Page 17 of When Two Worlds Collide (Fated Mates, Stubborn Hearts #1)

ZANE

T he pre-dawn message arrives with an urgent scout—another breach from the untamed lands. I examine the hastily scrawled note in the dim tent light while the scout, a young female wolf named Tala, waits for my response.

“How far east?” I ask, studying the rough map she’s presented.

“Three days’ run, Alpha. Ridge Stormcrow’s clan has taken the entire Silvermine Valley.”

The area she indicates lies beyond our territory, yet I experience a chill of concern. Silvermine Valley houses one of the largest settlement outposts in the eastern region.

“Casualties?”

Tala hesitates. “Forty-three settlers confirmed dead. Survivors fled to Haven’s Heart council.”

A shocking number. Bold, even for Stormcrow. The bear clan always exhibited more aggression than my pack, but this crossed from territorial claim to war declaration.

“Any direct contact with Stormcrow’s people? ”

“No, Alpha. But rumors circulate...” She shifts uncomfortably.

“Speak freely.”

“Other clans emerge too. Frost Lynx from the north. Red Claw coyotes from the western desert. The ancient barriers fail everywhere.”

I dismiss her with instructions to rest before joining morning patrols.

Alone, I absorb this new reality. My discussion with Ember about mating rituals seems insignificant now amid this escalation.

Additional wild clans mean expanding conflicts, increasing violence, and mounting pressure from the council to contain us all.

I should have anticipated this development. The ancestral domains stretch vast, housing numerous clans far less interested in negotiation than Shadow Wolves. We represent moderates among wild shifters. Stormcrow’s bears... they operate by different rules entirely.

Marcus enters without announcement, a beta’s privilege. “You heard?”

“Yes.”

“The pack must know.”

“They will. At dawn council.”

He paces my tent’s length. “This changes everything. We should contact emerging clans. Form alliances.”

I raise an eyebrow. “With Stormcrow? The bear who eats cubs rather than conversing?”

Marcus stops pacing. “Not him specifically. But the others—the Lynx, the Red Claws. Wild clans should unite against Haven’s Heart’s domesticated pets.”

“What about our ongoing negotiations with those ‘pets’?”

“What negotiations? They progress nowhere. The fire panther distracts you from our purpose—reclaiming ancestral lands.”

I speak with dangerous intensity. “Careful, Marcus. Your loyalty remains unquestioned, but you approach challenging my authority.”

He immediately lowers his gaze. “I meant no disrespect, Alpha. I worry about survival. Those modernized shifters will unite against us now, seeing no distinction between Shadow Wolves and Stormcrow’s bears.”

He speaks the truth, though I dislike admitting it. The council will view all wild clans as threats after Stormcrow’s slaughter. The distinction I’ve established during negotiations—between legitimate territorial claims and savage aggression—will dissolve in panic.

“Double border patrols,” I instruct. “Have Lena and Kai track the bear clan movements. I need information if Stormcrow turns toward us.”

“And Ember Steelclaw? The negotiations?”

Hearing her name creates an unwelcome sensation. “Continue as planned. For now.”

Marcus clearly disapproves but indicates agreement. “Dawn council in one hour.”

After his departure, I observe from the tent entrance as my pack awakens. Cubs tumble from family tents, mothers call them for breakfast, while hunters prepare weapons. This morning routine might vanish if Haven’s Heart decides all wild shifters require elimination.

Thoughts of Ember and our mating bond discussion return. If clan violence spreads, any possibility of reconciling our worlds—already minimal—will completely disappear.

The Haven’s Heart emergency council chamber irritates me with its polished stone and glittering chandeliers—pure displays of wealth and permanence. I attend to answer for crimes I never committed, facing accusations from people who rarely venture beyond their walled city.

Four shifter guards escort me, poorly concealing their unease. My size intimidates them naturally, but I’ve also refused to surrender weapons. No wolf would enter hostile territory defenseless.

Silence falls across the chamber upon my entrance. Twelve representatives form a semicircle on raised platforms—shifters, vampires, and two dragons in human form. I recognize Kade Steelclaw’s fire-bright hair among them.

And Ember, positioned slightly apart, maintains her professional neutrality as a fragile facade. Our gazes connect briefly before she looks elsewhere.

“Alpha Blackthorn.” A pale-haired vampire addresses me. “I am Councilor Elias, representing the Vampire-Dragon Alliance. We’ve summoned you regarding wild shifter aggression in eastern territories.”

“I’m aware of Stormcrow’s actions,” I reply. “My pack bears no responsibility.”

