No. Instead, Augustine is here—apparently, he has taken it upon himself to approach the Council directly—and that means so are the wolves, and so is Vasile.
He gives me a tight smile when I arrive, one that I do not return. Afsaneh is with me, at my own request, and the other chieftains have gathered at the clan house, waiting for our return in a few hours.
The tables in the Council meeting room are set in a horseshoe, the current Council members sitting around them. Alwynn is in the centre, and she stands when Afsaneh and I walk inside, inclining her head in greeting. “Crai. Chieftain.”
Deacon and Kieran are already in here. Vasile waits in the corridor, and I do not know if that is at Alwynn’s insistence or his own.
And, finally, there is Augustine. He looks worse than the last time I saw him, somehow more drawn. He gives me a hateful glare, and I stare mildly back.
It did not have to come to this.
“Now that we are all here,” Alwynn says, taking her seat again, “we can begin.”
She has not offered us anywhere to sit. Deacon and Kieran stand to Augustine’s left. Afsaneh and I are to Augustine’s right.
“We have had a petition from this vampire, Augustine Halbrook, which concerns one of the wolves in Alpha Kieran’s clan, Quinn Murphy. Mr Halbrook’s accusation is that Mr Murphy killed his partner.”
“It is not anaccusation,” Augustine snarls. “He did it.”
“Indeed,” Alwynn says, raising both eyebrows and staring at Augustine until his hackles go back down. “Mr Murphy testified as such when the Council questioned him about it in January. The question is not about his guilt. We have convened today to talk about the justice Mr Halbrook believes he is owed.”
“Owed?” Deacon asks.
“We are in a tricky situation, alpha,” Alwynn says. “At the time of the attack, Mr Murphy was not subject to our rules in London and was not under the protection of your pack.”
“But he is now,” Kieran snaps. I’m honestly surprised he’s managed to hold out for this long.
“That is correct, alpha,” Alwynn replies. She is remarkably calm. Deacon is more restrained than Kieran, of course, butI suspect it may not take even him long to lose his temper. “Augustine is willing to face Quinn in a challenge, the way wolf packs do. It would, of course, not be to the death. I have made it clear that is not an acceptable outcome and if it were to look as though the situation was headed that way, we would intervene.”
Augustine nods. He never takes his eyes off Alwynn. He is acting as though Deacon and Kieran are not there at all.
Deacon and Kieran, who are having a silent conversation now, neither of them pleased about this development. I understand. I don’t trust that Augustine doesn’t have anything else up his sleeve. He’ll try to kill Quinn the first chance he gets. He doesn’t care that much for the consequences, I imagine.
“I’ll take his place,” Kieran says. Apparently, whatever argument he and Deacon just had, he won.
“No,” Augustine snarls. “Youdidn’t kill him.”
“I’m Quinn’s alpha. I have that right. He’s in no condition to fight you, anyway.”
“After six months?” Augustine shakes his head, now turning to look at Kieran, clearly irritated. “What kind of pack are you leading that he can’t defend himself after half a year? Even that vampire had better control over them than you. Under his leadership, the wolf killed a vampire centuries older than either of you.”
Kieran looks like he might attack Augustine here and now, but Deacon shakes his head, stepping forward. “Alpha Kieran is correct,” he says. “Quinn is in no condition to fight a vampire right now. That and he’s too young. Even under these circumstances, within our packs, we would seek a different solution. One optionwouldbe to have someone take the accused’s place in the challenge.”
Augustine opens his mouth, but Alwynn gets to her feet in a rush. “That’s enough. Mr Murphy is over the age of eighteen, and even by your standards,” she says, looking at Deacon, “he wouldbe considered a full adult. Unless taking part in this challenge would certainly kill him, he has a responsibility to answer the call and you, alpha, have a responsibility to take measures to ensure our city’s treaty remains intact.”
“You are overstepping,” Deacon growls.
Alwynn doesn’t even flinch. “I am not. We all learnt a lot six months ago, but that means nothing if we do not carry those lessons through. One of those lessons is that we need to deal with the consequences of our actions, lest we have another Tamesis rise amongst us and destroy us.”
“You are sacrificing one ofmywolves for this—”
“I apologise if he ends up injured, Alpha Deacon, but the challenges are the wolves’ way of handling the situation.”
“Don’t you turn this back on us! We didn’t—”
“We need a different solution,” I say, loudly enough that it seems to shock Alwynn and Deacon out of the argument they’re having.
Augustine turns on me faster than either of them. “Youtraitor,” he snarls. “I came to this Council because you are no leader of vampires. You should not even get tospeak.”
