Chapter 145 Don't Veda Me
Fennigan’s voice was like grinding stone. "You are dismissed. You may leave."
The messenger didn’t wait. He gave a sharp, stiff nod, retreated to his vehicle, and pulled around the circle drive with a haste that betrayed his practiced composure.
Fennigan stood there for a moment, before he turned back toward the porch. The Alpha mask softened, but only just enough to reach his family. He leaned down, ruffling Caspian’s messy curls and patting Briar’s cheek before pulling Leela into a brief kiss that tasted of lingering adrenaline.
"I’ve got to go get Jax," he murmured, his eyes already tracking toward the Great Room windows. "And the Elders. And Dad."
Leela’s brow furrowed, her lips parting as she started to protest. "Fenn, I’m coming with—"
Fennigan held his hand up, his expression firm. "No, Sparky."
The use of the nickname was meant to soften the blow, but his gaze remained steady. "I don’t want you back in that room. Veda was right—we keep this business in there so it doesn't seep out into the house. I won't have the twins or Zephyr breathing in whatever rot is inside this envelope."
He looked at the twins, who were still clutching Leela’s legs, their eyes wide and searching.
"Stay here in the sun," Fennigan commanded gently, though his Alpha aura was still simmering. "Keep the light on them. I’ll come out and tell you the moment we have a path forward."
With one last look at his mate, he turned and strode back into the house. The heavy thud of his boots echoed through the hallway as he headed for the Great Room to pull Jax away from Ginny and the visitors. The peace of the morning hadn't just been interrupted; it had been officially put on notice.
The moment the heavy mahogany doors of the study clicked shut behind Fennigan, the atmosphere on the porch shifted. The sunlight felt a fraction less warm, the shadows under the eaves a bit longer.
Toby and Sarah, sensing the sudden drop in the emotional barometer as they exited the Great Room, didn't even have to ask what was wrong. They had seen the High Council vehicle from the window. They took one look at Leela’s pale face and the way her fingers were white-knuckled against the porch railing, and they moved into action.
Without a word, the two young pack members sat cross-legged on the wooden slats, pulling a bright red rubber ball from a nearby toy bin. They began rolling it back and forth, making silly sound effects that immediately drew the twins’ attention away from the driveway.
"Look at this, Caspian!" Toby cheered, and soon the babble of the twins returned, providing a thin, comforting veil of noise over Leela’s racing thoughts.
Leela sank back onto the porch swing, the chains creaking softly. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, but it was harder than usual. Since she had fused with the Elemental Stone, her connection to the earth and sky was no longer just a talent—it was her very marrow.
And right now, that marrow was humming.
Because she was carrying Zephyr—a child conceived in the wake of that fusion—her magic wasn't just hers anymore; it was amplified by the life growing inside her. A crackly, electric tension began to hum in the air around her, making the fine hairs on her arms stand up. The air smelled of dry rain, a physical manifestation of her internal turmoil.
Settle down, Zephyr, she thought, pressing both palms flat against her stomach.
She took a deep, jagged breath, imagining her roots sinking deep into the Blackwood soil, pulling the steady, ancient peace of the mountain up into her veins. Slowly, the "butterfly" flutters in her womb began to smooth out, turning into a rhythmic, soothing pulse. The static in the air dissipated, leaving only the scent of the nearby pine trees.
She watched Toby and Sarah play with her children, their laughter a shield against the darkness being discussed behind the study doors. She was the Luna. She was the anchor. And no matter what was written on that parchment inside, she would not let her light flicker.
Inside the study, Fennigan lays the letter flat on the desk. The Council hasn't just requested a meeting; they've demanded that Fennigan and Leela present the twins for "Elemental Evaluation" at the Capital.
The air in the study didn't just heat up; it became combustible.
Damon slammed his fist onto the mahogany desk with a force that made the inkwell jump, the wood groaning under his Alpha strength. Fennigan let out a low, guttural snarl that vibrated in his chest like a localized earthquake, his eyes flashing a predatory, lethal gold. Jax, usually the level-headed tactician, was white-knuckled, his teeth bared in a silent promise of violence.
"Evaluation?" Fennigan’s voice was a jagged blade. "They want to put my children in a lab? Over my dead, rotting body."
"It’s a kidnapping disguised as a summons!" Jax barked, his aura flaring until the shadows in the corners of the room seemed to writhe.
The fury was a physical thing, a dark, suffocating cloud—until a sound like a gunshot cracked through the room.
WHACK.
Elder Veda had brought her heavy oaken cane down against the hardwood floor with surprising violence. The sound echoed off the bookshelves, cutting through the Alpha growls like a cold splash of water.
"Sit. Down. All of you," she hissed, her voice thin but sharp as a razor.
The three men froze, the sheer command in the ancient woman’s tone forcing their wolves to settle, however reluctantly. Veda stepped into the center of the room, her eyes narrowed as she looked from the scuff marks on the desk to the darkened veins in the men’s temples.
"I warned you about your tempers in here," she said, her voice trembling with a mixture of anger and genuine fear. "Look at the walls! Look at the floorboards! You are allowing the dark magic of your enemies to take root in the very bones of this house. Every time you lose your head to this rage, you feed the rot Vane left behind."
She pointed her gnarled finger at Fennigan, then at Jax.
"You think you’re fighting the Council? You’re fighting yourselves. If you keep this up, the darkness will seep into your dreams. You’ll start having evil thoughts, nightmares that turn into whispers of betrayal. The next thing you know, this whole beautiful thing you’ve built here will implode upon itself."
She stepped closer, her gaze hauntingly solemn.
"You will fight until there is no fixing what goes on between you. And do you think those women out there will stay for the wreckage? No. Leela will leave to protect her children from the poison you've become, and Ginny will follow because she cannot bear to be human in a werewolf family without her best friend beside her and she will take your son with her, Jax. You? You two will feud until you are strangers, and there will be only one of you left in these empty halls, king of a graveyard."
The silence that followed was deafening. The "explosion" of fury had been replaced by a chilling, hollow realization. Fennigan looked down at his hands, seeing for the first time how the shadows in the room seemed to cling to his fingers.
"Veda..." Fennigan started, his voice cracking.
"Don't 'Veda' me," she snapped, though her eyes softened slightly. "You want to protect those babies? Then you clear the air in your hearts first. You cannot fight the Council's darkness while harboring your own."