Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Hunter
The council meeting is supposed to start at nine, but Marcus arrives twenty minutes early. That's never a good sign.
I watch from my study window as he parks his truck and walks toward the house with Garrett trailing behind him. Both of them have the set to their shoulders that tells me they're coming in ready for a fight.
"Coffee's on," Caleb says from the doorway, already here and looking far too alert for this hour. "And I made pastries. If we're going to have a difficult conversation, we might as well have good food."
"You're a lifesaver."
"I'm a realist. Marcus is easier to deal with when he's not hungry." Caleb moves into the kitchen, pulling out serving platters. "How bad do you think this is going to get?"
"Honestly? I'm not sure." I turn away from the window. "He's been circling around the issue of Ava since he found out about her. After what we found at EnvironTech and after bringing Ethan into the fold, he's going to push. Hard."
"And Garrett will back him up."
"Of course he will. He's been waiting for an opportunity to undermine my authority since Curtis chose me." I grab mugs from the cabinet. "The question is whether the elders will support Marcus or me."
Caleb is quiet for a moment, arranging pastries on a plate with more care than necessary. "Gregory will support you. He always has. But the others—Arthur, Robert, Thomas—they're more traditional. They're not going to like how fast you've brought Ava into pack business. Or accepted the rogue."
"I didn't have a choice. She found the evidence, she has the expertise we need, and she—" I break off.
"And she's important to you," Caleb finishes. "Which Marcus is going to use against you. You know that, right?"
"I know." I pour coffee, watching the dark liquid fill the cups. "But what am I supposed to do? Pretend she doesn't matter? Keep her at arm's length while we're literally sleeping together on her couch watching nature documentaries?"
Caleb grins despite the tension. "So that's where you were last night. Rachel owes me twenty bucks."
"You bet on my love life again?"
"Everyone bets on your love life. You've been single for five years.
This is the most interesting thing that's happened since I proposed to Rachel.
" He sobers. "But Hunter, you need to be ready.
Marcus is going to make this about more than Ava.
He's going to make it about your judgment, your leadership, whether you're putting the pack first."
"I am putting the pack first. EnvironTech is poisoning our territory. Ava can help us stop them."
"I know that. You know that. But Marcus sees a human woman who's only been here a few weeks and has already learned our biggest secret, been brought into sensitive pack business, and apparently has the Alpha so distracted he's falling asleep on her couch instead of patrolling his territory."
The words sting because there's truth in them. I should have been home last night, should have been available if the pack needed me. But I also can't regret staying with Ava, can't regret the quiet intimacy of falling asleep beside her.
The doorbell rings, and I take a deep breath. "Let's get this over with."
Gregory arrives exactly on time, followed shortly by Arthur, Robert, and Thomas. They settle into the study with practiced ease. This room has hosted countless council meetings over the decades. Curtis sat behind this desk when he led these discussions. The past couple of years it's been my turn.
Marcus and Garrett take seats near the door, as usual. Gregory and the other elders arrange themselves in a semicircle facing my desk. Caleb positions himself near the window, close enough to participate but far enough to signal he's here as my brother, not just as Beta.
"Thank you all for coming," I begin once everyone has coffee and Caleb's pastries. "We have several urgent matters to discuss, starting with the environmental contamination we've discovered."
I lay out everything we found. The barrels, the active facility, and the evidence linking EnvironTech to the watershed poisoning. I explain Ava's analysis, Ethan's comparative data from other sites, the plan to report to the EPA and bring in investigative journalists.
The elders listen intently, asking occasional questions about specifics. Even Marcus stays quiet, though I can see him taking mental notes, building his argument.
"This is deeply troubling," Gregory says when I finish. "If EnvironTech has been operating illegally for years, poisoning our watershed, affecting our prey animals, then the implications are severe."
"Which is why we need to act quickly," I say. "Dr. Sinclair is finalizing her EPA report today. Rachel's journalism contacts are ready to start investigating. We have a coordinated strategy to expose them."
"A strategy that relies entirely on humans," Marcus says, speaking for the first time. "Humans who could expose us just as easily as they expose EnvironTech."
