Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The car ride to the council building was made in complete silence. Griffin tried to appear upbeat, but he wasn’t fooling either Ulva or me. He drove his Navigator through town, attempting to keep me out of the view of others as much as possible. The fewer people who saw me, the less likely they were to guess my heritage. We passed only one other vehicle, which was heading out of the city.
Griffin’s leg bounced the entire way, despite the forced smile he wore.
Fortunately, Ulva and I were in agreement. No matter what, we were going to make sure that Griffin didn’t take the blame for the trouble with the crystals. Still, we were working with minimal information, and I prayed that Rosemary had been able to wrangle details out of her parents.
After a few minutes’ drive through the heart of downtown Shadow City, the capitol building came into view. It covered an entire block, a white rectangle with a cathedral-like roof. The walls reflected the ever-shifting lights, making it seem as if the building changed colors constantly.
Griffin turned into an uncovered parking lot on the right side of the building. “Here we are,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion.
It ’ s going to be okay. No matter what, I’d make sure we came out of this intact. Even if I had to be the one to take the blame. Rosemary will have something to tell us, and then we can build our case.
I hope you ’ re right. He opened his door and climbed out of the car.
His dismissal hurt, but I couldn’t be overly sensitive. He was going through a lot, and I couldn’t take it personally. I refused to add more worry on top of what he already carried.
I got out of the vehicle, slammed the door, and met him and Ulva in front.
“We need to go in as a united front.” I was sure they both knew that, but sometimes stating the obvious helped others feel more in control of a situation. I walked to the other side of Griffin so that he stood between me and his mother.
A few people walked past us, not looking our way. Yesterday, everyone’s indifference had bothered me, but today, I was grateful. If anyone tried to talk to us right now, I would likely come off as rude, which might hurt Griffin in their eyes.
We followed the walkway to the building’s front entrance. Griffin opened the tall hunter-green door and waved us in. My eyes scanned him as I passed by, enjoying the sight of him in his navy suit. The slacks were tight enough to show off his ass, and I had to restrain myself from pinching it as I brushed by. Now wasn’t the time for inappropriate thoughts.
His mom’s heels clicked on the beige marble floor, and I cringed as I strolled behind her, making the same type of noise. I hated wearing dress shoes and skirts. They were terrible for fighting, and I was raised to always be prepared for battle. Worst case, I supposed I could try to use the slender heel to pierce the skulls of my enemies.
The entryway was huge and bare, ending with another hunter-green doorway midway through the building. The probably once-white walls were stained yellow from time and wear. On one side of the entryway, a man was sweeping the floor. He walked past us, and a whiff of decay hit me hard, making me gag.
What the hell is that? I’d never smelled anything like it before.
Griffin winced and blew out his nose. A vampire who’s being punished. For him to smell that bad, he ’ s gone without blood for a long time.
Wait. They smell sweet, not like that.
Unless they don ’ t feed , he replied. I ’ ve only ever come across one other person who smelled like that, and it was when Dad took me to see the prison when I was a little boy. “Hey, Mom.” Griffin snagged my hand and nodded to a coffee shop at the right. “Sterlyn and I are going to grab a coffee. Do you want anything?”
“No, I don’t think that would be wise.” She blew out a breath and adjusted the maroon jacket she was wearing over a matching dress. “I’m on edge enough without the added caffeine. I’ll go on in and save Sterlyn a seat.”
“I’ll be right there.” I tried to keep my attention on her, but my gaze flicked over to the small coffee shop. It was a stand built into a corner of the room with no tables. Obviously, people weren’t meant to congregate there, which was kind of problematic, as Rosemary was nowhere to be seen. Maybe we should wait a few minutes.
We can ’t, Griffin said in defeat. He wasn’t even trying to hide his despair now that we were alone. The meeting will likely start a few minutes early in hopes that whoever they ’ re targeting arrives on time. It gives the perception that the accused doesn ’ t care about punctuality. A little tip that Dad shared with me before he died.
These people were assholes. Someone needed to take them down a notch or two, and there was no time like the present. Okay. Hey, wait. I walked beside him as a thought unsettled me. Does your mom know to call me Dove and not Sterlyn?
Probably not. His body somehow grew even tenser. I ’ ll link and tell her now.
Thank God I’d realized that before it was too late.
We walked up to the cash register and placed our order of two black coffees. I usually got something sweeter, but my stomach was already upset. I didn’t want to put too much sugar in it and wind up getting sick.
