Dark Wolf

18

“The council members are inside,” Fen greeted them. “Waiting.” He pinned his brother with an appraising eye.

“They’ve been waiting the last six nights,” Zev added. “We thought for certain you would be here last night.”

Skyler blushed and glanced up at Dimitri’s impassive face. Clearly, he couldn’t care less that he’d kept the council waiting. They hadn’t left the bed the night before. Dimitri had taught her all kinds of intriguing things she would much rather be doing than standing before the Lycan council with the prince looking on.

She had made certain that Dimitri looked exactly as he had before she’d healed him the night before. She wanted the Lycans to see the evidence of their medieval tortures. She slipped her hand into Dimitri’s for comfort. She didn’t especially want to see any of these people.

At once she had his undivided attention. What is it, csitri?

One word from her and they would turn and walk away. Dimitri wouldn’t care what others thought of him. He never had. He was a man who went his own way. It was tempting to use that power she knew she had, but it was wrong. This meeting was important. She took a deep breath and let it out.

I’m just steeling myself to meet the prince again. Well, because she wasn’t going to lie to him, that and seeing these Lycans.

Zev is Lycan and he’s a good man.

She gave a little indelicate sniff of disdain. Maybe he is, but he didn’t save you when he should have.

Dimitri’s amusement filled her mind. Why, Skyler Rose. You carry a grudge.

So true. She stared at the tree nearest the elite hunter.

Above his head, a hive rocked and bees came pouring out.

I believe in revenge, she added complacently.

Fen flung his hands into the air, building a shield fast to keep them all from being stung by the angry bees. It took him a couple of moments to notice not a single bee came near any of them but Zev. He glared at his brother.

“I didn’t do it,” Dimitri proclaimed.

Skyler put on her most innocent face. “Nature is so unpredictable.”

“Isn’t it?” Fen said wryly. “Is it safe to let you inside?”

Skyler shrugged, unrepentant. “Only if those inside didn’t issue a death by silver order on my lifemate.”

Zev burst out laughing. “Lord, Dimitri, you have your hands full.”

Dimitri tightened his fingers around Skyler’s, bringing her hand to his chest, right over his heart. “I’m well aware of that. She’s Dragonseeker. I would expect nothing less.”

“Related to Tatijana and Branislava?” Zev asked, interest creeping into his tone.

Fen groaned. “Give it up, Zev. Seriously, you’re like a wolf with a bone.”

“I just asked if she’s related,” Zev pointed out. “And if you keep it up, we’re going to be crossing swords.”

Fen laughed. “I’m not drawing my sword around you. We could use lightning bolts.”

Zev’s eyebrow shot up. “I haven’t quite mastered that yet, but I might ask Skyler for lessons in keeping bees.”

“I’m still angry with you,” Skyler said. “So any spell I give you could backfire.”

“Well, at least you warned me,” Zev said. “I understand why you’re angry with me. I’m angry with me right now. I don’t understand completely yet what is happening with my people. None of us understand. The council members swear they didn’t issue the order for Moarta de argint, in fact, they claim just the opposite—that Dimitri was to be kept safe at all times.”

“Why weren’t you with him?” Skyler asked. “If you’re the one trusted by the council, why wouldn’t they have you guarding a prisoner so important?”

“I was taken behind his back,” Dimitri explained, his voice gentle. “Fen and I were fighting the Sange rau. Zev and his hunters were with the prince, fighting off the rogue pack. The two men who grabbed me were from Zev’s pack, but they should have been with those guarding Mikhail.”

“Dimitri and I had gone off on our own without letting Zev know what we were doing,” Fen clarified. “At the time he wasn’t aware we both were of mixed blood, and we wanted to keep it that way for obvious reasons.”

“Fen also figured we had the best chance of defeating the Sange rau,” Dimitri added. “With our mixed blood we were both faster and better equipped to deal with one. Fen had more experience than anyone else.”

“How did those two hunters come to be in the same place?” Skyler asked. “If no one knew where you went, how did they? Was it coincidence?”

“I don’t believe in coincidence,” Zev said.

For the first time, his voice made Skyler shiver. Her gaze jumped to his face. He was a man who had seen battle often. She could see danger stamped in him, the predator close to the surface, but she’d also experienced his kindness.

