Chapter 14
Wolfe
The journey to the Council put me more and more on edge.
Every step out of the Hollow scraped against my nerves. Every gust of wind felt like a warning I couldn’t interpret fast enough. And every time Rowen walked half a step ahead of me, my wolf surged to pull her back behind my shoulder.
I didn’t grab for her. I didn’t hover over her. I restrained myself. Barely.
We moved fast through the lower ridge, Killian flanking our right, six wolves from both territories taking up the rear.
Not betas, I needed them at the Hollow; I didn’t trust the Pack Council not to throw something at my pack while I wasn’t there to defend it.
I’d chosen six trusted fighters, handpicked because they’d bite through their own tongues before betraying us.
We’d stayed in our human form, which let the pack communicate more easily.
Their loyalty had been confirmed when I used my Will on the pack.
These six were the most loyal to our fight after my betas.
My betas stayed behind to guard what mattered.
I didn’t like this distribution of power, didn’t like that I had to split myself like this—half my strength at the Hollow, while Rowen and I walked straight into the Council’s maws.
Killian kept glancing at the tree line, jaw tight. “They could try something before we get there.”
“I’d count on it,” I muttered.
Better an ambush in neutral ground than a knife in the Pack Council’s chambers, where we couldn’t retaliate.
Better to fight an enemy with teeth than an elder with a pen.
We cut through the forest quickly, the shadows thick this deep into the valley.
The path narrowed, pushed between slabs of old stone and heavy roots that were prone to tripping even the lightest of feet.
The air smelled wrong—still, flat, too cold for the season.
“Stay alert,” Killian warned the others quietly.
They listened, not that they’d been rowdy or making any noise at all, but his sharp reminder made even the deeper breaths disappear.
It made me smile. Killian was such a hard ass.
It wasn’t as if he needed to be teaching obedience in the middle of a potential ambush.
Rowen walked beside me, silent, alert. The Hollow seemed to pulse around her in faint rhythmic waves—nothing like it had been, but present enough that I knew it monitored our progress. Watched the land around us.
Watching for what? That question chewed at the back of my skull like a parasite.
“Wolfe.” Killian’s voice cut through the tension. “Are you feeling that?”
I was. The prickle on the back of my neck. The weight in the air. The sensation of being tracked by something patient.
“Left ridge,” I told him.
Killian nodded once. “I thought he’d be subtler.”
“No.” The word came out as a growl. “Too much of an asshole.”
“I know you’re there.”
“I wasn’t really hiding. Diesel sounded amused.
“I told you to stay behind,” I reminded him.
“I didn’t hear that.” He had no shame. “You’re being followed by the way. Do you know?”
“Yes, I know, you insufferable dick.”
“Just checking. Also, your wife needs to stop for a water break. You do remember she’s pregnant, right?”
“Come down so I can kick your ass.”
Rowen glanced at me. “Who are you talking to?” she asked me curiously.
“An asshole.” I came to a stop and handed her a water bottle. “Drink.”
She looked around. “So Diesel didn’t listen when you said no either?” Her eyes twinkled with amusement. “You run a really undisciplined pack.”
I could use my Will and make them all stay here, and I could go on ahead alone, quietly.
“Don’t even think about it,” Killian murmured beside me.
He gave me a knowing look, which made me wonder if this was why Lars had laughed uncontrollably when I told him who I was considering as my betas.
The old alpha told me to go with my heart.
I don’t know why he decided to lead me wrong there; I should have avoided my friends and gone with my head.
“You know you need us,” Diesel said cheerfully as he emerged through the trees.
“Are you mind readers now?” I snapped at them both.
“Just know you too well.” Killian said as he exchanged a look with Diesel with a sigh. “You had one job.”
“To protect the alpha’s mate, I know,” Diesel said easily, not the slightest bit bothered about his insubordination. “Cody’s in my place, he’s just as good.”
He wasn’t, but I wouldn’t shame him by saying it when more than my betas could hear.
“I really thought you’d stay,” Rowen murmured. All three of us looked at her in surprise, and she flushed. “So I’m naive and think, when an alpha gives an order, his betas listen.”
“Not naive,” Diesel told her with a grin. “Just mistaken.”
Diesel opted to scout ahead, and after Rowen had another swig of water, we set off again. We walked in silence, Killian alert to my right, Diesel in his wolf form ahead. I knew we were being shadowed, but I let them follow us. Let them see we were no threat.
