CHAPTER NINETEEN: WEIRD APPEARANCE.

         WEIRD APPEARANCES

The council chamber was colder than the rest of the mansion.

Not physically, at least I didn’t think so, but the kind of cold that sank into your bones anyway. The kind built from over time with power, and too many decisions made behind closed doors that determined the lives of people.

The bell’s echo still rang faintly in my ears as Matteo led Elio and me inside.

Everyone was already there.

Elders sat in their carved seats in a semi-circle, faces grave and alert. Warriors lined the walls, arms crossed, jaws tight. Even pack members who normally avoided council meetings hovered near the back, whispering in low, nervous tones.

This was not ceremonial.

This was not polite.

This was the kind of meeting where things went wrong.

My wolf stayed very still inside me, pressed low but attentive, like she was watching a predator through tall grass.

Matteo took his place at the center, his posture shifting into full Alpha mode. The room responded instantly, whispers died, spines straightened. Even at that age, my grandfather was every bit of a strong and respectable Alpha.

“Thank you for gathering so quickly,” he said. “I understand this matter could not wait.”

That sentence did absolutely nothing to calm my nerves.

I slipped into a seat beside Elio. He leaned closer to me, his voice barely audible. “Stay quiet unless you’re asked.”

“Comforting,” I muttered.

One of the elders rose, Elder Thorian again, his expression more severe than before. “Alpha Matteo, reports are circulating beyond our borders.”

Reports.

I hated that word.

“What kind of reports?” Matteo asked.

“Movement,” Thorian replied. “Unusual movement. Scouts from bordering territories have gone silent. Three, as of this morning.”

A murmur rippled through the chamber.

Silent scouts were never good news.

Another elder spoke. “At first, we assumed miscommunication or negligence. But the pattern is too consistent.”

Matteo’s gaze sharpened. “You believe it is intentional.”

“Yes.”

My stomach twisted.

Elio’s knee bounced once under the table before he stilled it.

“What kind of intentional?” someone asked.

“Testing,” Thorian said. “Probing our boundaries.”

My wolf shifted uneasily.

Matteo folded his hands. “And do we know by whom?”

Thorian exhaled. “No.”

That single word seemed to sour the air.

I glanced around the room. Faces looked grim now, less controlled.

I leaned toward Elio. “They don’t know what they’re dealing with, do they?”

Why is no-one mentioning the rogues from that night?

“No,” he murmured back. “They just know it’s bad.”

The Luna entered quietly from a side door and slipped into her seat beside Matteo. Her presence steadied the room, but her eyes flicked to me once, briefly, with something unreadable behind them.

Matteo spoke again. “Until we know who is responsible, we will increase patrols and restrict movement beyond our inner territory.”

A warrior shifted. “Alpha, this resembles preparation for war.”

Matteo didn’t deny it. “Preparation keeps us alive.”

My fingers curled into the fabric of my sleeve.

Another elder rose. “There is one more matter.”

The room stilled.

“No,” Matteo said flatly. “If this concerns speculation, it can wait.”

“It cannot,” the elder pressed. “This concerns the girl.”

My chest tightened.

Every head turned toward me.

Wonderful.

I straightened my spine, keeping my expression neutral, even as my wolf tensed sharply inside me.

Matteo’s voice softened, though the weight of it did not. “Speak carefully.”

“There are too many coincidences,” the elder said. “Her return, the disturbances, the heightened activity at our borders. We would be foolish not to consider a connection.”

I stared straight ahead, refusing to look small.

“Elaborate,” Matteo said.

“The girl’s presence could be drawing attention,” the elder continued. “Whether intentionally or not.”

I clenched my jaw.

So this was where this was going.

“Elio returned too,” another elder added. “After years of secrecy.”

Elio stiffened beside me.

“That was by my command,” Matteo snapped. The room fell silent instantly. “Both children are under my protection. Any implication otherwise will be treated as insubordination.”

A few elders bowed their heads, but not all of them.

One held Matteo’s gaze. “Alpha, are you absolutely certain you are not underestimating what they represent?”

Silence filled the chamber.

Matteo stood slowly, his chair scraping softly against the floor.

“I am absolutely certain,” he said. “And this meeting is no longer about my grandchildren.”

My wolf reacted to that word, stirring, uneasy.

“This meeting is about defending our pack from a threat we do not yet understand,” Matteo continued. “If anyone here believes fear should dictate our actions, you are free to step aside.”

No one moved.

Good choice.

Our Luna - my grandmother - rose then, her voice calm but firm. “Enough. We will not turn on our own while danger lurks outside our borders.”

Her gaze swept the room before landing on me. “The girl will not be scapegoated.”

A few elders nodded reluctantly.

My shoulders loosened slightly.

The meeting moved on to strategies, patrol rotations, borders, signals. I listened, tried to absorb everything, but part of my mind kept drifting.

They were afraid.

Not panicked yet, not desperate but still afraid.

And fear unfortunately, made people unreliable.

When the meeting finally adjourned, the room buzzed with quiet tension. Elders clustered into murmuring groups. Warriors moved quickly, purposeful.

Elio stood. “Come on,” he said softly. “Let’s get out of here.”

We slipped into the corridor just as voices began rising behind us.

The moment the heavy doors shut, I exhaled.

“Well,” I said weakly, “that was cheerful.”

Elio snorted. “You handled it well.”

“I wanted to crawl under the table.”

“You didn’t run.”

I shrug.

“My first council meeting, I ran.”

“Really?” a small chuckle escapes my lips.

“Yeah! I don’t know how you did it. Those old bones are no joke.”

“Well, maybe I haven’t had time to run, yet.”

We walked in silence for a few steps before I spoke again. “They think I’m a liability.”

“They think everything unknown is a liability,” he replied. “It’s how councils work.”

“And Matteo?” I asked. “Does he think that too?”

Elio glanced at me. “No.”

That answer came too quickly to doubt.

My wolf stirred, unsettled again, like she was listening to something I couldn’t hear.

We reached the inner hall when suddenly a sharp knock echoed loudly from the front entrance.

I froze.

“So much for restricted movement,” I muttered.

A guard’s voice echoed faintly from down the corridor. “Alpha. Someone is requesting entry.”

Matteo’s voice followed, controlled but tense. “Who?”

A pause.

Then, “They say they

’re here for the girl.”

Every muscle in my body locked.

My wolf surged forward, no longer quiet.

Something was coming.

And this time, I had the sinking feeling it had nothing to do with Damien at all.