“A protégé.” Elena moved to the conference table, spread out documents I hadn't noticed before. Maps. Reports. Photographs of dead wolves that made my stomach turn. “Silas has been training someone. Someone who can work magic we can't trace, who's been undermining territories from the inside while he built his army.”
“We don't know who,” Marcus added, frustration bleeding through his control. “Could be a witch. Could be a corrupted wolf. Could be something else entirely. But they're good. They've been poisoning wards and feeding Silas information for years without anyone noticing.”
“You came here for help,” Elena said, and it wasn't a question. “For Council support against Silas.”
“I came here for answers. For resources. For anything that might help me protect my pack.” I met her eyes, let her seethe Head Alpha authority that had held the continent's wolves together for two decades. “And what I'm getting is blame.”
“You're getting truth.” Marcus's voice went cold. “The Council is broken, Daniel. We are the only ones left. No magical support beyond basic ward maintenance. No way to coordinate a defense against something this organized.”
“So what, we just let Silas pick off territories one by one until there's nothing left?”
“No.” Elena's hand slammed down on the table, making the photographs jump. “We do what we should have done a century ago. We finish it. We find Silas and we destroy him, along with everyone who's helped him. Including the protégé. Including whatever's left of his coven.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” I demanded. “You just said the Council is broken. That you don't have resources to fight this.”
“We don't.” Marcus turned back to the window, stared at the too-still forest. “But you do.”
“Hollow Pines sits on one of the oldest ward networks on the continent,” Elena said. “The Evernight Forest has power that other territories can only dream about. If Silas corrupts that completely, if he gets control of the heart?—”
“He'll have access to magic that could devastate every pack from here to Mexico.” I finished the sentence, because I'd already thought it. Already laid awake at night imagining what would happen if the wards failed completely. “I know.”
“Then you know what has to be done.” Marcus didn't turn from the window. “You're Head Alpha. You have authority over every pack on this continent. Use it.”
“Use it how?”
“Call a gathering.” Elena's voice went sharp. “Every Alpha, every Beta, every wolf who can hold a weapon. Bring them toEvernight. Make a stand against Silas on his own ground, with enough force to overwhelm whatever army he's built.”
“That's suicide.” I couldn't keep the disbelief out of my voice. “Pulling every wolf to one location. If Silas hits multiple territories while we're gathered?—”
“The territories are already falling.” Marcus finally turned, and I saw desperation underneath the rage in his eyes. “One by one, pack by pack. He's picking us off because we're scattered, because we can't coordinate, because we're too afraid of looking weak to admit we need help.” His voice cracked. “My pack is gone, Daniel. My mate. My wolves. Everyone I was supposed to protect. And I'm standing here asking you to do what I couldn't. To be the Head Alpha we need you to be.”
The grief in his voice was raw. Devastating. The kind of loss that left scars no amount of time could heal.
“I'm sorry.” The words felt inadequate. Pathetically small against the weight of everything he'd lost. “Marcus, I'm sorry for what happened to your pack. But calling a gathering now, when we don't know who the protégé is, when the corruption is still spreading?—”
“Then find the protégé.” Elena's voice cut through my protest. “You have a witch in your territory, don't you? Gideon Ward. He's been working the wards, fighting the corruption. Put him to use. Make him find whoever's feeding Silas information.”
“Gideon is doing everything he can?—”
“Is he?” Marcus stepped closer, and I could feel his wolf pressing against his skin. The challenge that wanted to become something physical. “Because it looks like someone's been playing you for a fool while wolves across the continent died for your pack’s sins.”
I felt my own wolf rise in response. The instinct to meet challenge with challenge, to prove dominance through bloodand pain. But I forced it down. Forced myself to stay human. To think instead of react.
“You want someone to blame.” I kept my voice level. “I understand that. When everything falls apart, when the people you love die, you need someone to point at and say 'this is their fault.' But blaming my pack for a witch's hundred-year revenge doesn't bring back the Alphas who died. Doesn't rebuild the territories that fell. Doesn't stop Silas from killing more wolves tomorrow.”
“Then what does?” Elena demanded.
“Information. Strategy. Cooperation instead of accusation.” I moved to the table, looked at the maps and reports she'd spread out. “Tell me everything you know about Silas's movements. About the attacks. About any patterns that might help us predict where he'll strike next.”
For a long moment, neither of them moved. The tension in the room pressed against my skin like physical weight, and I could feel them measuring me. Weighing whether I was worth trusting. Whether the Head Alpha who'd let this happen could also be the one to stop it.
“There's something else,” Marcus said finally. “About your pack. The humans you've entangled yourself with.”
I went very still.
“Your son's mate. Nate. Human turned druid, bound to a wolf through magic no one fully understands.” His eyes tracked my face, looking for weakness. “And now you're involved with his father. Another human. One who's developing powers that shouldn't exist.”
“That's none of the Council's business.”
