Movement No. 2 #2
She and I work together differently than Absinthe and Gemma. Neither of us are able to hide in the shadows, so instead I use my connections to spy in the light, and she uses her vampirism to strike in the dark.
“Yes, but that’ll come later. We have to start by listening to both sides and making sure everyone feels heard. They need to be able to air out their problems and feel like something is being done about it—whether that’s true or not, matters little,” Gemma explains.
“We need a symbol. Each pack has their Alphas, but we need someone to unify the felion,” Draven says.
“Yasmeena and Claudia have become the somewhat unofficial leaders of the felion on Haeresis,” Reina reminds him.
I have?
“No, we need a unified symbol. A felion-lupion hybrid?” Draven suggests, and a shudder racks my entire body.
Gemma and Reina look up at me with wide eyes.
“That would take too long,” Luc says, having been quiet these last few minutes. “What about a marriage pact?”
“A marriage pact between an important lupion and an important felion might just do the trick,” I agree. “But who?”
“One of the pack leaders, or one of their children,” Reina answers.
“The Alpha of Pack Forres, Duncan, is married to one of his members,” Draven informs us.
Duncan and his pack came over from another continent and tried to join Pack Escalus, but it didn’t work out.
Rather than challenging Cain, Duncan decided to continue separately with his own pack.
“I believe his brother and second Lennox are married as well.”
“Plus, who would we have someone marry, Claudia?” Gemma asks, and I shake my head.
“Claudia is pushing sixty, she’s not marrying anyone,” I say.
Draven hums to himself. “The Alpha of Pack Caliban is older, his name is Ferdinand.”
Pack Caliban came over from Violenta two years ago in an agreement between Raph and Josina. In return, they provided Haeresis with data on The Legion.
“He’s an absolute twatwaffle,” Absinthe answers.
“Doesn’t he hate the felion more than anyone?” Reina poses, and we all sigh.
Quiet covers us like a blanket of snow in the dead of winter. Bone-chilling, it conceals our deepest thoughts still settling underneath.
“Tempest,” Draven suggests, and Gemma hums in agreement.
I cock my head. “Tempest… as in…”
“The daughter of Cain Lupine, Alpha of Pack Escalus,” Luc reminds me. “He would be the most likely to agree to this.”
Tempest Lupine, the lupion with long hair the color of pearls. Fuck. I didn’t know who she was, so I actually flirted with her. Hel, I would’ve fucking taken her to bed if that fight hadn’t broken out.
“And when he finds out we killed his nephew?” The black scleras of Reina’s eyes feel like voids as she glances back and forth.
“He won’t.”
Draven is a little too confident for my liking.
I hold up my hands in protest. “Hold on a second, who are we marrying Tempest off to anyway?”
“Khalid,” Luc answers, as if there’s no question in his mind that this is the correct course of action.
Reina’s fangs are now on full display, but she doesn’t say a word. She’s stiffer than a board, every fibre of her being on edge. My muscles are also tensing, the hairs on the back of my neck standing at attention.
“What?” Shock radiates through my body like tidal waves.
“Tail,” Absinthe whispers towards me, and I tuck my tail closely to my body. Fucking asshole of an appendage, giving away my every emotion.
Reina stands and pushes off of the table, tears lining her eyes.
“Fangs, it wouldn’t be real, and it would only be temporary,” Draven tries to assure her. “Tempest is a lesbian. You’d have nothing to worry about.”
A lesbian. I won’t look too hard at why my heart quickens.
“You say this now, but can you promise it?” Reina’s voice is shrill. She doesn’t seem comforted by the use of her teenage nickname. If anything, it sets her further on edge.
“We cannot promise anything,” Luc answers, and Draven shoots him a look.
“Would you marry Gemma off to someone else?” Reina asks, tears lining her widened eyes.
We all watch as Draven looks up at her with pleading eyes. “Gemma is my wife—”
“No, you wouldn’t. Luc, would you marry Lilian off?”
I can feel my heart hammering in my chest. Reina said the quiet part out loud, and I fear the repercussions if she doesn’t take it back.
“Lilian is already married,” Luc says through gritted teeth, his eyes piercing as he stares back at her.
“And see how it destroys you? Every day you regret your decision not to tell her,” Reina says, and it’s unnecessarily cruel, even for her. “If you can’t understand why I object to this, I’m not sure I can be a part of this fucked up team any longer.”
And with that, she storms out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
This would change the entire trajectory of Khalid’s life. He would become not only a political pawn, but an important member of felion society, a role he did not ask to be forced into. And his relationship with Reina would end, at least for now.
“Reina,” Gemma calls out, but Draven places a hand on her thigh.
Draven’s expression is pained, like he’s trying to sort through every possible scenario and can’t seem to come up with one where the turf war ends and his relationship with his sister doesn’t. I feel for him, I do.
I need to speak with Khalid, and preferably before Reina does. I have an idea.