Which left the rest of us.
Griff, Nox, Eamon, and Bishop all stood by the exit of the room, ready to handle things if shit went sideways.
“Let’s begin,” I said.
The words carried and the room quieted down almost immediately.
A man near the front shifted in his chair. Captain Halden. He was gray at the temples, his left arm was in a sling, and his face was stitched up where a lycan had tried to take out his throat. He’d been Watch leadership long before I joined up myself. He stared at me like he was still deciding whether he was seeing a traitor or a miracle.
“You standing commander now?” Halden asked.
“I am,” I replied.
A harsh laugh came from someone behind him.
It was Commander Dane. He’d woken up sometime after the battle had ended and was none too pleased that I had taken command from him and led the Watch to victory without him.
“We’re just gonna let him stand there and pretend he’scommander now because he saved us from a pack of lycans?” Dane blurted out, his self-righteous anger clearly apparent.
Nox’s attention narrowed in on him. Bishop didn’t move at all, which somehow felt more threatening than any growl. Griff’s mouth tightened. Eamon just stood there and observed the room.
I didn’t rise to Dane’s bait.
“Call it what you want,” I said evenly. “But I’m the reason anyone in this room is still breathing.”
That earned a few murmurs, some resentful, some grudgingly grateful.
Dane leaned forward, eyes full of fury. “You’re also a wolf,” he spat, saying it like it was a dirty word.
The word landed in the middle of the room like a thrown knife.
For a moment, I let the silence hang. Let them sit with it. Then I took a deep breath and looked around the room.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m a wolf. If anyone has a problem with that, you can leave. Go to London or Ireland. I don’t care. Just go.”
A few hands drifted unconsciously toward sidearms on their hips. Another few stood and left. No one made any moves to stop them.
Halden raised his good hand. “Enough.” His gaze stayed on me as the room quieted again. “We did win the battle under your direction and we’re all grateful for that. The question we all have for you, Commander, is what do you intend to do now.”
I stepped closer to the center table, palms resting on its scarred surface.
“Now?” I echoed softly. “Now we work with the wolves.”
A woman near the back scoffed. Her name was Lieutenant Craven. She was young with angular features and eyes too bright with rage.
“So, what, we all hold hands with shifters and sing ‘Kumbaya’?” she snapped.
Bishop’s mouth twitched faintly, like he found that image amusing.
Griff didn’t.
I answered before either of them could. “No. We rebuild. We build something better,” I continued, voice calm. “We build a society that doesn’t start from fear. One that doesn’t throw people away because they were bitten. One that doesn’t make monsters by treating them like monsters.”
Dane barked a humorless laugh. “You’re talking about a fucking utopia.”
“Call it whatever you like,” I said. “But keep in mind, you’ve worked with me for years and had no idea I was a wolf.”
Eamon leaned forward slightly. His voice was calm, measured, the tone of a man used to consoling frightened people who didn’t know they were about to bleed out.