“Yet you emerge from identical ancestral domains,” a dragon councilor notes. His human disguise fails to mask reptilian features. “How do we verify you aren’t coordinating attacks?”

I nearly snarl. “Because Stormcrow would sooner devour me than ally with me. His bears consider all clans inferior.”

“Convenient,” the dragon mutters.

Kade Steelclaw stands. “Alpha Blackthorn’s pack maintains the negotiation framework Ambassador Steelclaw established. No evidence connects Shadow Wolves to the bear clan massacre.”

Elias taps long fingers against the table. “Perhaps. However, wild shifter clans emerge throughout our territories, bringing violence and chaos. The Alliance cannot permit this continuation.”

“Permit?” I repeat dangerously. “You speak as rulers of these lands.”

“We maintain order,” Elias corrects. “Order your kind threatens.”

“My ‘kind’ inhabited these regions for centuries before your barriers forced us into seclusion,” I remind him. “We simply reclaim what belonged to us.”

The council erupts with objections. I remain unmoved by their outrage until Ember steps forward.

“Historical documentation supports Alpha Blackthorn’s claim to specific northern territories,” she states clearly. “But today we address a more immediate concern—the bear clan and potential wider conflict.”

Elias regains control of the meeting. “Indeed. The Alliance has determined a unified response to wild shifter emergence. We establish containment perimeters around all territories affected by barrier breaches. Any wild clan refusing to return to ancestral domains within seven days faces forcible removal.”

I experience dread. “The barriers collapse. Return proves impossible.”

“Not our concern,” the dragon councilor dismisses. “Find alternative locations. These settled lands remain off-limits to wild clans.”

“You declare war,” I state flatly.

“We establish boundaries,” Elias corrects. “Ambassador Steelclaw’s negotiations with your pack represented courtesy, not right. That courtesy expired with Stormcrow’s massacre.”

I look toward Ember, whose face reveals nothing. Only the subtle flare of her nostrils betrays anger, directed not at me, but the council.

“The Shadow Wolf pack possesses a legitimate historical claim to portions of the northern forest,” she states firmly. “Forcing them out after achieving diplomatic progress violates Haven’s Heart’s principles of fair negotiation.”

“Principles sometimes yield to practicality, Ambassador,” Elias replies smoothly. “Single negotiations cannot supersede regional security.”

I’ve heard sufficient evidence of their intentions. “And if we reject ‘containment’?”

Elias smiles without warmth. “Alliance forces will respond accordingly.”

Threat delivered, the council begins debating specific measures as if I no longer exist. Only Ember and Kade continue advocating diplomatic solutions, clearly outnumbered.

I depart, refusing to listen while these people plan my pack’s destruction. A guard attempts to block my path but scrambles aside after meeting my gaze.

“Alpha Blackthorn.” Ember’s voice halts me at the doorway. She follows, ignoring disapproving council members. “This isn’t finished.”

“It appears concluded,” I reply quietly. “Your council decided.”

“They haven’t heard from all of the wild clans. If we present a unified, peaceful alternative?—”

“Peaceful? With Stormcrow killing settlers? With other clans emerging? No peaceful solution exists, Ember. Your people made their position clear. ”

She moves closer, speaking softly. “Seven days. Give me seven days to find another approach.”

Her proximity awakens the mating bond between us, unwanted yet undeniable.

“What approach?” I ask. “Your council stated their position.”

“Trust me,” she pleads. “Meet me at the northern border tonight. I’ll bring new information.”

Trusting a civilized shifter contradicts everything I’ve known. Yet observing her—determined, fierce despite her formal exterior—I find myself agreeing.

“Northern border. Midnight.”

She steps backward, resuming professional demeanor as council members exit the chamber. “Thank you for your cooperation, Alpha Blackthorn. Haven’s Heart appreciates your understanding.”

I maintain the charade. “Ambassador.”

The pack council fire illuminates the tense faces of my wolves. Having shared the Alliance ultimatum, I observe exactly the reaction I anticipated—fury, fear, defiance.

“They can’t drive us out!” young Darin snarls. “This territory belongs to us!”

“We should unite with other wild clans,” another wolf suggests. “Even Stormcrow’s bears. Together, we could resist them.”

Marcus indicates agreement. “I’ve already sent scouts to contact the Frost Lynx. They seem reasonable, for cats. Combined with the Red Claws, we’d create formidable opposition.”

I allow them to express anger before signaling for silence. “The Alliance’s military strength exceeds ours. Even united with other clans, open warfare would produce massive casualties for both sides.”

“So we surrender?” Lora asks incredulously.

“No. We prepare for all possibilities.”