Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Tyler POV

Maybe I just had to remind him that we weren't on the same league. On my own, I possessed powers ten times greater than his. And, well, it might still be a bloody war. I was going to come out victorious. That was enough to put some fear into him for now.

Well, at least that was the image that I wanted to plant in his head. It didn't matter if I didn't believe it. The good part about going about my actions in secret was that right now, no one knew that I didn't possess the powers of a lycan, and they still saw me as the god that I was.

And even as calculative and impotent as Carlos, leader of the world, is, he is not foolish. He knows what an upfront confrontation can do to him. I trusted that he would see the reason in this. Yes, I was getting the upper hand at this meeting, and I'll be able to come out victorious, I thought to myself.

But I wasn't done thinking when Carlos's lips curled into a mocking smile. But I thought in disbelief, there was no way he had that covered.

"Oh, the noble lycan, so self-righteous," he muttered, a grin flashing across his eyes that contrasted sharply with his easygoing expression. I sensed danger.

"Let me tell you something, Tyler," he began. "Power is all that matters. I trust that you would know all about that quite well. Be sure that I would do whatever it takes to secure my position here. We were suppressed for far too long. It's time for us to step out of the shadows, and if bloodshed is what's going to make that happen, then I will commit to it."

Damage I couldn't undo. My bridge—he was proving to be more difficult than I thought. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down as I leaned back slightly, pretending to consider his words even as my mind raced with a hundred ways this scenario could play out differently.

There was still a lot of tension in the room. Our little chat could easily end in guns raised, I thought, my mind racing. And I was the stranger. From this position looking up at the scene, I could clearly see the camera that was planted in the room—another solid reminder that this wasn't a private conversation.

I needed to speak to Carlos in plain sense, to let him know what was at stake, but I couldn't risk exposing my knowledge about the silver bullets. Not here. I needed another way to corner him.

"What do you want?" I asked finally, my voice sharp.

Carlos stopped drumming on the table and looked up at me, his gray eyes boring into my soul. He wasn't smiling anymore, his fingers now steepled under his chin.

"I'm glad you asked," he said in a voice that made me instantly regret it. "Here's the deal, lycan. This choice is that I actually want to avoid bloodshed as much as you do. I will leave your precious pack untouched, and I will also withdraw my men attacking the Blue Ray pack, even though I have no reason to promise you that," he added with a slight frown.

But he paused, his eyes glinting with malice. Of course, there was going to be a 'but.' This impudent man was going to lay out his terms and conditions like he was the one calling the shots.

"I want," he stated, "access to the trading routes that cut through your territory," he said, the words slipping out of his lips so easily like he practiced it beforehand.

My blood ran cold. I clenched my fist under the table. How arrogant, I thought. Then I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I had to approach this from a rational perspective.

Just then, the door opened and the waiter returned, carrying our drinks on a large tray in one hand. I sighed in relief, thankful for the slight break in tension. Maybe this distraction could allow me to carefully think over my next words.

He dropped our drinks on the table—a glass of martini for Carlos and a bottle of vodka for me. "Enjoy," he said, his eyes darting between the two of us. I could see the fear in them. Even the waiters weren't stupid—he could tell that this was a very important conversation that could easily spell war if anything went wrong.

I waited until he was out of the booth, closing the door behind him, before turning back to Carlos. Not that I was considering it, but allowing him to access my trading routes would be giving him the advantage that he needed to smuggle his weapons through the borders. His kindred would be advancing their weaponry, and trust me, once he thought he had enough ammunition to wage war on all the lycan packs, he would go at it immediately.

After expanding his influence, he would push me into a corner. I would be forced to either get into a war I wasn't prepared for or strike another deal with him that would affect me in the long term.

Carlos was making a bold demand, one he knew that I couldn't accept. And why was he doing that? Because he was equally satisfied with me refusing his request. In simpler terms, this man was ready for war already. This sham of a negotiation for peace was only a deliberate slap in my face.

"I can't agree to that," I said carefully, keeping my tone measured. "Those routes are heavily monitored. If you think of it as under the radar, you are mistaken."

Carlos's eyes darkened, the smug smile vanishing from his face. He brought his wine to his lips like we were having a perfectly normal conversation, and yet I could still sense the killing intent in his eyes.

"You underestimate me, lycan," he said darkly. "My reach already extends further than you think. I'll wait for my terms to save that pathetic Blue Ray pack because, trust me, that won't be the only thorn in your side once I'm done causing trouble."

I glared at him. Now he was making blatant threats and expecting me not to react to it. I couldn't reject it immediately now; otherwise, I would have to deal with the after-effects. I met his gaze, my mind calculating the best way to get out of the situation.

Carlos wasn't just testing me—he was baiting me and pushing me, pinning me by my responsibilities as lycan to protect all wolf packs.

"I need time to consider your proposal," I said finally, my voice firm. "This isn't a decision I can make lightly, and you know it."

Carlos stared at me for a moment. He knew exactly what I was trying to do. I was buying time, but I didn't know for how long I would be able to do that.

"Fine," he muttered finally, leaning back with a shrug. "Take all the time you need, lycan. Just remember that every second you delay, the clock ticks closer to chaos," he said, raising his glass of wine in mock toast to me.

I clenched my fist under the table, the tension in the room taking a turn. Fine, he had the upper hand in this negotiation, but not for long, I thought to myself.

Carlos stood up and bowed at me. "I believe I've made my intentions very clear," he said, a hint of lingering threat in his voice. With that, he turned around and stepped out of the booth.

Nobody moved to close the door behind him. Left by myself, my hands tightened around the bottle of vodka, and I shoved it down in one go. Damn that impudent bastard.

I could still go after him and catch him in the corridors. I had a gun in my coat. I could end him right now. I shook my head, forcing these thoughts out of my mind. There was still a slim chance that that was exactly what Carlos wanted me to do. I couldn't fall into his trap so easily.

I had to retreat, restrategize. I had to lay low for now. It wasn't going to be easy, but I couldn't risk things slipping out of my control.

I spent the next few minutes alone in the room, even long after my drink was finished. It still had lingering traces of the tension that was previously in the air. I could easily envision Carlos still seated across from me with that infuriating smirk on his face.

But the rage was helping me think, strangely enough. And then the other part of me was not prepared to go back to the pack house just now because then I would have to narrate my near failure to the rest of the elders. I would have to break to them just how critical the situation was, and call me a coward, but I didn't have the words for that just yet.