LOGINAVA"Explain," Kael demanded.I felt my heart race when he spoke, his dark eyes locking mine in place, making it hard to breathe. It felt as if I could not even blink under the weight of his stare. Deep inside, my wolf craved his presence even more, reacting to the raw authority radiating off him.I inhaled a shaky breath. Kael's patience, as always, was thin."The factions reached out," I said, trying to steady my voice. "Not with a text or a letter, so there are no digital traces left behind. They claim there was a massive shift in their initial agreement with the head family.” “Since that shift was caused as a direct result of my interference, they want me to force a break in the current situation and help push their requests back onto the negotiating table." I sighted.Kael frowned, his jaw tightening. "So that's why you were trying to get to the meeting room earlier?""Yes," I answered. "And that is why I was so frantic. But that window of time has already passed.""What is the
KAEL"Alpha Grayson," I acknowledged, shifting my posture just enough so he could see Ava softly stirring in her sleep. My scowl was evident, but it did little to evoke any form of care from him. He stood tall, his presence demanding a submission I had no intention of giving."I ask again, do you have any idea what your outlandish actions have caused?" Grayson demanded, his teeth grit in profound frustration."And like I said before, politics and protocols were not my priority at the time," I replied, my tone perfectly even. Alpha Grayson's eyes finally left mine after a fruitless search for compliance, shifting instead to Ava. He stared at her with cold calculation, evaluating her as a political liability rather than a living being."So you decided it was the best choice to walk out of a high stakes political meeting just to make sure she was asleep?" Grayson asked in utter disbelief. Even though I hadn't given an answer, he didn't seem to need one."Ava had access to doctors. She h
KAELMy instincts led me faster than sight, the workers and maids parting as I paced through the hallways, staring at me like I was someone out of place.Just when I rounded a corner, I found Amina frozen in place. She had just stepped out of the very door my wolf was violently pulling me toward. I did not wait. I moved directly toward her."Open the door," I ordered."It's nothing, Mr. Kael. Ava is fine. She's just… resting," Amina lied. It was a weak attempt, considering how tightly her hand gripped the doorknob."Move," I ordered a second time. Amina bowed her head weakly and did as instructed.I stepped inside, my eyes immediately catching the empty bed before my gaze shifted to Ava. She was glued to the wall, trying to trace her way toward the exit."Ava, stop," I warned.My wolf surged forward at the sight of her. She was drenched in sweat, her eyes unfocused, her body trembling violently with the sheer effort of staying upright. Before she could collapse, she fell straight into
KAELUnlike the elders seated high in the council room, I looked at the seating arrangement on my phone with particular disinterest. If anything, the meeting was a nuisance, a vice meant to almost distract me from what I really wanted.Fortunately, I had gotten into a bittersweet position to do both.I walked into the Hale estate, my expression neutral as my hands remained rigid at my sides. The escort beside me was not the typical one that would just see me off to the house. Instead of Victor, it was a cold calculated step by Alpha Grayson, maybe the council as well, maybe even both.But I did not feel the weight of any of it. As far as I was concerned, my primary reason for being there was not at the table set up for disaster.Inside the room, the setup was quite interesting. The hall was spacious, designed for high level political negotiations.At the far end, a long oak table dominated the space, polished to a mirror shine. The elders occupied a raised platform at the center, thei
AVA"The truth is, Ava, I don't know all the details. But what escalated the situation was when you went where you weren't invited. That is what caused this meeting to be this tense in the first place." Mother explained.I laughed endlessly in disbelief."I do the wrong thing and it is right. I did the right thing and now it is wrong. Double standards!” I faulted."Ava dear, I understand why it looks that way," Mother said, her hand tracing my face again."It is that way,” I corrected."You have to understand that factors are indeed changing. Especially with Kael in the mix now, things have become more difficult. I actually don’t know where this is heading to," Mother said, the worrying in her gaze evident."Okay," I said, my eyes darting over to the table seeing my phone there. I nodded."Stay here, Ava. The doctor has been around since" Mother started.Then it occurred to me. I looked around my surroundings again and then it called to me that I was not in my room. That was why I fel
AVAAmina looked to measure again. Her eyes drifted towards the door but this time I did not need to put pressure before she was willing to speak to me."Alpha Grayson has been on one phone call till the next. After the dinner went sideways and Kael's ignoring most of his questions, he has been putting his foot on the gas to get a proper vision of who Kael is," Amina said.My eyes lit up at that."He has come up empty each time," Amina said. Or rather, she added, drawing my curiosity back, "he is not getting what he wants to know who Kael is."I did not know if I should find that even more impressive or even more crazy."Also," Amina continued, "things have..." she paused, looking to choose her next word very carefully. "Escalated," she finally said."How do you mean?" I asked, setting the glass of water down in my hand on the nightstand."There is going to be a meeting," Amina said."A meeting? Whose meeting?" I asked."The elders, Alpha Grayson, and Kael," Amina said.My eyes widene
AVAWithin the next few days that followed, things returned far past normal."You're certain?" I asked.Amina nodded. "Aside from the three families at the assembly gathering, the others have started to open up again. Calls have come in, texts too, and letters. Most of which are explanations for th
AVAI had lost track of it all. It wasn't so much that it was voluminous as it was me not wanting to care so much anymore.Mother had taken herself from being a filter to a complete shield somewhere in the middle of all of it. It kept her busy enough that she hadn't had time to see me these past fe
AVA"Worst" doesn't even begin to describe today. Following Amina's digression, I decided to play with power.I couldn't find the culprit, so I tried a different approach. If whoever was fueling this wanted to stay hidden, then I was going to flush them out.I drafted a statement and published it t
AVAI still hadn't answered my own question by the time morning came.What did he do? Three words that had followed me out of the assembly hall, through the car ride back, and into a sleep that hadn't been deep enough to shake them loose. I woke up with them still sitting exactly where I had left t