“Neither do I,” Dimitri agreed. “If there had been time, I would have known something was wrong, but everything happened so fast. Fen was in trouble and the two hunters were as well. I didn’t stop to think, I just reacted. Had I asked myself that question, how did they find us, I wouldn’t have been knocked over the head and taken prisoner.”

Fen lifted an eyebrow. “And then your lady wouldn’t have come running to bail your butt out of trouble.”

Dimitri pressed her hand tighter against his heart. You are worth every link of those silver chains burning into my flesh night and day, he whispered into her mind, meaning it.

Skyler stepped closer to him, slipping beneath his shoulder. You could be just a little crazy thinking like that, I must ask the healer to take a look at you.

She couldn’t help the little flare of excitement at his compliment. He had a way of always making her feel special. “Are Gabriel and Francesca inside?” she asked aloud.

“Not yet,” Fen answered. “Gabriel and your uncle Lucian are out with a few others patrolling, making certain we aren’t going to get any uninvited guests.”

Dimitri’s gaze met his brother’s over Skyler’s head. You know if the assassins come for us, they will most likely go undetected by any patrol.

Fen inclined his head. It’s true, but we’re still looking. Gabriel and Lucian are very good at sensing the enemy, and they have a better chance than most. Zev and I are taking turns scouting around. He’s really adept at finding tracks, much better even than I am. I’m learning quite a bit from him.

It’s been six days, nearly a week, plenty of time for an assassin to follow a blood trail, Dimitri pointed out.

Skyler cleared her throat. “Really, it isn’t necessary to try to protect me from your fears for me, either of you. All of you are in as much danger as I am.”

“Maybe,” Dimitri conceded, bringing her fingers to his mouth. “But they considered you a sorceress of some sort, perhaps a female Sange rau capable of populating the earth with your children. I think you and Zev are in the most danger.”

Zev grinned at her. “You aren’t the only one who despises me.”

She sighed, giving him a pained look. “Well that just changes things,” she said in mock disgust. “Now I have to be on your side.”

“We’d better go in before Gregori comes out here,” Fen said. “And if you’re wondering where that threat came from, he just sent me a solemn oath that he’d be out here in two seconds if we didn’t move it.”

Zev and Dimitri both exchanged a long look and shrugged their shoulders as if Gregori’s threat mattered little to them—and it most likely didn’t. Still, Dimitri placed his hand on Skyler’s back lightly, guiding her, maintaining contact with her at all times. They followed Fen inside with Zev bringing up the rear. She realized that with Fen in front of them and Zev behind them, their escort was really protecting them from any unforeseen trouble.

The meeting room was spacious, with plenty of seating and tables set up with food and drink along the walls for the Lycans. Each council member had his own pack and therefore, his own elite guards. Over all of the elite guards were Zev and his pack. He answered to the entire council and when there was trouble within an elite pack, he was the one sent to make it right. If he showed up, the situation was considered dire—and it would get fixed one way or the other.

Skyler hadn’t known Zev was so well respected, but even the council members treated him with deference, much like the respect afforded to Gregori. The council members averted their eyes from Dimitri as he walked Skyler straight over to the prince. He didn’t look at anyone else in the room, but she did, wanting to see reactions.

Most of the Lycans in the room seemed horrified by the sight of the survivor of the Moarta de argint. She noted two men who seemed fascinated by the scars and more than a little satisfied. Several others nodded, as if they agreed with the torture. But . . .

The council member just to the left of the man in the center, she sent to Dimitri, including Fen in her observation. Check him out.

The man hadn’t so much as looked up. He appeared to be looking at text messages on his phone, rather than being interested in the Carpathian prisoner whose treatment at the hands of the Lycans had nearly started a war.

Can you see what he’s doing? she asked.

Playing with his phone, Fen said. Some people can’t handle scars and burns. It makes them uncomfortable.

Dimitri greeted the prince with a warrior’s forearm clasp as Mikhail did the same with him. Except, Fen, he doesn’t look uncomfortable. He looks smug. “It is good to see you, Mikhail,” he said aloud. “I trust Raven and your son are well.”

“Very well, thank you,” Mikhail answered and turned to look at Skyler with his piercing dark eyes. “We owe you, Paul and Josef a debt of gratitude. Fen tells me had you not found Dimitri, he wouldn’t have survived. Our rescuers would have been too late.”

