I nod as Shane steps up behind me, and we go inside.
The huge wooden door creaks as it swings open, the hinges shrieking as if the steel hasn’t been oiled since thefounders’ days. I wince a little as Owen shoves the door. It slams shut, making all the locks and chains jingle.
I sweep my eyes around the foyer, the narrow stone staircase spiraling up to our right. I take in the thick, dark walls with bolted wooden shutters and the massive hooks on the backs of the door to hold barricades of heavy steel.
Were they afraid of being attacked? The place is a fortress.
I don’t have time to ponder as I follow Owen down the hallway to the left. The glow of the only torch fades behind us, and we walk into a darkness so complete, it’s almost like going blind.
And I should be able to see better than this. My eyes are going, and I can’t even feel my wolf in my soul.
As we turn a corner, a soft flicker of light appears, and we follow it to the room at the end of the hall. Torches are hung above the door, and several oil lamps give light around the wooden table in the middle of the room, illuminating the six elders sitting around it.
No electricity out here. The manor is still stuck in the dark ages.
As I leave the shadows of the hallway behind, it almost feels like they reach for me, and I have to fight the urge to jump away.
This place feels alive, and not in a good way.
“Rhys.” Faye Valentine gets up from the table and hurries over, her long skirts rustling as she takes my hands and kisses my cheek. “It’s so good to see you.”
“And you, Elder Valentine,” I answer.
She shakes her head with a fainttsk. “No need to stand on formalities with me, boy. I’ve known you since you were a screaming toddler.”
“But now you’re the elder, and I’m the alpha,” I say. “And this is an official occasion, isn’t it?”
“Not completely,” Rafe says, beckoning me over. “If it were, we’d have other prominent pack members here as well. There’s no need to be formal.”
I let Faye lead me to the table, and I sit down next to her, greeting the other elders. The six of them were chosen by vote in each pack—two elders per pack, making a shared council of six. Rafe and Valentine are the elders from Silver Valley, my pack.
No decision can be made without the full consensus of the council and the alphas, and the pack must abide by their decision.
“So, why are we here?” Owen asks, looking around the table. “Please tell me it’s not another meeting where we list what’s going wrong but don’t do shit about it.”
Sylvie, an elder from his pack, shakes her head. “No, Owen. We might have found something.”
“I’m not sure I agree with this,” Thorne, her partner, says.
“And you all know I side with Thorne,” Darla, from Kingsville, snaps. “We’ve been stuck out here for four days, and I would like to get the hell out of here rather than burrow around in this old castle looking for more moldy books.”
“I don’t mind moldy books,” Neville, the other Kingsville elder, replies. “I’m having a great time out here.”
Darla shoots him a nasty look, and he smiles pleasantly back at her.
The six elders were voted in by each pack, chosen by the majority. Not by each other, and it shows.
Faye sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Can we continue, please? It’s getting late, and I’m tired, as I’m sure all of you are.”
She blinks, rubbing her eyes, and I realize that she’s having trouble seeing in the poor light, just like I am. The idea of such a strong woman falling prey to this curse strikes fear right into my heart.
Until now, the elders were immune. Is that why they’ve been up here? Because the curse has now touched every single wolf in all three packs?
“Of course,” Rafe says, nodding. “Let’s get on with it. Boys, all of you have only been in your positions for about six months, and you’ve faced unique challenges within that time. This is the only reason why we haven’t made finding your mates a priority.”
A faint twist of anxiety pangs through me. Even though I knew the moment had to come, I haven’t been looking forward to it.
“We were appointed in a bit of a rush as well,” Shane adds. “Usually, we’d have some idea of marriage arrangements at the time of ascension, but it was all so sudden, there wasn’t even time for traditional ceremonies.”
