“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, and the lie was so obvious I almost laughed. “We’ve got confirmation. The Council is sticking to the ritual. No exceptions. No substitutions. Dominic has to face Menace in the flesh. No seconds, no magic, no weapons, but their own teeth and claws.”
“They’ll still try something,” I said. “They always do.”
Rafe held up a hand, calm and deliberate. “There’ll be an army of witnesses. Vampires, witches, even a few demons and angels. They want this clean. They want it legendary.”
Juliet arched an eyebrow. “Demons?”
Rafe smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Even the underworld likes a good underdog story.”
Bronc leaned forward, elbows on the table. “I know you’re scared. I know you think this is a death sentence. But I need you to hold it together, Savannah. Bridger’s counting on you. If he thinks you’ve given up, he will.”
I tried to match his intensity, but my hands shook harder. “I believe in Menace one hundred percent. If it’s a clean fight, nobody can beat him. It’s hard to think they’ll keep it honest. I don’t know what to do about it.”
Juliet’s grip tightened. “You sit here, and you wait. And when the time comes, you stand in the front row and you let him see you’re not afraid.”
Lucia bared her fangs in a grin. “And if anyone tries to break rules, we break them first.”
The table went quiet for a minute; the tension settling over us like a blanket of lead.
It was strange, the way council headquarters could shift shape depending on who occupied it. By the time Bronc, Rafe, and Menace herded the rest of us into the strategy room on the seventh floor, the air already felt different—charged, tense, almost military. The table was covered with maps and dossiers and a tray of untouched sandwiches, as if the entire fate of our lives could be solved with a working lunch. The room was windowless, but thewalls, thick as the hull of a submarine, muted the world outside into a faint, reassuring hum.
Menace stood behind my chair, one palm flat on my shoulder, the heat of him radiating through the fine mesh of my dress. He didn’t say anything at first, just squeezed once, a signal that stated I’m here, don’t drift. Juliet sat on my left, scrolling on a tablet and muttering to herself. On my right, Lucia traced the rim of a wineglass with her finger, looking bored out of her mind until her eyes landed on my mate.
King Rafe held court at the head of the table, a roll of butcher paper unfurled before him and a red marker already uncapped. He drew a rough circle, then a line connecting it to a smaller X. “This is where the challenge will happen,” he said, voice calm and deep. “Dominic’s estate, Naperville, Illinois. Private grounds, but the Council’s secured the perimeter and brought in their own security. They’ve also agreed to a fifteen-foot neutral zone—no one in, no one out, not even medical, until the fight ends.”
Juliet scrolled, then stopped. “What about Council interference? Or third-party actors?” She didn’t look up from her screen.
Bronc, looming behind Rafe, shrugged. “There’ll be enough witches and demons to keep even Declan from stacking the deck. And Kozlov’s people will be there too.”
That’s when I noticed him: Kazimir Kozlov, standing in the corner like a negative of a man, skin pale as rice paper, eyes black as a vacuum. He smiled at me, just a little, and inclined his head. Next to me, Lucia rolled her eyes. “Father is here for moral support, not to start war. But if war happens, we are ready.”
Menace’s grip on my shoulder tightened. “What’s the plan for travel?” His voice was even, but I could hear the coil of energy underneath it.
Rafe pointed to the map. “Tonight, we leave Chicago. It’s only 33 miles from Council headquarters to Dominic’s estate in Naperville. I’ve ordered my Sikororsky S-92 helicopter to take us to the property I’ve rented for us. The copter seats 12. I believeBronc has his team flying to Birmingham to pick up the Iron Valor Jet to bring it to O’Hare?”
“Arsenal, Doc, Wrecker, and Big Papa are already en route,” Bronc said, looking at me, not Menace. “We also have a group of other Iron Valor pack members en route to O’Hare. Menace is not going into this battle alone.” He then turned to Rafe. “Sir, I believe you’ll have SUVs arranged to pick them up when they arrive?”
“Absolutely. They know their assignments.” Rafe’s reply was exacting and sure. These men were like a well-oiled machine.
I felt Menace exhale, the knot in his shoulders loosening by a millimeter. “And after the fight?”
Rafe hesitated. “If you win, you’re king of the Midwest territory even before a coronation, since challenge won the crown. And that’s a whole new ball of wax. Declan will be incensed at having lost. I don’t know how the Midwest packs will take it.”
Kazimir spoke next. “You must obtain fealty from all pack Alphas immediately. None would dare challenge you.”
“If you lose, Savannah gets safe passage to wherever she wants. That’s my guarantee.”
Lucia’s eyes snapped to mine. “He won’t lose,” she said, her tone not entirely reassuring.
“Declanwilltry to cheat,” I said. My voice didn’t shake. “He doesn’t know any other way.”
Kazimir spoke again, this time directly to me, voice low and elegant. “My daughter tells me your mate is worth a thousand King Dominics. We will provide additional security. Discreet but effective.” He eyed Menace. “You have my word as vampire sovereign of the East.”
Menace nodded, solemn. “Thank you.”
Rafe drew another circle on the map, this one farther out. “Once we’re on the property, everyone sticks together. Council’s put us all in the same wing—no splitting up, no wandering. Challenge is at dusk on Wednesday. Basically gives us two days.”
Juliet flicked her eyes up from the tablet. “And you’resureDominic will play it straight?”
