"...What is the use of my miserable existence?"
Her voice looped in my head like a scratched record. I ran a hand through my hair as if the action could rip her words out of . The cold was always prevalent in Wintercrest—hence the na—but now the car seed to heat.
I was tempted to loosen my tie.
A manicured hand rested lightly on my shoulder, pulling out of my reverie. Veronique’s voice was laced with both worry and reassurance.
"You will get the votes."
"What?" I asked, montarily not understanding what she was speaking about.
She inclined her head so her eyes could et mine.
"The votes for the title of High Alpha. I know it’s determined by pack rankings, but Kustav’s been... moving pieces. Quietly. You’ve felt it, haven’t you?"
I looked past her, out the tinted glass at the city that raced by.
"I’ve felt it for years. That doesn’t an he’ll take the seat."
I t her eyes again. This ti, apprehension had been replaced by sothing that resembled suspicion.
"You weren’t thinking about the votes."
My silence was answer enough.
Her eyes narrowed to slits.
"It’s about her, isn’t it?" The disdain in her voice could have made honey bitter.
She didn’t need to specify who she was speaking about. I knew. We both knew.
Lilith.
The echo of her earlier words pressed against again—What is the use...—and the mory of her eyes, alight with that unrefined, dangerous rage. Rage she didn’t yet understand how to wield without burning herself alive.
Within a day she had proven herself to be... different. Whether that would be good or bad, only ti could tell.
"Less than a day here and she’s already being a nuisance," Veronique muttered. "Hybrids and their troubles."
"Yet we use them," I murmured, my tone void of accusation.
But knowing Veronique, she would not take it that way.
"Because of the Veil. She’s not the first, but hopefully she will be the fucking last." Her lips twisted.
I agreed with her there. This had to be the last.
My gaze shifted to the bionic arm as I flexed the fingers. I would not need it for too long.
"We’re here, Vladimir," Veronique told , though I already knew.
The car entered a compound, the large gates coming down behind us. We exited the car and stood before the Alphas’ eting place.
The Onyx Concord’s headquarters dominated the horizon—a long, sleek building of black steel and smoked glass, its edges sharp enough to cut night. No unnecessary ornantation, just a black monolith that wasn’t especially tall but still seed to reach for the sky.
Floodlights swept across the polished façade, catching on the silver-inlaid crest above the main entrance—thirteen interlocked moons, one for each Great Pack.
The front plaza was bare save for the ard guards stationed like statues, their matte-black uniforms absorbing the light. They moved in unison to open the towering glass doors.
The chamber was as stark and deliberate as the building itself, oval in shape, walled with tempered glass that looked out into the midnight city skyline. A single ring of obsidian ford the council table, its surface so polished it reflected the faces of those who sat around it.
All seats had been occupied—except for two. The Alpha of Moonclaw’s and mine.
Of course, the Moonclaw heir had decided not to show. This would be strike four, and as always, his Beta was present instead.
They all stood as I entered and made my way to my designated seat at the head of the table.
Behind the ring of obsidian where the Alphas sat, a secondary crescent of seats curved in precise symtry. This was the Betas’ tier. Veronique took her place.
"Good morning, Alphas, Lunas, and Betas."
"Good morning, High Alpha," they replied, as we all settled in.
"Let’s proceed," I said, picking up the minutes of the eting—though I already knew what we had planned to discuss. The voting would co last, as always.
From across the ring, Kustav’s eyes bore into , unabashed as always. His intense stare had always been an intimidation tactic, but to —it was ineffective. He was never the type to take a hint, especially after our encounter just last night.
I did not spare him a glance.
"The Veil," I read out. "It has been brought to my attention that more students who explore the regions around the Veil have been exposed to levels of Lunar Flux potent enough to affect humans. anwhile, the packs around the Veil have been facing difficulties shifting due to the leaking Lunar Flux from the fracture." It had been the sa news for months.
Alpha Kavriel of Hollowfang—the pack closest to the Veil—t my eyes, frustration evident in his expression.
"The last Solstice we had only 47 new shifters, compared to 178, the year before. And most of the wolves..." He pinched his lips as though tasting sothing sour. "...were half the size of normal shifters. Ogas are on the rise. It is beyond disheartening—this is alarming. Who will be the new generation of Gammas? Will we have to start using more guns like humans?"
He closed his eyes, taking an almost trembling breath.
"And it will only get worse. We know this. The tear will widen... and then what?"
Murmurs rippled through both tiers before I stilled them with a raised hand.
Ramond, Alpha of Crimsonmoon, adjusted his cuffs as he spoke.
"Our new shifters are as large as they’re ant to be." His eyes lifted from his cuffs to sweep the table. "But their healing rate is... disappointing. They heal so slowly, they might as well be human. And like Alpha Kavriel said, it will only get worse from here. We require a permanent solution—or else..." He paused, letting the weight of it settle. "...we stand on the cusp of our own extinction."
More murmured before Oria, Alpha of Wolfspire, ever the pragmatist, spoke. "We’ve circled this problem for three years," she said, her gaze flicking from one Alpha to another. "And every year the reports worsen. The Veil is bleeding our lands of the goddess’s gift. Our wolves are weakening. If we don’t act, the Concord will not need enemies to destroy it—we will do it ourselves through inaction or by working under the illusion that we have ti to waste."
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