Page 93

For shifters, attacking or killing others who’d hurt your pack was typically allowed, but the scale to which I was finding my revenge was a little out of the norm.

To be honest, I was almost waiting until the department had decided I’d crossed a line and would bring me in. I supposed now was that time.

“You guys go on ahead,” I said, lacing up my boots. “They want to talk to me, right?”

Elias cocked his head. “What? No, the Vampyric Council is here and they want to talk to all of us.”

The Vampyric Council? My hands balled into fists, and a growl resonated deep within my chest. As much as I was glad the Conclave was dead, they’d left a huge power vacuum in our society and now there was no one to speak on our behalf or deal with these kinds of threats in our place. “What do those fucking bloodsuckers want?”

Although it probably didn’t matter what they wanted, anyway, because whatIwanted was to shift into my wolf and tear their guts out with my teeth. And after everything they’d put Marlowe and the pack through, they certainly deserved it.

A small smirk grew on Elias’s face. “Well, first of all, it sounds like we may be the new interim Conclave. When Julian defeated Eamonin the Rite, the balance changed. We’re now the strongest pack.”

“Wait,” Julian said. “But Ezra’s the one who actually killed them.”

“Pack,” Elias reiterated. “Ezra’s a lone wolf. He may be the strongest alpha, but we’re the strongest pack. And the Conclave has to be a pack.

Archer’s mouth dropped open in shock, but as he considered the news, it shut and he nodded in understanding. “I hadn’t even considered that, but I suppose it makes sense. Huh.”

“Well, look at that,” I laughed. “I’m the new leader of the shifters, then.”

All that power, but it didn’t mean a Moon-damned thing because my omega was still gone.

“So, we can tell them to fuck off, then?” I asked.

“We probably shouldn’t,” Elias continued. “They want to talk about Ezra.”

Cops eyed me warily as Linda led us through the bullpen towards a large meeting room in the back of the police station, Julian keeping a low growl under his breath. I recognized a few from the Rite, alphas I hadn’t gotten to yet, and made sure to look directly at them so they knew they were still on my list.

I wasn’t going to let a single one of these fuckers go unpunished.

Elias and Linda whispered to each other heatedly, but she finally relented in whatever they were arguing about and opened the door for us. “We’ll let you meet alone but keep the blinds open. If things get ugly, I’m coming in, got it?”

I cracked my knuckles and smiled sweetly. “Sure thing.”

Six vampyrs sat on one side of a large table. Five were older, ages ranging from fifty to seventy if I had to guess, while a younger one closer to our age sat at the end, scrolling through his phone. He reminded me a bit of Marlowe’s ex-fiance, with his pale skin and dark hair. His vampyric violet eyes flickered briefly towards us as we entered.

Elias bared his teeth at the youngest of the elders. “You!he snarled. “How dare you think you can show your face here after what you did.”

My hackles raised, and we all squared our shoulders towardsthe vamp Elias was pointing at. “This the one who attacked Marlowe?” I asked.

Things were definitely going to get ugly.

I locked the door and readied myself to leap across the table when the youngest vamp yawned, finally putting his phone down and crossing his arms. “Please go ahead and kill him, you’ll be doing me a huge favor.”

The elder whipped his head towards him and hissed. “Keep your mouth shut.”

The oldest one cleared his throat, holding out his hands in what appeared to be a practiced move to keep those two separated. “We have many apologies to unfortunately give today, starting with the attack on your pack a few weeks ago. The vampyr who requested our assistance had a tenuous claim on your omega, and we should have followed our initial instinct to deny his request. He was able to sway us with proof of her scent, I’m afraid, which is, I’m sure you’re aware, deliciously potent and…”

I placed my fists on the table and leaned forward. “Say one more word about her scent, I dare you…”

The vampyr who had attacked Marlowe sighed. “Let’s speak plainly. We don’t want to be here, but you’ve ignored our calls, so we decided to get this done in person.”

He slid us a piece of paper and tapped it. “I trust you all are already familiar with this particular prophecy, are you not?”

Elias grabbed it, skimming it over quickly and then nodding. He passed it to me next.

In the age of twilight, when the veil between realms grows thin…