"Contain." Gideon spits the word. "You mean ignore. You mean hope she doesn't see anything she shouldn't while she wanders through our home taking notes."
"I mean manage the situation without starting a war we can't win."
Marek Wilco clears his throat. He's older than Gideon, quieter, with deep-set eyes and a patience that's earned him respect on the council. "What exactly did she document?"
"Tracks. Stride patterns. Nothing that proves anything beyond large predator activity."
"Large predator activity that doesn't match any known species." Ronan Webb crosses his arms, skepticism etched into every line of his weathered face. "How long before she starts asking questions we can't answer?"
"She's a scientist. She'll look for rational explanations first."
"And when she doesn't find them?" Gideon's voice rises. "When she sets up cameras and catches one of us mid-shift? When she follows tracks back to the compound and sees fifty wolves living in human houses?"
"That won't happen."
"You don't know that." He steps closer, close enough I can smell the aggression rolling off him. "You're gambling pack security on the hope that one human stays blind and stupid. That's not leadership. That's negligence."
Brynn's staff strikes stone. "Enough."
The clearing falls silent.
She moves forward, each step deliberate, her white braid swaying against her back. When she reaches me, her eyes—pale blue and unsettlingly sharp—hold mine without flinching.
"What is your plan, Alpha?"
"She'll be gone within days. Her investigation is focused on the attacks, not the land. Once she's mapped the corridors and filed her report, she'll move on to the next assignment."
"You're certain of this?"
"I am."
It's a lie. I have no idea how long Dr. Ellis plans to stay, no idea what she'll find if she keeps pushing into territory. But the alternative—telling the council the truth about what she is to me—isn't an option.
Brynn takes a moment to look me over, then nods slowly. "Days. Not weeks."
"Days."
"And if she's still here after?" Gideon cuts in. "If she decides the mystery is worth pursuing? What then?"
"Then I'll handle it."
"Handle it how?"
"However necessary."
The words taste like ash in my mouth. Gideon's eyes narrow, searching for the lie beneath them, but I keep my expression flat. Unreadable.
Lydia exchanges a glance with Ronan. "The rogue is still the larger threat. Three human kills, now livestock on our own land. Every day we spend arguing about one biologist is a day the real predator has to plan his next move."
"Agreed." Marek shifts his weight. "We should be organizing hunts, not debating jurisdiction."
"Hard to organize hunts when our Alpha won't commit to execution," Gideon says.
"I won't execute without confirmation. We still don't know who?—"
A howl cuts through the night.
Long, urgent, rising from the eastern ridge. It’s a patrol signal, a threat detected.