Up so close to Mikhail, his power and presence were intimidating, although she could see kindness in his face. “I’m fortunate that we have a strong bond and I was able to find him.”

“She put a tracking device in my pocket,” Zev said. “She’s a clever woman.”

There was admiration in his voice, surprising Skyler. She hadn’t expected that from Zev. He clearly didn’t hold any grudges.

Mikhail’s eyebrow shot up. “She did?”

Zev nodded. “I never suspected a thing. She was smooth, so smooth I’m certain she could easily live the life of a successful pickpocket if she chooses to. She has that innocent face, and no one would ever suspect her.”

Skyler smiled at him. “That was the plan.”

“So simple,” Mikhail mused. “It’s a good lesson for us all. Sometimes the simplest plan is far better than all the intrigue in the world.” His eyes met Dimitri’s. “I would like to introduce you to the Lycan council members. If you don’t mind answering their questions, it would perhaps help us put pieces of the puzzle together. You were in the Lycan camp two weeks.”

“Over two weeks,” Skyler clarified. She couldn’t suppress the little bite to her voice. She didn’t care if she was talking to the prince. Dimitri had suffered at the hands of the Lycans, and he would have been dead if he’d had to wait for the Carpathians to rescue him.

Dimitri took her hand, threading his fingers gently through hers. This is not his fault, sívamet. Perhaps it is not the fault of these men on the council either. Fen and others were sent out on my trail, but they couldn’t find tracks. He brushed his mouth across her knuckles. Only you managed to reach me in spite of the silver cutting me off from everyone else.

Mollified, Skyler nodded to let him know she understood. She went to step back, tugging at her hand, but Dimitri refused to release her.

Dimitri glided with the prince across the room to the Lycan council table, taking her with him. Dimitri moved in absolute silence, his body fluid, shoulders straight and his head high. The blackened scars were vivid, circling his forehead and throat. He wore a white shirt, opened to the waist, allowing everyone to see the bands of blackened scars around his body.

A hush fell over the room as he approached the table of council members. Three of the four men rose to their feet as he neared them, and the last one did a little reluctantly and only because one of the other council members glared at him.

“Rolf, Lyall, Randall, Arno, this is Dimitri. He may be able to tell us a lot more about what happened in the Lycan camp,” Mikhail introduced them.

Skyler had never been prouder of Dimitri. He gave the council members a courtly bow. He looked very old world and elegant, a man of great courtesy and courage. There was a subtle aura given off by him, and judging by the way the council’s guards came to attention, she wasn’t the only one who felt it. She didn’t know if it was in the way he moved, the fluid, silent glide that told anyone watching he was dangerous, or rather the elusive scent of the predator clinging to him, that put everyone on alert.

She watched Rolf, the eldest of the group, hold out his hand to Dimitri, apologizing on behalf of the Lycan people for what the Carpathian warrior had endured at their hands. He promised Dimitri they would find those responsible and punish them. The ring of honesty was in his voice, and Skyler found herself believing him.

Randall was a frightening bear of a man. Had she met him in the forest rather than Zev, she would have run for her life. He had a booming voice that echoed through the room when he spoke, adding his apologies to those of Rolf. She stood just a little behind Dimitri, his body partially shielding her from the Lycans, but to his bodyguards’ dismay, Randall stepped out from behind the table and came around to stand in front of Dimitri.

“Is this the young woman who saved your life?” He didn’t wait for Dimitri to answer, but leaned down to take her hand.

Dimitri’s hand got there first, deflecting the Lycan away from Skyler, his body suddenly solidly between the two. Randall’s bodyguards sprang forward the moment Dimitri touched Randall. As the Lycans put their hands on their weapons, Fen and several other Carpathians moved into position to protect the couple. Gregori glided very subtly, positioning himself just a little in front of the prince.

The tension in the room rose to a screaming point. Zev stepped between the two species, his hand in the air. Skyler hadn’t even seen him move, but his presence seemed to calm everyone.

“In the Carpathian culture, other men rarely touch one’s lifemate,” he explained quietly, addressing Randall as if the others weren’t rattling their weapons. He sounded as if he was merely passing on information, not stopping a battle. “Skyler is Dimitri’s lifemate. As you know, she nearly died, and you can understand he is quite protective of her.”

Skyler admired his voice, low, smooth, calming. It was a gift, a rare one, but powerful. He could calm a crowd with that voice and he did so easily.