As the man handed us our drinks, Rosemary’s scent drifted in our direction. I turned to find her walking over to us. Her long hair was pulled into a Dutch braid, and she wore a white sundress that made her skin appear to glisten. Her black wings fanned out behind her, contrasting starkly with her outfit and giving her sweet look an edge. Like me, she wore white high heels, but hers barely made a sound. “Hello.” She nodded formally as she ordered a coffee of her own.
The older fox shifter manning the coffee counter turned around to make her drink, and she took a step closer, speaking in a soft voice that only Griffin and I could hear. “So, we have a huge problem.”
“That’s kind of obvious,” Griffin bit out, letting his anxiety bleed through.
Babe. I chastised him. I know you ’ re upset, but being rude to her won ’ t get us anywhere. In fact, you could piss her off to where she doesn ’ t tell us anything.
Nah, she loves you too much. Griffin brushed off my concern, but I could feel a little bit of regret through our mate bond connection.
Needing to divert her attention from his rudeness, I tried to refocus the conversation. “Do you have anything specific to help us?”
“Yeah.” She scowled at Griffin before ignoring him and focusing on me. “Apparently, Griffin signed an order for the guards to attend additional training in case someone ever tried to attack the buildings.”
“That’s true.” Griffin shrugged his shoulders. “What’s the big deal?”
“Because you ordered all of them to go at the same time, leaving the crystals unmonitored.” Rosemary lifted a brow and stepped toward the counter, dismissing us as the fox shifter handed her the coffee.
I took a sip of my drink, and the bitter coffee burned my tongue. The pain was a temporary reprieve, giving me something to focus on for a moment. I could feel Griffin practically vibrating beside me.
Slowly, Griffin and I strolled toward the door that must lead into the council meeting room. We moved at a snail’s pace as we tried to wait on Rosemary without being too obvious. A tall, commanding figure hovering near the doorway caught my attention.
Yelahiah.
I wasn’t too shocked, since Rosemary was getting coffee, but the older woman’s attention wasn’t on her daughter. She was focused on me. Her eyes narrowed as if she were trying to piece a puzzle together, and even when my eyes met hers, she didn’t look away. Instead, her interest seemed to be piqued even more.
Unease filtered through me, and I wanted to run away. I’d never experienced such intense scrutiny before. Normally, I was drawn toward a fight or confrontation, not repelled. That was how silver wolves were wired. But this was different. I didn’t know how to explain it.
Remember those papers Dick stopped by to pick up at the house? Griffin sounded miserable, and his body seemed to shrink.
Yeah. I remembered that day clearly. Dick had tried to push me into leaving and had even tried threatening me when he saw that I had every intention of staying. The douchebag had wanted to make me run, and I’d thought it was solely because of his daughter. Luna had been desperate to make Griffin her own. You didn ’ t read the forms , did you? I tried not to sound accusatory, but I couldn’t help it. Dick had been desperate to have him sign those papers quickly, and now we knew why.
I did. He growled, making the vampire sweeping the floor pause. Griffin didn’t even notice and continued with his tirade. But I didn ’ t know how it would impact the guards’ watch schedule. I assumed they ’ d always keep at least one or two behind.
Dick had banked on Griffin not scrutinizing the details. The conniving prick. Did you ask any questions?
No, it seemed so straightforward. He turned toward me. I fucked up.
You trusted the wrong person. That was what this all came down to. But we ’ ll figure a way out of this. Dad had taught me not to fret even when there wasn’t an obvious strategy. That was what the enemy banked on, and I needed to keep a level head in order to seize the next opportunity to turn things around. That was you being naive and wanting to see the best in people. You did nothing wrong. Why would you ever think anyone on the council would do something to sabotage the safety of the city?
I should’ve done something that day, but instead, I’d let the man go with the papers. I had known something wasn’t right and should’ve followed up on my instincts. Because I hadn’t, now my mate could lose his place within his pack and city. All those changes his father and he had dreamed of might remain just that.
A dream.
I was also to blame here. But beating myself up over it would be caving and doing exactly what the asshole wanted.
I was stronger than that.
Griffin and I were more powerful together.
We had to remember that.
Rosemary hung back, most likely due to her mother. We needed to pretend, at least for a little while longer, that we weren’t allies. That bit of information needed to be dropped at the perfect time.
“Well, hello there.” Yelahiah’s musical voice sounded like a lullaby.
There was something pure and raw about her that made me feel safe. But I couldn’t tell her who I was. She was angry about what had happened to her brother, but I was very far removed from him, my blood containing only a fraction of his after all these generations. “Hi.”
“You seem awfully familiar to me.” She arched an eyebrow, reminding me of her daughter. “Have we met before yesterday?”
“No, we haven’t.” We hadn’t even been officially introduced. Instead, I had been an observer to the show.
