52. Falling deeper in love
The meeting stretches for hours. Three. Maybe four.
I watch him address the council.The way he stands—shoulders back, hands loose at his sides.
He exudes confidence, trust, true leadership.
His voice is calm, reassuring whenever there's a question. He never reacts—loud, annoyed, or strange. He lets them speak, answers, then always asks if that clears it up or if there's anything else they didn't understand.
I can feel the immense respect his pack has for him. They all observe him with admiration in their eyes, with love. They all address him as Leader, but they never sound scared of him or frightened.
It's interesting, seeing him in this role.
His role. Or, to be more precise, his whole life.
I never got to witness the first council meeting, so I'm extra focused on taking everything in.
I can tell the other wolves are still glancing at me from time to time but I keep my gaze forward, resisting the urge to shrink under their stares.
Given their devotion to their leader, it must come as even more of a shock that he mated with just ahuman.
The enemy.And yet, not a single one of them has laid a hand on me.
They questioned him once, just once, and when he gave his answer, that was it.
No arguments, no whispers behind his back.
Just acceptance.
That kind of loyalty isn't something you see every day.
Almost against my will, my eyes find him again.
He's not even looking at me, but something about the way he is with them draws me in even further.
The gentle hand on a shoulder, the softness in his eyes when he looks at his pack.
His family.I have to look away before he notices. My chest feels tight.
What would it be like, to truly belong to something like this? To have people who would follow you into the dark without question, not out of fear, but out of love?
I swallow hard and involuntarily remember the injured wild wolf in the underground hideout in the woods.That reminds me, I need to ask Mera later how things went with him.
He didn't have any of this. He had no pack, no family. Just himself.
A little like me, I suppose.
Before you met him, a voice whispers in my head.
As if he heard my thoughts, his gaze shifts to me. Just for a second. The corner of his mouth lifts, barely there, and he gives me the smallest nod. Like a quiet I see you. I'm here.
Something loosens in my chest, something I didn't even know I was holding. I feel my own lips curve in response before I can stop them.
Then he turns back to the council like nothing happened, and I'm left with this warmth blooming in my chest, soft and stubborn all at once.
I try to focus again on the meeting. Memorizing the way it flows. When they rise, when they interrupt, which gestures mean respect and which mean question.
Every now and then his head turns to me for just a short moment, his eyes sweeping over me, quick but thorough, almost like he needs to check if I'm still in the same spot.
Then he's back to the council, continuing to answer questions.
I don't think I'm the only one who notices, because the third time it happens, I hear Mera audibly let out a snort, mumbling something like "never thought this day would come."
At some point I lose track of the conversation.
The arguments about border security blur into the heated debate about whether to contact other packs for an alliance, or the central authority.
Established post-Total Chaos, the Central Authority operates under equal representation: twenty-three wolves, twenty-three humans, united to uphold justice.
I remember reading the words in my communication application test.
My mind drifts, and that's when I feel it. Something pulsing in my veins. Slightly painful and uncomfortable, coming through our bond.
His exhaustion pressing against me, making it even harder to follow the meeting.
"He needs to stop," I murmur to Mera and reach out with one arm to pull her closer, trying not to attract too much attention.
"He's in pain." I tell her.
Mera leans in and whispers something so quietly I don't catch a single word.
I give her a look. "Mera. Human-volume hearing, please."
She rolls her eyes but there's a smile tugging at her lips. "I said," she repeats, barely louder, "he's stubborn. Always has been. He won't stop until he collapses, and even then he'd probably try to keep talking."
She leans in closer and whispers in my ear. "Believe me, I've tried to tell him. He needs sleep. Real sleep. Several hours, uninterrupted."
I ignore her raised eyebrows.
"But they've been going in circles for the last hour."
"Yeah. They need to feel heard. I predicted this would happen, but your mate has a long history of being an idiot when it comes to taking care of himself." She sighs. "He needs someone to stop him. But no wolf in here is going to interrupt the Leader in a council meeting. That's just not done."
"Oh," I say, growing slightly impatient as I watch him talk through the discomfort I can clearly feel in my own bones.
I wait a few seconds, but at some point I just get frustrated.
"Isn't it a pack's responsibility to look after each other?" I say to Mera, not even remotely able to cover up my rising annoyance.
"Difficult with the Leader. But I only said no wolf in here could do that, Communicator." She pauses."You're his mate. You're allowed to take care of him. He might even let you."
I frown. "Right," I say immediately.
"So?" Mera asks, and when I turn my head to face her, I can see a small smile playing on her lips.
"What are you waiting for?" She glances at me, then at him.
I turn back toward the center of the room. He's standing there now, speaking with a council member—an older wolf with gray streaking through his hair. The man's shoulders shake, and even from here I can see the tears running down his face.
He holds his hand tightly, steadily, and when the man falls forward into his arms, he catches him without hesitation. He holds him there for a long moment, one hand on the back of his head, before gently guiding him back to his seat.
The man sits down. Wipes his face. Nods once.
His voice remains steady as he moves on, but I notice the tension locked in his shoulders. The way he rolls them back, just slightly. The way his jaw stays tight even when his tone stays soft.
My feet feel heavy, and my heart beats even faster as I move toward him.
The chamber falls quiet as I walk toward the center.
He turns when I approach, a question forming on his face.
I stop in front of him.
"You need to stop," I whisper.
His expression doesn't change. "Why?"
I narrow my eyes slightly.
He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm fine."
"You're not."
"Communicator—"
"Your head is killing you. You're exhausted. And you've been standing here for four hours answering the same questions in different words."I'm practically hissing now.
"You need to rest."
He blinks. Once. Twice.
Someone behind me snorts.
I freeze. Right. Wolf hearing. Every single person in this chamber heard every word I just said.
Heat floods my cheeks. He sees it—of course he sees it—and something flickers in his gaze. Amusement, barely contained.
"Perhaps," a woman in red says dryly, "the Communicator is unaware that interrupting the Leader in council is not done."
The silence that follows is deafening. Every wolf in the room turning very still.
I turn back to him. His amusement has faded into something else. Surprise, maybe.
"When did you last eat?" I ask, not bothering to whisper anymore. What's the point?
He doesn't answer.
"That's what I thought.The Council can continue tomorrow. You can't run yourself into the ground and expect to be useful to anyone."
"Communicator—"
"A Leader who collapses from exhaustion isn't protecting anyone." I hold his gaze.
Someone in the crowd whispers something. Someone else actually laughs—a real laugh this time, not hidden.
He stares at me for a long moment. I stare back.
He shakes his head slowly, something shifting in his expression. Not defeat. More like, well... love?
"The meeting continues tomorrow," he says, raising his voice to address the room. "We'll reconvene at dawn."
No protests.
"The Council is dismissed."His hand finds mine. Warm. Steady. Without another word, he turns and walks toward the chamber exit.
I follow, my fingers laced through his. I can feel the stares burning into my back. But this time, they don't feel hostile. Some of them almost feel... grateful.
Like they've been waiting for someone to say what needed to be said.
All except one.
I glance back, just once. The woman in red is watching us. Arms crossed. Expression cold. She doesn't nod. Doesn't move. Just watches.
I turn away and keep walking.