Fated to the Warrior Wolf (The Hunted Omegas #3)

19. Leigh

NINETEEN

Leigh

T he council building was overwhelmingly ornate. I’d thought the pack castle was intimidating—and it was, don’t get me wrong—but the council building towered overhead, ornate carvings on top of swirling columns, and gold gilt as far as the eye could see. It was a blatant display of wealth and power everywhere you looked. Larger-than-life marble statues lined the long entryway, and many different magical cultures were represented in the oil paintings on the ceiling as well as in the statues. Vampires, shifted cats, goblins, pixies, fae… Pretty much every magical species but wolves loomed over us as we walked over the thickly woven runner toward the council chamber. There was even a dragon, and those hadn’t been seen in centuries.

Shay held one of my hands, and Olivia’s shoulder brushed mine on the other side as we trailed Kane and Brielle, who led the pack down the hallway. We’d been greeted by a very anxious-looking secretary in a navy skirt suit—Karina, as Lucien had introduced her with a salacious grin.

She nodded hello but kept her distance as she led us down to the heavy double doors. She stopped and spun toward us at the last second, and I got a whiff of her.

Lesser Fae .

I cocked an eyebrow at Shay, but she didn’t react to the other fae’s presence. I wondered idly if the other fae would be able to tell Shay how to handle the shock thing she had going on, but we didn’t have time to ask.

“If anyone asks, you lot just showed up,” Karina said with a grimace and then tugged on the massive, carven door. It flung open with surprising ease, betraying her outsized strength.

“Councilman Fortier, I’ve got some supplicants who wish to speak with the council,” she announced as the room fell silent. She bowed respectfully toward each side of the long table on the platform at the front of the grandiose room.

Fortier sat at the center of them all, looking sternly down his nose at us. Similarly disgruntled looks adorned every face as I glanced around, a few of them outright hostile. There were placards in front of each member, stating their names, but not which species’ seat they held.

Councilwoman Rubix stank like death, so I could tell what she was right away, if the curled upper lip and ghostly pale skin wouldn’t have told me immediately. Vampire, I noted with disgust.

Fortier had to be a centaur, because traditionally, they held the lead council position given their notorious wisdom. From this position I couldn’t see his lower half to confirm, only the broad line of his human shoulders underneath his suit jacket.

One of them had to be fae, and Shay was in the middle of a staring contest with one named Aliz, so I made an educated guess that that was him.

Councilman Lug had a strong greenish tint to his skin, and close-cropped black hair with long, pointed ears sticking out, so it was safe to say he had the goblin seat. The rest looked human on the surface, though, so it was hard to say at this distance what their alternate forms were.

“To what do we owe this interruption, Alpha?” Fortier stared down at Kane, and even I bristled at the insult. Gael stood at his left shoulder, looking positively murderous.

Damn, it shouldn’t be so hot to watch him glower, but I could feel the power rolling off him from here and had to resist the urge to whimper as my panties got soaked. He was all alpha, and I was a ridiculous hussy for getting turned on in this situation.

Granted, I was still half reeling from that moment, back in his room. Our eyes had locked, and I’d felt something indescribable surge in the air between us. Ever since, I’d been off-kilter, feeling drawn toward him like a magnet.

It was rather inconvenient when I was trying to keep him at arm’s length so we could focus on parenting.

“An urgent matter has come to my attention, and I need the council’s help in resolving it,” Kane said, smoothly pulling them onto the same team, even though there was no way in hell they were going to like the ultimate ask.

Bri had filled me in on the way over that they’d all agreed the best plan was to start small, building rapport before going for the throat—no more Omega Defense League.

I was glad they were able to keep cool heads about it, because I felt like the human version of a ticking time bomb, knowing that I was carrying an omega baby. It was the reaper’s axe that loomed over every wolf family, but it was different for me.

Most mothers didn’t know in advance. They just hoped and prayed to the Goddess that it wouldn’t be them who fell afoul of the ODL. But I knew.

I had nearly eight months until the fuse ran out.

Five, I amended. I’d given Gael five months to work this out with Kane before I spoke to Kari about other solutions .

“We’re always willing to hear from supplicants,” Councilwoman Rubix interjected, her ruby-red lips parting over sharp, pointy fangs in a vicious rictus of a smile. “But you can make an appointment and wait like every other supplicant.”

Kane held her stare, and I sucked in a sharp breath when I felt his dominance start to billow out. I swayed on my feet as I tried to hold it together, but it was so satisfying to watch it hit each member of the council one after the other, some of them swaying, others bracing against the table, and at least half beginning to sweat under the force of his alpha power. All except Fortier, the centaur.

I could hear his hooved feet shuffle behind the table, but otherwise, there was no outward sign that he felt the power roiling off our alpha like steam off a pot about to boil over.

“Normally, I would do exactly that. But I cannot, in good conscience, as high alpha, stand aside while my people are harassed. And it has come to my attention that the infraction at our great pack gathering—which was perpetrated by the ODL based on a completely bogus report—was only the tip of the iceberg, and a full-out assault was recently committed against the Kodiak clan who are our neighbors.”

