of the elders shouted. “You said youbelievethat is the place. You do not know for certain. What if you are wrong? We will be exposing ourselves to humans in mass quantity.”
Another elder agreed. “If we charge in only to find innocent humans, it could jeopardize all shifters. The less humans know about us, the better. We must act cautiously for the sake of all our kind.”
“And you would risk a six-year-old girl’s life?” he demanded. “They clearly know enough to have taken her. Surely that is enough for you.” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“It isn’t as though we aren’t sympathetic to your plight,” a kinder voice insisted. “But is it not better to risk one life than many? If you have proof these humans have knowledge of our kind and are malicious, then we will send help right away.”
Gabriel finished the thought. “Of course, we will. After all, if they are a threat to our kind, they must be dealt with swiftly. Human or otherwise. But we must have proof. We cannot simply attack a human facility otherwise. What if Hannah ran away, and we start a war between the two species over a mistake?”
It took everything in him not to scream at the clan elders and then hurl the phone to the ground below. How could they possibly just sit around and allow this to happen?
They really expected him to get proof, send it to them, and then let them debate some more. All the while, he was just supposed to wait around while his daughter was in immediate danger.
This was ridiculous, and he was putting an end to it now.
“I’m calling for a clan overruling vote,” Hudson said.
The elders went quiet on the other end of the line. Then the protests started.
“That is ridiculous.”
“You can’t just ignore our concerns!”
“You’ll be jeopardizing the whole clan!”
“Be sensible.”
“I can’t believe you would call for such a thing!”
A clan overruling vote was something that was rarely used and a bit taboo. Typically, it could be considered an overreach of power. It allowed the vote on a matter to go directly to the clan to decide what they wanted to do. And their decision could overrule any decision made by the clan elders.
It was risky, too, because Hudson wouldn’t be there to plead his case. He just had to hope his people were willing to help.
“My decision is final,” he said gruffly.
“Very well,” Enzo said, and Hudson could tell he was grinding his teeth. “We will put this matter to the clan. But be warned, Alpha, this puts you on thin ice. The elders are already not pleased with your recent involvement with humans.”
And then the line went dead.
With another growl, Hudson shoved the phone back into his pocket and refocused his attention on the shack. There were guards regularly patrolling outside, but there were noticeable gaps in their patrol.
He jumped down from the tree and hiked over to where Nora had climbed.