“I apologize,” Randall said to Dimitri. “I had no idea. Is talking to her forbidden as well?”

His booming voice rang through the room, making Skyler wince. She felt as if she’d been reduced to a schoolgirl, a small child who needed parental permission before speaking with an important adult.

What are you doing? She hissed the question to Dimitri, a little shocked at his behavior. I thought we came here to stop a war, not start one.

It was an automatic reaction. I don’t like men I don’t know or trust in such close proximity to you.

Then I shouldn’t have come. You should have told me.

His self-derisive amusement slipped into her mind. I had no idea I would have such a reaction. Apparently, there are things I have to learn about myself.

It was impossible for Skyler to be angry with Dimitri. He had a strong protective instinct and a wicked sense of humor that was always going to get him out of trouble with her.

She stepped around Dimitri. “Of course it isn’t forbidden to talk to me, or any other woman for that matter. I think everyone is a little on edge after what happened.” She smiled at the shaggy, very large Lycan and held out her hand.

Randall glanced at Dimitri, who remained impassive. He looked relaxed, but Skyler, so tuned to her lifemate, felt his body coil, ready to strike.

The Lycan took her hand in his enormous one, completely engulfing hers. “We’ve heard a lot about you,” Randall said. “You’re quite a legend already. I trust you’re recovering from your injuries?”

Skyler nodded. “Dimitri took great care to see to my recovery. We’re sorry we kept you waiting, but the wounds were . . . severe.”

For her, everything about Randall rang true—what one saw was what one got. She glanced at her lifemate.

He isn’t a deceptive man and I doubt if he would lie about ordering death by silver. Had he done so, he would have owned up to it. If he believes in something, he’s not the kind of man to hide his opinion.

You got all that from holding his hand?

Skyler pressed her lips together tightly to keep from laughing. You’re in a foul mood.

You’ve got a wolf slobbering all over your hand. These wolf men are charmers and I don’t trust any of them, especially the one holding your hand, further than I can throw them.

Her eyebrow shot up. Dimitri was teasing, but there was just that little bit of truth in his tone as well. That would be pretty far. I’ve seen you in action.

A second council member came out from around the table to join them. This was Lyall, the man who hadn’t seemed at all interested in seeing what the Lycans had done to their prisoner. She was surprised that he came up to them, introducing himself to Dimitri and reiterating how sorry they all were for what had taken place.

She stepped back again, just a little, knowing it would make Dimitri more comfortable. The moment she did, both Zev and Fen moved subtly, coming in from either side so that she was hemmed in, although it didn’t really look that way.

She kept the frown off her face and watched Dimitri talking with Lyall and the last of the council members, a man by the name of Arno. He was friendly, but openly wary of Dimitri. In the end, after Dimitri told his story to them, it was Arno who asked the most questions, and the majority of the questions seemed to be about being a mixed blood rather than who had been Dimitri’s worst tormentors.

He wants the alliance with Carpathians, but he doesn’t believe in distinguishing between Sange rau and the Hän ku pesäk kaikak, Skyler pointed out to Dimitri.

Rolf seemed to grow impatient with Arno’s questions. “This is becoming tedious, Arno,” he interrupted. “It’s important to find out who is behind this treachery. In case you’ve forgotten, it was not only Dimitri who was targeted for death; we were as well.” He looked around the room. “Mikhail, if you don’t mind me saying so, I think we should clear this room. Tempers seem to run hot the more of us there are.”

“I agree,” Mikhail said.

Skyler felt his relief rather than heard it in his voice. She was more than happy to exit the room and find her adopted mother, but as she turned to go with Dimitri, both Mikhail and Rolf stopped them.

“If you don’t mind,” Mikhail said, “we’d prefer that you two, as well as Fen and Zev, stay just a while longer to help us.”

Dimitri took a deep breath. Their eyes met. He inclined his head. You don’t have to stay, csitri. I can do this alone and you can visit with Francesca. He had spoken to her on the common Carpathian path, not their private one, indicating to Mikhail that if she wanted to leave, Dimitri would insist on it.

She sent Dimitri a reassuring smile. I wouldn’t mind hearing what they have to say. Sometimes I know when someone is lying. I might catch that vibe and we’ll know if someone here really is behind this conspiracy.

I’m not certain it is a conspiracy, not in the way you mean, Zev chimed in thoughtfully, shocking Skyler.