“Ah.” Fortier cleared his throat. “We understand the strain that the ODL puts on your kind, Alpha?—”

“ High Alpha,” Reed corrected from Kane’s side.

“Yes, pardon me. High Alpha.” The corner of his mouth twitched at the correction, but he was so smooth, there was no other sign to tell what he was thinking. “But the Omega Defense League serves an important role in protecting all magical species, and after the omega wars, surely you understand that the safety of all must come first.”

“Was it safety for the Kodiaks, when magical bombs were used on their ancestral home? And was it safe for our pregnant she-wolf who went into early labor as a result of the stress of the ODL’s unwarranted harassment? ”

“Harassment! Please,” Councilman Aileron interrupted, fury evident on his features. “The pixies were nearly wiped from the face of the Earth by the last omega allowed to run loose. Our population numbers are still recovering centuries later, so you’ll excuse me if I don’t give a fuck about your feelings.”

I could see the muscles twitching in Gael’s jaw from here, and I understood the frustration. These people were living in the past, and willing to kill our children to keep it from repeating itself.

The irony was, now we were the ones dwindling away to nothing under their thumbs, but nobody seemed to care.

“I understand your feelings well, Councilman Aileron,” Kane said gravely. “My own people’s numbers have struggled ever since the Omega Purge, as omegas played a crucial part in our species’ strength and vitality. Without their magic, more of our females die in childbirth than ever died in the wars. And I think it’s worth saying that the majority of omegas have been peaceful, helpful females who supported their packs quietly and without incident. None but Narcissa was ever known to have powers of war, and the children are killed now by the ODL before any testing can be completed to discern where their powers might lie.”

Fortier tapped one fingertip on the table, watching the back and forth with an inscrutable gaze.

“Your kind should suffer for what they did to us,” Aileron spat.

“The purpose of this council is to ensure peace and prosperity for all magical species under our purview. That includes wolf shifters, and if you cannot work toward that goal, then perhaps it is time for your seat to be transferred to a new pixie,” Councilman Halia said, a slight coo to his voice.

Bird shifter of some kind?

“You feather-brained son of a bitch—” Aileron began to shimmer, and a burst of sparkly light filled the room as the angry man turned into a sparkling, bouncing pixie with purple skin and wings the length of my forearm. Little squeaks and screeches poured out, but I couldn’t tell what he was saying.

I was pretty sure Halia was getting cussed out in pixie, though. It would have been almost funny if Aileron didn’t want to perpetuate the murder of innocent wolf babies.

The pounding of a wooden gavel I hadn’t noticed before snapped everyone into silence.

“That’s enough. Councilman Aileron, you’re excused from the remainder of today’s session.” Fortier waved a bored hand, and the pixie let out a few more furious squeaks before flying haphazardly out the back door of the chamber. “I apologize for his behavior. It was unbecoming for one in his position.”

Kane nodded his acceptance.

“However, his opinion is one shared by many. We understand that you are new to your role as high alpha and want to do right by your kind, but we cannot simply change the rules to accommodate any one magical species. Preferential treatment is not something we engage in.”

“And yet, we are the only species both actively hunted by this council, as well as lacking representation on this council. We formally request an investigation into the ODL’s actions and the recent uptick in persecution against wolf shifters and our allies.”

There was an edge to Kane’s rebuttal that made me shiver and lean closer to Shay’s shoulder. The temperature seemed to rise as the remaining eight council members processed what he’d said.

It suddenly occurred to me that there might not be months on this fuse. This bomb could blow today .

“You know as well as we do that there is a tenth seat. There has always been a tenth seat, but wolves haven’t ever deigned to sit on the council.” Councilwoman Grist sounded bored, but she cocked her eagle head, peering over us all with beady bird eyes and unnerving focus.

Without missing a beat, Gael spoke at Kane’s side. “As second of Pack Blackwater, I formally nominate Lucien Vasilescu to represent wolf shifters as sitting councilman for the Interspecies Governing Council.”

“Supported, as third of Pack Blackwater,” Reed said, adjusting the cuff links in his sleeves with a bit of extra flair.

Kane turned to Lucien, whose face was no longer flirty and teasing, but deadly serious. “Lucien, do you accept this nomination to represent wolfkind? Do you promise to dedicate yourself to changing the laws this council uses to oppress us?”

Lucien swallowed hard, just once. “I do, High Alpha.”

Kane turned back to the council, and I held my breath as the seconds ticked by in silence.

“Welcome to the table, Councilman Vasilescu,” Councilman Fortier finally said.

“Thank you,” Lucien said with nods to Fortier and then Kane.

“We have other business to attend to this afternoon, but I’m sure your representative will report back to you as is appropriate on the investigation into the ODL’s actions. If you need additional council support, please see Karina for appointment availability.” Fortier waved in clear dismissal to where his secretary still hovered in the door.

“We appreciate your time and making this exception to hear us out,” Reed said as Lucien walked up to the table and took the empty seat on the end.

I don’t think I exhaled until we were back safely in the SUVs, driving away from Lucien and the council.