Chapter 455: The sitting ga 1
CIAN
I sat at my desk, fingers steepled beneath my chin. The study felt too quiet. Too still. I could not shake the weight of what Fia had told
earlier.
Fleshcraft.
The word kept circling back. Her grandmother was experinted on. Her mother escaped Valentine’s lab only to end up married to a man who broke her down piece by piece. And Fia, the result of all that pain and horror, carried guilt like it was hers to bear.
She was not a product of fleshcraft, though. That much I knew. Whatever experints Valentine ran on her grandmother and mother, they had not been the direct cause of Fia’s birth. She was conceived naturally. Born naturally. The fleshcraft connection existed only through a wicked man’s touch. It was not trauma passed down like an inheritance no one wanted.
Still, Aldric had sent that ssage to Northern Ridge’s Nocturne, and he had received it. Alpha Dimitri had gotten to know his granddaughter existed, knew her origins, and knew the taint Valentine had left on their family line.
Perhaps Aldric had expected so kind of premium fury. Expected Dimitri to co down on us with the full weight of his pack. But nothing had happened at the end of the day. Because Dimitri was her grandfather.
The realization shifted everything. He would not attack us. Would not risk harming Fia even if she carried the stain of forbidden magic in her veins. Family trumped everything else in werewolf society. Pack bonds ran deep, but blood ran deeper.
Aldric’s plan, if that had been it in the first place, had backfired spectacularly.
I almost laughed at the irony. Almost. But the situation was too dangerous for humor.
The second problem had been Valentine. Given that it was where the second letter went to. His death had settled one problem, at least. The warlock was gone. Burned alive in his own lab while Fia watched. She had not said much about that part, but I felt her satisfaction through the bond. The righteous fury that ca with seeing the man who tortured her family finally et his end.
My thoughts went to Madeline.
I rubbed at my temples. She needed to know. Her father was dead, and she would hear about it eventually. Better it ca from soone who could deliver the news with a shred of compassion than from the coven when they inevitably found out and started asking questions.
But how did I tell her?
Madeline had only just begun distancing herself from Valentine. Nothing changed the fact that a larger part of her had built her own life, her own reputation, just behind his shadow. Though she had eventually broken free of that shadow... That did not erase love. You could hate soone and still love them. You could recognize their monstrosity and still mourn their loss.
She had been his daughter for decades before she beca anything else... Before she realized what a monster he was.
I made a ntal note to send a ssage soon. She deserved that courtesy. She deserved to grieve in private before the supernatural world turned Valentine’s death into gossip and speculation.
The door opened.
I looked up as Garrett walked in. He moved with that careful precision sentinels developed over years of service. Alert but not tense. Ready but not aggressive.
"We have done what you asked," he said. "Coven Primrose will not be coming for anybody’s neck soon."
"Thank you."
He nodded. "That is my job as sentinel, Alpha."
"But it is not just your job."
Garrett paused. His expression shifted slightly, confusion creeping in at the edges.
I leaned back in my chair and studied him. Garrett had been with
since the beginning. Since before I even beca Alpha. He stood at my side through every decision, every conflict, every mont when leadership threatened to crush
under its weight.
"Sentinels are seen as foot soldiers," I said. "Pack warriors who follow orders and guard their Alpha without question."
"That is what we are," Garrett said slowly.
"But since I t you, you have acted as my right hand." I kept my gaze steady on his face. "You do not just follow orders. You advise. You strategize. You handle situations before they even reach ."
He shifted his weight. Uncomfortable with the praise, maybe. Or uncertain where this conversation was heading.
"I am thinking of making you my Beta."
Garrett laughed. The sound ca out nervous and disbelieving. "Alpha, I—"
"I am serious."
His laughter died. He stared at
like I had just suggested we declare war on the moon itself.
"That is fucking crazy."
"I know."
"The rules," Garrett started.
"Skollrend does not currently have a Beta heir," I cut him off. "And even the forr Beta, Ronan, was not born of Beta blood to begin with."
It was a fact that I was going to use if pack traditionalists ca for my decision. Though I suspected that they would tread carefully, given what had recently happened with the cleansing of traitors. It did not matter to , though. I had seen value in this man, and I intended to make him my acting Beta, bloodline be damned. That position had been earned through action, not ancestry.
"You will be acting Beta until the Ashworth bloodline can produce another heir." I watched Garrett process this. "I reckon it will take so ti."
He nodded slowly. "Thank you, Alpha."
"But our business is not yet done with the case that concerns my Luna."
The gratitude in his expression shifted, becoming sothing harder and more focused.
"What do you need?"
"Chances are we have to go to war with another pack."
"War?" Garrett straightened. "With what pack?"
"Lily of the Valley."
Silence dropped between us like a stone into deep water.
"They are a strong and formidable pack," Garrett said finally. His voice ca asured. Careful.
"I know." I stood and moved to the window. The grounds spread out below, peaceful in the late afternoon light. "Which is why I want us to catch them by surprise in two days."
"The readings are sort of showing that the heat season will be active on that day."
"I am well aware."
I turned back to face him. Garrett watched
with that sentinel intensity, already calculating logistics and complications.
"But there are ways to halt that biology," I continued. "We have formidable healers who will make it possible. While Lily of the Valley is under the influence of the heat, we attack."
"Attack how?"
"Every able man who stands in our way." The words ca cold and clinical. "But the goal will be the head of the Alpha and all his blood."
Garrett stared at . Shock rippled across his features, quickly suppressed but not quite hidden.
"I know a decision like that has no honor." I crossed my arms. "But Aldric has sold the ssage that my wife is the product of fleshcraft. Perhaps even more than that. Why? I have no fucking idea, but I do not intend to sit and find out."
My jaw tightened.
"I cannot let that ssage spread even more."
"Lily of the Valley is connected to the royal werewolves," Garrett said quietly.
"That is what makes
even more terrified." The admission cost
sothing. Alphas were not supposed to show fear. But Garrett deserved honesty. "I cannot let anything happen to my Fia."
I moved back to my desk and braced my hands against the edge.
"Do you disagree?" I t his eyes. "As my Beta, it is your job to make
see reason."
Garrett was quiet for a long mont. His gaze dropped to the floor, then lifted back to mine.
"The supernatural council will not take kindly to an unsanctioned attack on a pack with royal connections," he said. "They will investigate. They will demand answers. And if they find out the real reason, if they discover Fia’s bloodline and the fleshcraft connection, it could put her in more danger than Aldric’s ssage ever would."
He paused.
"Moreover, we have no confirmation that Aldric even told Lily of the Valley anything concrete. Forgive
for speaking ill of the dead, but Alpha Aldric was a liar. We are basing this entire plan on an assumption. On fear. How are we sure this is not what he wants for you to do?"
The words hit hard because they were true.
"We could be starting a war that did not need to happen," Garrett continued. "Killing an Alpha and his bloodline based on a threat that might not even exist."
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