Chapter 128: DOROTHY IS THE NEW CHOSEN MATE

CHAPTER 128

DORIAN

After Zade left the office, I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself. My hands gripped the edge of the desk until my knuckles ached.

Charlotte was in danger. I shouldn’t have agreed for her to go to Italy. I shouldn’t have let her leave my sight.

She wasn’t even stable here and could barely hold a controlled shift in a training ground with backup and I agreed to send her three countries away with nothing but ten days and a promise to send photos.

What the hell was I thinking? Even though she had made up her mind, I was the Alpha and she was my mate. I should have taken the necessary measures to keep her safe.

But I was grateful Zade hadn’t listened to her, just as I hadn’t. He had gone out of his way to make sure someone was watching her.

The thought brought a small measure of relief, but it didn’t last. I wondered what would have happened if Diego hadn’t come to her rescue.

The image of her cornered in an alley made my stomach twist. My chest felt tight with a mix of guilt and anger.

The most important thing troubling my mind was how the rogues knew about her departure and exactly where she was going.

They knew her destination, her timing, her location within the city. That information came from somewhere inside this pack

Maybe the wolves the townspeople were seeing weren’t my pack members. I knew my wolves weren’t stupid enough to shift wildly and howl near humans. Someone was watching her.

There was an intel leak in this pack. The realization burned hot in my gut.

I stood up from my chair, the legs scraping loudly against the floor. That is a matter for another day, I told myself. One thing at a time.

Right now I needed to have a serious conversation with my pack members and their thick skulls.

I walked out of the office, my boots echoing down the hallway. I grabbed the bell used for emergency gathering meetings and rang it hard.

The loud, metallic clang cut through the air. Anyone who heard it would inform the others if they weren’t close, and everyone would gather at the hall. My jaw stayed clenched as I waited.

The pack members soon filled the hall. The murmur of voices and the shuffle of feet created a low rumble around me.

I stood at the front, arms crossed over my chest, and didn’t waste their time.

“I was on my way on patrol when Mayor Brian decided to have a discussion with me,” I said, my voice carrying clearly across the room. “He complained that townspeople have been dropping reports about sightings that look like wolves A sound in the night that a retired schoolteacher described as—" I paused, "—something between a wolf and a truck."

I looked around the room slowly, locking eyes with members of my patrol teams. Some shifted uncomfortably under my gaze.

"These reports are coming from the east circuit." I looked at the patrol teams directly. "The east woods. Which most of you know are used regularly by the town's hikers and campers." I let that land. "We cannot be careless, losing control without proper vigilance. One mistake and everything we have built here is at risk."

The hall fell quieter. I could hear the faint creak of chairs and someone clearing their throat. My blood still ran hot with frustration from the conversation with the mayor and the worry over Charlotte.

How many warnings do they need?

“This is unacceptable,” I continued, my voice low and firm. “You all know our real identity. We’re werewolves. You know what these people are. We live among humans as hunters, protectors, but if they ever found out who we really are, then we’re doomed. Our secrecy is what keeps us alive.”

I looked around the room one more time. "If that changes — if the wrong person files the wrong report with the wrong authority — we are not just exposed. We are hunted. All of us. Everything we have built here."

I let the words hang in the air for a moment, watching their faces. “I’m assigning new rotations starting tonight. Your work is protecting not just the pack but the cover that keeps the pack safe. Those two things are not separate. One slip on patrol and the whole cover collapses. Do I make myself clear?”

The room stayed quiet in that attentive way, not the uncomfortable shifting I had seen earlier. Good.

I continued with clear instructions on the new schedules, naming who would cover which sections and when. “The six sections would have doubled coverage on tjr east circuit. There will be no solo or like shifts in the civilian hiking zones until further notice. exceptions. You'll report anything unusual immediately.”

"If anyone has information about what has been happening on the east circuit, you bring it to Zade or to me directly." I held the room one more beat. "That's everything. You all are dismissed."

The patrol members filed out quickly. I kept the council members back with a sharp gesture. The door closed behind the last patrol wolf, leaving the five of us plus Zade in the quieter hall.

“How is the task about the Luna coming on?” I asked, leaning forward with my hands on the table. “Any news yet?”

The council stayed.

I sat down at the head of the long table and looked at the five of them and asked how the Luna search was progressing.

Elder Harkin went first. He straightened in his chair and produced his notes with the air of a man who had been waiting for this question.

"I've identified three candidates from the northern alliance packs," he said. "Alpha Renfield's daughter from Greywood. She's twenty-three, strong bloodline, politically clean. A she-wolf from the Caldwell pack, Alpha Dermott's niece, good temperament by all accounts. And a third from Whitestone whose name I'll have in writing by the end of the week." He folded his hands. "All three families are receptive to the conversation."

Kale went next, flipping a page in his notes. “From the Silvercrest pack, I have Lena. She’s twenty-four, excellent tracker, and her father controls key trade routes. She's also been to Ironveil twice for the competition and knows our setup. I'm sure it'll be a straightforward connection." He shrugged one shoulder, "A match there would secure our southern borders.”

Holland leaned forward. "I have one name from my previous contacts in the south… pre-rogue, from when I was still Beta of my old pack. The Alpha there has a daughter who has been on the eligible list for two years. Good wolf, well-trained. The political connection would extend our reach into the southern territory which given Lockwood's activity is not a small thing."

Maren said it simply. "I have just one candidate. Alpha Birch's daughter—Sienna—from the Fernvale pack. She's young but decisive. Her pack has healing knowledge we lack. A mating would bring immediate medical advantages during conflicts."

Elder Cass was last. She looked at her notes and then at me. "I have two names but I am going to say plainly what I think before I read them."

She held my gaze. "I think this process is being moved faster than it should be and I think the reasons for that speed deserve more scrutiny than they're getting." A pause.

"That said." She read the names. The females came from good backgrounds and had reasonable connections. She said nothing else.

I listened to each presentation without expression, my face blank as they laid out names, backgrounds, and political implications of every connection.

My fingers tapped once against the table, the only movement I allowed myself.

I turned to Zade beside me. “Zade, don’t you have anything to report?”

Zade spoke up, his voice calm. “Dorothy — daughter of Alpha Caleb of the Moonfall pack. The lineage is steady, good diplomatic relationship with Ironveil. Caleb has been looking for a formal alliance for two years. A mating connection would serve both packs well.”

The council members nodded and murmured approval. I felt a small shift inside me, but pushed it down.

“Set up a meeting to meet Alpha Caleb,” I told Zade.

The council members gathered their notes and filed out with the satisfied energy of people who had been waiting for a decision and had finally got one.

Zade stayed behind. He looked at me carefully, his expression serious.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said quietly. “There are other ways to handle the Council.”

I looked at the table. Something moved across my face... that half-second flicker I couldn’t explain and then it was gone.

Guilt and confusion churned in my gut. Why does this feel wrong?

"Set up the meeting," I repeated, my voice flat.

Zade looked at me for a moment longer. Then he nodded and picked up his notebook and smiled at me.

“Of course Dorian." He tucked the notebook under his arm. "I genuinely was expecting you won’t refuse.”