Griffin took a step closer to me. “She’s my mate,” he said simply.
“I got that much yesterday.” However, her focus stayed on me. “What’s your name?”
“I have many.” I forced a laugh and hoped that the sound wasn’t as crazed as it seemed in my head. “But the one most people call me is Dove.” That wasn’t a lie. All the customers at Shadow Ridge Coffee Shop on the university campus called me by that name. Only my closest friends and family knew my birth name.
“Dove.” She grinned, which made her look more human. The superior angel facade slipped away, if only for a moment. “I like that.” She licked her blood-red lips and motioned for her daughter. “Word to the wise—you two better get in there. If I know Azbogah and Richard, they’re about to begin the meeting five minutes early.”
Griffin’s lips parted, revealing his surprise at her support.
“Thank you,” I said as I looped my arm through Griffin’s, directing him inside. If I didn’t know he was gawking at her because she’d helped him, I might have gotten jealous. She could easily pass for mid-thirties, despite being centuries old. Angels were immortal.
As we entered the room, I scanned the area, looking for Ulva. I spotted her sitting next to a dark-haired woman on the end of a row of chairs against the wall close to the door we’d walked through. More chairs were set around a rectangular table with a cut-out section that faced the door. Twelve people sat around the table, which I’d expected: three angels, three witches, three vampires, and the wolf shifters, representing the shifters as a whole.
Dick stood in the middle of the table facing the door, with Azbogah on his right and Alex on his left. Erin’s deep brown eyes darkened even more as she glared at my mate from next to Azbogah, and the red in her hair seemed to emphasize her anger. Then each council member’s seat rotated between the supernatural races. Based on what Griffin taught me, I was able to sniff out each one. The only two vacant seats were the ones closest to Ulva.
The wolves represent all shifters , Griffin explained as he ushered me to the seat beside his mom. The original council refused to let every shifter have a representative because then that general race would have the most say. They wanted it balanced, and the one race every shifter trusted was the silver wolf, so a vote was cast that silver wolves would be the shifter representatives. After all, they’d been the ones to organize the civil war against the angels. The silver wolves left before the first council meeting, but the decision couldn ’ t be undone, per the other council members, so the strongest alpha wolf took that spot instead.
I wondered if Yelahiah had hoped that the silver wolves would come back for her brother.
Griffin led me to Ulva with a frown now marring his face as his mother and the woman next to her looked up at us.
“Is this the girl that you were telling me about?” The lady’s hair was twisted into a bun, and her icy blue eyes scanned me. Her skin was a light olive that highlighted her beauty.
“Oh, yes.” Ulva gestured to me. “This is…Dove. Dove, this is Dick Harding’s wife, Saga.”
I stilled. From the way people spoke about Dick’s wife, I’d expected her to have a weak persona, but there was strength and determination in those eyes. And I could read nothing from her. “Hello.”
“Luna’s told me all about you.” Her mauve lips pressed together in displeasure. “We all thought that Luna and Griffin would wind up chosen mates since we got pregnant near the same time and they grew up together. It’s a shame what all you’ve put her through.”
Her words were meant to rattle me, but I couldn’t get past the fact that I couldn’t get a read on her essence. It was like it was neither good nor bad…or it was hidden.
“She didn’t do a damn thing to your daughter,” Griffin growled, getting riled up enough for the both of us.
Dick heard his voice and spun around. “Griffin, you’re here—” he started.
Azbogah cut him off. “Right on time. Almost late, in fact.”
My body tensed, and I readied myself to defend Griffin, when he kissed my cheek and linked, Calm down. He held my gaze an extra beat and then made his way calmly to one of the last two spots at the table.
Shit. If he had to remind me, then I was closer to losing it than I realized. Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself and sat next to Ulva. Rosemary entered the room and took the vacant seat beside me, while her mom went to the last spot next to Griffin.
I wondered if Azbogah had done that on purpose, but it didn’t matter. Yelahiah wasn’t on trial. Griffin was.
“So we’re here to agree that Griffin is guilty of circumventing an all-council approval and ordering our guards to take additional weapons training.” Azbogah jumped right to the point. “All those in favor of removing him as the top wolf representative of Shadow City, say aye.”
“Aye,” Erin said, jumping to her feet with Dick following right after. Matthew agreed without batting an eye.
They weren’t even going to give him a chance to defend himself. Dick’s grin morphed into a smirk when Alex confirmed.
Five of the eleven voting members had now agreed to remove Griffin, making it clear that there was only one thing that could prevent Dick from taking control.
I jumped to my feet. “He can’t be stripped of that title. I’m the rightful wolf representative of Shadow City, and I’m here to take back my position as upheld by the divine.”