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

51. Gael

FIFTY-ONE

Gael

L eigh refusing to buy herself maternity clothes should have surprised me, but it somehow didn’t. But as soon as I stepped out of her room, I was on a mission. I found Cristian in his usual sitting room, right off the foyer. The fact that I managed to surprise him with a knock on the door to his private sanctum gave me a sick sort of glee; the man was never caught unawares.

He was on his feet in an instant, buttoning his suit jacket as he stepped out into the foyer with me.

“Master—” I arched an eyebrow, and he cleared his throat, changing tack midstride. “Gael. How may I assist you?”

“I need to place an order for some new clothing for my mate.”

“Your mate? Why, I hadn’t heard the news. I offer my felicitations as well as my services. What do you need?”

I skipped right on past his polite ignorance, because I knew damn well the man knew every single thing that occurred under this massive roof, and chose to get to the point. I rattled off an extensive list, and he nodded as he jotted each thing down on his notepad .

“Anything else?” he asked when I stopped. “No, the last thing I’ll handle myself. Here’s my card, and I’d like as much of it as possible delivered this afternoon. Actually… if any of the maids have had kids before, ask them if there’s anything else a pregnant mother would want, and add that to the list.”

“I’ll make it happen,” he said with a formal bow.

“Thank you, Cristian.”

“Of course, Gael.”

I paused in the doorway. “Any word back from my father?” I tried not to let my teeth grind together as I waited for the answer, but as usual when dealing with my family, maintaining my patience was hard.

“No, sir. It seems mum’s the word with them after you sent Celeste home.”

“I wish I could say I was surprised. Thank you. Let me know if that changes.”

“Of course, sir.”

Leave it to my family to feign ignorance when I’d reached out to see about alternate conditions for dissolving the engagement. I had a mate; surely marks weren’t the only acceptable way of proving that? I’d pay whatever ungodly fine they demanded, but I wanted freedom from the damn obligation as soon as possible. There should be nothing standing between me and Leigh, especially not Celeste of all people. The thought made my lip curl.

I jogged back up the stairs to Kane’s office for our morning meeting, only to find Kane and Reed already in the hallway, coming in my direction.

“What’s up?” I asked, pausing to let them meet me.

“Lucien got us into the first slot of the day with the council. We’re heading back to the council building right now for our petition. Are you ready to go?” Reed asked, shooting a disapproving glance over my slightly rumpled attire.

“Give me five to change, and I’ll meet you at the cars.”

Our convoy stopped in front of the council building, and it was only when the other SUV emptied that I realized Leigh and Brielle weren’t with us. I turned to Kane.

“Where are Leigh and Brielle?”

Kane waved his hand vaguely in the air. “Brielle scheduled them for some sort of class in the village at the medical center. All inquiries stopped at the words placenta and breastfeeding .” He shuddered, and I rolled my eyes.

“You realize one day your mate is going to go into heat herself, and you’re going to be the one learning about placentas, right? It’s kind of cool, actually. They grow a whole new organ for the baby.”

“You’ve been reading up?” he asked, sounding surprised.

“I haven’t had much else to do in the evenings these past few weeks,” I said with a shrug. It made me feel connected to her and the baby, while I was honoring her request for space.

Although spending last night with her and no space whatsoever was definitely worth pausing on the next chapter in the baby book. We had a while until Petal would be teething anyway.

Dirge clapped me on the back. “Good man. She’ll need your support, even if she’s too stubborn to ask for it.”

“Did Leigh know about this class?” I asked, something niggling at the back of my mind. It seemed like the sort of thing she would have mentioned while we were out last night, but it was possible Brielle hadn’t told her.

Right? So why did I feel anxious?

“It’s normal, man,” Kane said with a grin as he studied my expression. “I was on edge all the fucking time before Brielle and I completed the bond. She’s going to be okay, though. Sergei’s with them, and I’ve got a team of two in a trail car. Right now, we’ve got to focus on this petition. ”

“Right. Let’s do it.” I forced a neutral expression as we walked through the front doors.

The same secretary—Karina, I thought her name was—in a white skirt suit this time, greeted us and led us straight back to the council chambers.

It was odd, walking through those giant double doors to see Lucien sitting up there at the table with the rest of the council members, looking bored.

“Councilman Fortier, I’ve got your morning appointment for you, right on time,” she announced as we all stepped through. She bowed respectfully toward each side of the long table, then backed quickly and silently out of the room, leaving us to suffocate in its grandeur.

“High Alpha, Pack Blackwater,” Fortier said with a hint of a nod, gesturing us all forward.

“I’m glad to see they’ve at least made an appointment this time,” Councilwoman Rubix said with an ill-concealed sneer.