"Dr. Sinclair has proven herself trustworthy," I counter. "She's kept our secret, worked with us in good faith, put herself at risk to gather evidence we needed."
"Because she's sleeping with you," Garrett mutters, just loud enough to be heard.
The temperature in the room drops several degrees. Caleb shifts, ready to intervene if necessary. Gregory's expression hardens.
"Garrett," I say quietly, letting my Alpha authority bleed into my voice. "That was out of line."
"Was it?" He meets my eyes for just a moment before dropping his gaze. It’s not quite submission, but enough to avoid a direct challenge. "Everyone in this room knows you've been spending nights at her place. And that you're emotionally compromised when it comes to this human."
"My personal life is my own business."
"Not when it affects the pack," Marcus says, his voice hard. "You've brought an outsider into our most sensitive operations. You've trusted her with information that could destroy us. And you've done it all because you're attracted to her."
"I've done it because she's the best environmental scientist available, because her research is crucial to stopping the contamination, and because she's proven herself worthy of trust." I keep my voice level, refusing to rise to the bait.
"My relationship with Dr. Sinclair is separate from her value to this investigation. "
"Is it?" Arthur speaks up, his weathered face concerned. "Hunter, I don't doubt the young woman's scientific credentials. But Garrett has a point. You've moved very fast with her. Too fast, perhaps. She's been in Willow Creek less than a month, and she already knows everything about us."
"She knows because she needed to know," I argue. "Because we needed her expertise and I couldn't ask her to help without explaining why the contamination matters so much to us."
"You could have found another way," Robert says. "We could have worked through intermediaries and used pack resources instead of relying on a human."
"What pack resources?" I lean forward. "None of us are trained environmental scientists. None of us can file credible EPA reports or provide the kind of analysis that will actually stop EnvironTech. We needed her, and we still do."
"And what happens when this is over?" Thomas asks. "When EnvironTech is exposed and the contamination is cleaned up? What then? Does Dr. Sinclair just go back to her life at Clemson, carrying our secrets with her?"
The question hangs in the air, weighted with implications I'm not ready to address in a council meeting.
"She's not going back to Clemson," I say quietly.
Marcus pounces on that. "So you're asking her to stay? To abandon her career, her life, everything she's built, to live here in Willow Creek?"
"I'm not asking her to do anything. But yes, I'm hoping she'll choose to stay." I meet his eyes directly. "And if she does, she'll have my full protection and support."
"As what?" Garrett asks. "Your girlfriend? Your live-in human companion? What exactly is her role supposed to be in this pack?"
"That's between Ava and me," I say firmly. "And it's not up for discussion in this council."
"Everything is up for discussion in this council," Marcus counters. "Especially when it affects pack security. Curtis understood that. As did Daniel. He knew that an Alpha's personal choices couldn't be separated from his leadership responsibilities."
The mention of Daniel is deliberate, calculated. Marcus knows exactly what he's doing.
"Daniel also knew that an Alpha needs to adapt to changing circumstances," Gregory interjects, his voice carrying the authority of his years. "Times change. The world changes. We can't lead the pack the same way we did fifty years ago."
"Some things shouldn't change," Marcus argues. "Like the fundamental principle that the pack comes first. Always. Above personal desires, above relationships, above everything." He turns back to me. "Daniel learned that the hard way. You heard about what happened with Sarah?"
I feel my jaw tighten. Sarah was Daniel’s human girlfriend. The relationship ended badly. She couldn't handle the reality of pack life, tried to expose us, had to have her memories modified by the witches. It nearly destroyed Daniel.
"I remember," I say carefully. "I also remember hearing that Daniel said his biggest regret was letting fear dictate his choices. That he wished he'd fought harder for Sarah, handled things differently."
"Who told you that?" Marcus looks surprised.
"Curtis. Multiple times. Go ask him yourself." I stand, needing to move. "Daniel made mistakes with Sarah. He admitted that. But he also learned from them. And one of the things he learned was that protecting the pack doesn't mean being afraid to let people in."
"It means being smart about who you let in," Arthur says. "And Hunter, I say this with respect. You're moving very fast with this woman. Faster than is wise."