Rowen tensed beside me, but she didn’t reach for my hand. She didn’t need to, not when the bond flared with her focus—steady, calm, calculating.
The presence I’d encountered at Stonefang lingered ahead. Not pushing. Not with ill intent, just watching. My muscles locked, the wolf in me pacing, restless and irritable. “How far to the Council border?” I asked.
“A few more hours,” Killian said.
“Too long,” I muttered. “Light fading, let’s get there before sunset.” I looked behind me at the shifters. “Shift, we run the rest.”
Three backpacks took our clothes, and then we shifted.
In our wolf form, we picked up the pace, pushing hard, none of us complaining.
Leaves whipped past us, wind tearing through the narrow pass as the forest thinned.
As we approached the outskirts of the land, where the Pack Council had pitched their chambers, we shifted back. Once we were dressed, I kept moving.
Killian fell into stride beside me. “They’ll have eyes on the road.”
“I’m hoping they do,” I said flatly.
He snorted. “Only you would say that.”
“They’re already watching; they’re not hiding.”
He hummed low, grudgingly agreeing.
We hit open ground—a wide strip of cracked earth leading toward the Council’s neutral zone. The scent markers were old but strong, the invisible line etched in magic so thin most wolves wouldn’t sense it. I did, and so did Diesel. The moment we crossed it, something shifted in the air.
It was as if a door had closed behind us. Not magic. Not a spell. Not even a seal closing us in. It felt more like intent. The Pack Council knew we were here.
Diesel had dropped back and changed back into his human form when we did, black jeans and nothing else.
“Don’t let anyone approach her,” I said, voice dropping into command. “Not another alpha, not even a messenger.”
Diesel nodded. “They won’t get close.”
“No, they won’t,” Killian growled. “To either of you.”
The Pack Council hall appeared in the distance—massive canvas tent, torches burning outside, banners with the crescent and claw symbol snapping in the wind.
It looked like a shrine. It felt like a trap.
Rowen stiffened beside me. “They’re already waiting?”
“They can wait,” I muttered. We slowed down just a little, enough to gather ourselves. Killian moved ahead, giving a short, sharp call to signal our presence. Formal. Not really necessary, but he wanted to warn them we weren’t sneaking or hiding.
I looked at Rowen. She lifted her chin, calm and composed, wolf shining in her eyes. My chest tightened with emotion. She was so beautiful.
Mine.
“You ready?” I asked.
“More than they are,” she said, her voice sure and confident.
A rough laugh broke out of me before I could stop it. “Infuriating woman.”
“Stubborn man.”
“Diesel?”
“With my life, Alpha.”
We advanced. The Pack Council’s guards emerged from the shadows, eight of them, all looking ready to cut us down where we stood.
Killian shot me a look. I didn’t slow down.
If they wanted a display, they’d get one.
I walked straight into their path, Rowen half a step behind me, my pack at my back, and not one part of me softened.
“Move.” My Will rode my voice. I was not their alpha, but I was still an alpha, and I wasn’t in the mood for posturing fucking sycophants.
The corridor to the main chamber smelled like I remembered. Dust, ink, and a sourness of something rotten. It put me in a foul mood immediately.
Killian walked half a step behind me. I didn’t need anyone in front of me when I walked in.
This wasn’t a ceremony. Our escort of six flanked us, spreading out behind Rowen in a protective arc, Diesel in step beside her.
I knew what it looked like. We were showing the Council that we weren’t here to bow.
I walked into the chamber, seeing it fuller than it should have been. Every conversation in the hall died.
Eight elders sat in a crescent on the raised dais, robes neat, expressions carved from stone. In front of them, lesser alphas and their betas filled the seating. They’d all turned when I entered.
All eyes on us.
On me.
On Rowen.
A ripple of whispers moved through the room—low, sharp, disbelieving. I felt Rowen tense, just once, under the scrutiny. My hand brushed hers. Barely. Just enough of the bond to steady us both.
“Alpha Wolfe of Stonefang,” a voice called from the dais. Alpha Deryn. I remembered him well. Self-important bastard. “You answered our summons. Good.”
Good. The word grated. I didn’t bow. Didn’t incline my head. Didn’t show a single gesture of deference. I simply stood there. Tall. Grounded. Unmoved. Let them choke on it.
Beside me, Rowen matched me posture for posture, chin up, eyes steady, the mate bond woven between us like a steel cable.
Several elders shifted, uncomfortable at the sight of her.
They hadn’t expected her to come, and I was suddenly grateful she’d fought me to stand here; her presence here unsettled them.