She hadn’t realized he was able to speak telepathically to all Carpathians, but she should have. He had been inside the shelter she’d created, and only those with Carpathian blood could pass the shield. In order for him to cross that barrier, he had to be fairly advanced as a mixed blood.

“We’ll stay,” Dimitri said aloud.

They waited until most of the Lycan and Carpathian guards left the room. Dimitri took a careful look around the room. It appeared to be nearly empty. The four council members remained, each with two guards. He recognized Daciana and Makoce from Zev’s elite pack. Both had stayed behind with Rolf. Each of the other council members also retained two guards.

Mikhail had Gregori and his brother Jacques with him. Dimitri knew better. Gregori would never allow the prince in a room where the other faction had more men. He found himself uneasy, but couldn’t put his finger on why.

Rolf and the other council members seemed sincere in wanting to talk about the issue of the Sange rau and whether or not any mixed blood should be hunted and killed regardless of whether or not they had done harm to anyone.

Fen. This time he used the private connection he had with his brother.

I’ve been feeling uneasy for some time.

Yet no one else does, Dimitri pointed out. Not even Mikhail.

If there is danger close by, no doubt, it is either a few of the Lycans who just left, or we’ve got a Sange rau close.

They use sniper rifles, Fen. These are trained assassins coming after us.

Gregori waved his hand and a large round table appeared in the center of the room. “I suggest you all sit down, gentlemen.”

They won’t be able to get a shot through the windows, Fen said. Gregori has already thought of nearly any kind of attack that could take place. This room is sealed. Even the Lycans who left cannot get back in without Gregori allowing it.

Dimitri toed a chair around, straddling it, uncaring what the Lycans thought of his actions. He pulled Skyler’s chair closer to him. Knowing he could shield her from any trouble made him feel a little better, although he was still very uneasy. Fen toed the chair on the other side of Skyler around and straddled it as well. Both were in a position to move fast if they needed to.

The council members and Mikhail took their places. Only Zev sat at the table, while the Lycans guarding the council lined up with their backs to the walls.

Again Dimitri took a long slow look around the room. Gregori was standing within striking distance of Mikhail, but there were others. He found himself focusing on the wall where all the Lycans had draped themselves. Of course that wall had been left temptingly blank, perfect for the councils’ guards to wait for their council members.

There were at least four Carpathian warriors somewhere on that wall, a part of it, knots in the wood, perhaps a tiny insect, and each would have already chosen their targets.

Lojos, Tomas and Mataias, he guessed. And the ghost. Andre’s here as well, isn’t he?

Fen sent him a little grin and inclined his head very subtly. They wouldn’t miss the party.

“At the risk of offending Dimitri,” Arno began, “I believe very strongly that the things we’ve been taught since practically the very beginning of our existence, that mixed blood is far too dangerous to be tolerated, are sacred. We can’t abandon the very code we live by because a few of the Sange rau have not yet turned rogue.”

Mikhail leaned forward, his eyes meeting Arno’s. “We’ve come together to discuss this subject and we want to hear all opinions. This sacred code is something that has been in your culture for centuries and shouldn’t be so easily discarded. We have to examine what we know now, versus what those who put the code into existence knew in their time. Knowledge is power, and hopefully, over the centuries, we’ve managed to gain more awareness, understanding, comprehension and information.”

“Our experience with this issue clearly has been different than yours,” Rolf said. “Our packs were destroyed. No one was spared. We nearly were extinct thanks to the Sange rau.”

Mikhail nodded. “It is easy to understand why your ancestors laid down such extreme rules, but you are sitting at this table with one of our most skilled ancient hunters. Dimitri has defended Lycan, Carpathian and humans alike for centuries. He has hunted and killed both the vampire and rogue wolves and has done so with honor for centuries. Clearly, he is no threat to the Lycans, and in fact, is an asset.”

Arno shook his head. “There is no guarantee that he will continue to be so. Again, Dimitri, I must apologize for speaking as if you aren’t sitting right here, but these things must be said.”

Beneath the table, Skyler put her hand on his thigh. He felt her trembling. Keeping his face expressionless, he placed his hand gently over hers. The things he is saying have no impact on me one way or the other, he assured her. Fen and Zev are also as I am, of mixed blood. This council member isn’t stupid. He knows that because we’re lifemates, we exchange blood, and eventually you will become like me.

