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I knew what the man was talking about. He seemed to have noticed how Miles had danced with her. If he only knew that the two of them couldn't stand each other and that Emely was perfectly capable of protecting herself, or that Miles wasn't some monster who would kill Emely.

Miles seemed okay, but these people didn't care about that. They only saw everything in black and white.

“That bastard seems to pick on members of the pack quite often, not just Emely,” the guy next to the Russian murmured darkly. He also had a slight Russian accent, and I assumed the two were related, as was the woman.

The young Russian looked at Emely. “If I see him near you again, I'll take care of him myself, I promise.”

Emely stared at him, and something in her gaze seemed to freeze.

“I can handle it. A Ruisangor shouldn't think I can't deal with his ridiculous threats on my own.” It sounded like Miles was seriously threatening her, which I had never noticed before. “Otherwise, I'll give in to my urge to tear him to pieces.”

That sentence sounded so honest, but in a way that almost made me grin.

Emely wiped her mouth with her napkin before continuing.

“But where would we be if we couldn’t control ourselves around humans?” She turned her gaze to the old Russian. “Or if we denied others an education at our university.” Finally, she glanced at her father, hesitating for a moment. “People would talk, authorities would intervene.”

She looked away hastily, rose from the table, and gave me a view of Mia, whom I hadn't seen in three weeks.

My heart skipped a beat.

Had she lost weight?

“If you'll excuse me.”

With these words, Emely left us, and everyone remained silent until the sound of her footsteps faded away on the floorboards.

As Alarik watched her leave, a hint of pride flickered across his face.

Nickolas's tension was the most palpable. He remained silent, even though I could tell he had a lot on his mind.

“Idealistic women's talk. That girl knows nothing about war or the danger these immortal mass murderers pose.”

I stared at the old Russian. His way of talking turned me off so much that I wanted to say something, but I preferred to stay alive a little longer.

He was a Senseque. If he wanted to, he could kill me. And this time, I had no doubt that this Senseque wouldn't spare me if I made a mistake.

Damn, I had stumbled from one minefield into another, and the only way out was to keep a low profile.

“Watch how you talk about her,” Alarik gritted out, his expression warning.

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and even my knees were shaking. On top of that, the Alpha was giving his brother a warning look.

“She's right. The authorities would never let that happen,” Nash remarked, and half the table looked at him in surprise.

I hadn't paid any attention to him until now because he was so incredibly calm. Unlike on campus. Was it perhaps the formal setting of this dinner or the people present? There was no one here he had to show off to. No Vivienna, no Miles, no Julian...

“Because those dirtbloods are working with them!” The silverware clattered onto the table and the Russian jumped up. “The DUIO is a threat to your power in this town!”

He left the table, followed by the young Russian, and with them, the uncomfortable tension disappeared.

The DUIO? Wasn't that the secret organization Miles had told us about?

“I'm sorry. My brother is sometimes a little... You know him...” Tania said, touching the Alpha apologetically on the shoulder.

Wait a minute. Did she just say her brother? God, poor woman. But that also meant that this man was Julian's uncle.

The urge to message Julian grew rapidly in my chest. However, another part of me wanted to spare him the drama, and yet another part knew that he wouldn't read any of my messages, let alone reply.