“I helped with that, in case you were wondering. You seem to find me useless, so that should be one point in my column, at least,” Lucien said, sending her sarcastic tone straight back at her without missing a beat.

I raised my eyebrows as I watched them stare daggers at each other from opposite ends of the council table.

“Thank you for the warm welcome, Councilman Fortier.” Reed smoothly interrupted the staring contest. “We’re determined to work with the council to bring this petition to fruition for the greater good of all wolfkind. As you know, the ODL has had a deeply negative impact on our own pack mates?—”

Aliz interrupted, his tone bored. “No wrongdoing was found. I hope you’re not here to beat a war drum endlessly after a decision has already been made.”

“No, we respect the council’s position and their decision. If you truly feel that the ODL was acting within its bounds, we’ll honor that. However, we hope you’ll all keep an open mind for our latest petition, which seeks to change the scope of the ODL’s…”

I zoned out as Reed’s pretty speech dragged on. The man could talk paint off a wall, and I was feeling fully peeled already, only minutes into the song and dance. When Reed finished talking, back and forth arguments ensued between the councilmembers regarding the legality of changing laws that impacted more species than just wolf shifters.

It was boring as fuck, but I was glad he enjoyed it. Otherwise, Kane might’ve expected me to talk to these fuckers, and that wouldn’t have had the desired result. Unless the result was pissing them all off. That I could definitely accomplish.

I let my gaze roam over the room, scrutinizing their security and cataloging it all mentally in case it ever came in handy to know how many cameras they had and where they were located. Magical traps were harder to identify with this many species involved, but I was ninety-nine percent sure there was a magical curtain over the back door, which probably incapacitated anyone except the council who walked through it.

Interesting. What are you keeping tucked away back there?

I was stretching my senses with my wolf’s help, trying to see if I could get more of a signature off the blockage, when a loud bang from the back of the room had me whirling toward the threat.

A group of men—no, wolf shifters , my nose confirmed—barged through, Karina trailing after them with disheveled hair and a panicked look about her. “I must insist that you stop at once! The council is in session, and this is highly irregular!”

The males ignored her, and I stepped between my Alpha and the incoming threat as they poured into the chamber. This timing was no accident, and a deep inhale told me at least one of them had been with the gray wolves who’d attacked the castle and then turned tail when we’d come back and caught them in the act .

My wolf pressed forward, and a snarl formed on my lips. And then they parted, and I recognized their leader and the source of this little interruption.

And probably the castle attack . A thought I filed away for later discussion.

Petró, Varga’s eldest son, stepped forward, a flaccid smile turned to the council. “Apologies for the interruption, but we have a matter of grave concern that must be addressed by the council immediately.”

He looked unassuming, as far as wolves went. He was of medium build, with olive-toned skin, straight white teeth, and jet-black hair. But his eyes held the truth. He was a schemer like his father before him, and untold deception hid in their depths.

Fortier looked between Kane and Petró, lips pursed with displeasure. “I agree with Karina, this is highly unusual, and you should make an appointment. But apparently, wolves as a species are not the most patient.”

“Since we’re already scheduled to speak with wolves today, I don’t see what the harm is in letting them both speak,” Councilman Aileron said with a wicked gleam in his eye. “Surely the high alpha’s spokesman was done outlining their new omega petition, as long as he droned on.”

Fortier raised a hand to silence Aileron, who was enjoying this drama far too much to maintain the council’s veneer of respectability. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he pulled out a popcorn bucket.

Kane’s hand landed on my shoulder a second before he whispered in my ear, “Brielle is upset and blocking our bond. I think something’s wrong. The second we get this sorted, I want you to take one of the SUVs and go to them. Call Sergei. He’ll give you the address to the medical center where they’re having the class.”

He couldn’t have caused more tension if he’d lit my wolf’s tail on fire with a Roman candle. There weren’t many reasons I could think of that would cause Brielle to block her bond with Kane while she was alone with Leigh, and none of the scenarios currently running through my head were good.

Fuck. What are you up to, Leigh?

This confrontational ballet with Petró and his muscle needed to end, and end now. I had to get to Leigh before she did something we’d all regret.

“If you have something that urgent, spit it out. Perhaps the high alpha could assist you,” I snapped, no patience remaining for pretty words and political mincing around subjects.

“Indeed, if there were an uncontested high alpha, perhaps he could help. But that is why we’re here,” Petró said, turning toward Councilman Fortier with his arms swept wide.

Every hair on the back of my neck and arms stood on end as dread filled me when I realized what he was about to do a moment too late.

“High Council, it is with a heavy heart and the utmost respect that I must formally request a breaking of the nine great packs.”