He might not know that.

He knows. Just as Randall knew not to touch you earlier. Zev would have given them every detail about our culture possibly before they ever came here. They would have researched carefully and consulted with those who have known Carpathians. These council members have been around a long time, Skyler. Believe me, they act as ambassadors and they don’t make mistakes in protocol. Zev took the blame by pretending he hadn’t passed on the information about lifemates, but Randall knew.

“I have no problem with you speaking your mind, sir,” Dimitri said politely. “Hearing truth is always preferable to lies.”

Are you saying that shaggy old bear of a Lycan deliberately made me feel like a schoolgirl in front of all the Lycans?

Dimitri didn’t dare answer that, not when Skyler had a bit of a fiery temper. He took another look around the room just to assure himself there was no beehive clinging to the rafters.

Randall reached for his glass of water, and raised it to his mouth. Without warning the glass slipped out of his hands, dumping the water down the front of him. The amount of liquid pouring into his lap seemed to exceed the size of the glass.

At once Randall’s bodyguards sprang to help, handing him napkins and small towels from the table of food. The council members were not as polite, laughing and teasing Randall good-naturedly about his big hands and how he couldn’t even hold a glass of water. Randall took it all in stride, grinning at his friends and shrugging his shoulders.

Lycans can detect energy when Carpathians use spells, Zev warned, frowning at Skyler. These men are used to deference.

Skyler raised her eyebrow, looking more innocent than ever. Dimitri kept his face impassive, controlling his amusement.

Are you accusing me of causing an accident? Did you feel energy coming from me? She managed to sound as blameless as she appeared.

Dimitri waited for the merriment to die down. “I have a lifemate. It is impossible for me to turn vampire. In order for me to become the Sange rau you fear I would have to choose to give up my soul. There is no way for that to happen.”

Mikhail nodded. “Carpathian males who have lived too long and have not found a lifemate are in danger of turning vampire, but no man with a lifemate could do that,” he reiterated. “There is a difference between a Hän ku pesäk kaikak and the Sange rau. All Lycans do not become rogues. All Carpathians do not become vampire. All mixed bloods do not become Sange rau.”

Arno frowned back at them. “Carpathian hunters can kill the vampire. Elite hunters can kill the rogue packs. Neither can kill the Sange rau. Better to exterminate them than to take the chance that they will wipe out all of us.”

Skyler’s fingernails dug into his thigh, but she didn’t speak or retaliate. It was the first truly insulting thing Arno had said. Up to that point he had been polite and even friendly. Dimitri suspected his beliefs ran as deep as did his prejudice.

“I would prefer not to be exterminated,” Dimitri said. “I am a man, not an insect.”

“A very dangerous man,” Arno pointed out. “Your lifemate nearly died. I know because we were in this room when your prince and her mother believed her dead. It nearly started a war right here. Suppose she had died?” he challenged. “Without a lifemate, you could turn, isn’t that correct?”

Dimitri shrugged his shoulders. “Lifemates follow one another into the next life.”

“In every case? Always?” Arno continued to push his point.

“Not always,” Dimitri conceded, “but it is rare not to do so.”

“We’ve studied your culture.” Lyall took up the argument. “We know that when a mate dies, madness grips the male. How would this affect the mixed blood? Wouldn’t he be more likely to choose the way of the vampire rather than lose his life?”

“It isn’t about losing one’s life,” Dimitri answered. “As a Carpathian, as a lifemate, our first duty is to see to the health and happiness of our mate. She wouldn’t die of sickness. That would be impossible. She wouldn’t die in an accident. She would have to be targeted—murdered.” His eyes met Lyall’s. “Then choosing life over death would be about revenge.”

The word revenge hung in the air between them.

Mikhail sighed. You could have chosen your words more carefully, Dimitri.

I am no politician, Mikhail. If they have studied our culture, they know that by sentencing me to death, they would also be sentencing my lifemate as well. They sit across from Skyler and calmly discuss exterminating us. Both of us. Do you think I will allow any of these men to harm my lifemate?

For the first time he felt the impact of Mikhail’s rage. It hit like a solid body blow, mean and wicked. Do you think that I would? That any Carpathian would? There is no chance that we would ever agree to what they are proposing. There is, however, a small chance that they will see things our way.

Dimitri took a deep breath. Mikhail was right. It wasn’t that Dimitri couldn’t be objective, he just thought sitting there was a waste of time. Trying to change centuries of prejudice seemed impossible to him. Arno had almost a religious fervor to him when he forgot to be a polite council member and began to heat up over a subject that clearly he felt passionate about.

Forgive me, Mikhail. I see that you have had to walk a fine line in spite of what you would like to say to these people.

It was Rolf who broke the silence. “I can understand how one would want revenge, Dimitri. If my wife was murdered, I would hunt down the one who killed her and, God forgive me, I am certain I would kill him. I am Lycan, not human, and my instincts as a predator would likely overcome all civilization.”

Dimitri nodded. “Seeing Skyler dead, or at least believing she was, it was a very dark moment for me, but I would not let her go into another life without me by her side. I would leave the hunt to her father and uncle.” He looked at Arno. “I am Hän ku pesäk kaikak and I have never failed my people or dishonored myself or my family. Duty and honor have been ingrained in me since I was a child, centuries ago. I can only tell you, I serve as a Guardian, not a predator on the people I protect.”

“It is easy enough to pass judgment on the mythical Sange rau when few in our lifetime have ever seen his destruction,” Randall said. “It is an altogether different thing when we have Dimitri and his lifemate sitting across the table from us. Clearly he poses no threat to us.”

“Now,” Arno said. “Now he poses no threat. We don’t know what he will do in the future, and what if they breed?”

The word breed was said with such repugnance and loathing, Dimitri gripped Skyler’s hand tightly, warning her not to speak. This was Mikhail’s territory, not his. Fen and Zev were both silent, but they exchanged a long look.

Dimitri was grateful that the council members weren’t aware both Fen and Zev were of mixed blood. They had been targeted by assassins, not for their blood, but because whoever wanted the war between the two species saw them as threats to his plans.

“That was rude, Arno,” Rolf said quietly. “Extremely rude. Skyler, please accept my apologies on behalf of all Lycans.” He pinned the council member with a frown. “We are sworn to put all prejudices aside and judge fairly. You swore that, although you were a member of the Sacred Circle, you could accept the changes modern society brought.” Rolf indicated Daciana. “She is one of our best elite hunters, yet her skills would be denied to us if the members of the Sacred Circle had their way. You helped pass the law allowing her to serve. We came here with open minds, prepared to change our law if it was warranted.”

“I know. I know.” Arno shoved both hands through the thick pelt of hair on his head. “Women hunted before the sacred code was put in place. A precedent had already been set,” he defended. “The sacred code was written after the Sange rau decimated our people. We needed the women home. Now, it isn’t as crucial.”

“That’s understandable.” Mikhail sought to bring the rising tension down. “We lost our women as well, and most of them do not hunt. We prefer them to remain safe. A few go out with their lifemates, but we’re still rebuilding and we debate the issue often.”

Arno sent him a grateful look. “Forgive me, Skyler and Dimitri. I struggle with my beliefs. Sometimes they don’t make sense and I fight all the harder for them.”

He sounded genuinely upset, a man who definitely wanted to do the right thing, but was caught in a war between past and present.

His beliefs are strong, anchored in centuries of reinforcement. He believes very strongly that every mixed blood poses a threat to his species and shouldn’t—no, can’t be tolerated, Dimitri observed, using the common Carpathian path.

He is not alone in that belief, Zev said. All members of the Sacred Circle believe as he does, and they are not only great in number, but loud about it. Arno is one of their highest-ranking members and speaks regularly on the sanctity of their code. He is probably one of their biggest recruiters. He’s a good speaker and feels passionate about his subject.

Could he be the man targeting the council members for death on our soil? Mikhail asked.

Zev sighed. I would never have believed such a thing of him. He’s always been a good man, but now . . . He trailed off. Gunnolf and Convel were both members of the Sacred Circle, but I never thought they would betray us, or betray our pack.

Rolf shook his head. “We’re all tired. Perhaps we should adjourn until tomorrow night. Dimitri has given us much to think about.”

Lyall glanced at his watch. “It is late,” he agreed.

Arno checked his cell phone. “Later than I thought. I believe it would be best to adjourn also. I need to put things in perspective.”

The council members rose, as did the Carpathians.

“Before you leave,” Zev said, “we need to make absolutely certain all of you are safe.”