Chapter 197: A Recap of Sorts (Lucky's POV)
Vincar confirmed that it was indeed Nadine we’d brought back with us, and that Aksel’s assessment was also correct: somehow, she was fully a wolf with no human side. She was also severely dehydrated and injured. Several of her ribs were broken, and there was a fracture to her skull. She was in and out of consciousness, and always looked at Wyatt with a human-like sense of recognition.
After a few hours of rest, I awoke to find a note on Wyatt’s pillow asking me to join him and the others in his office. I wasn’t sure who ‘the others’ would be, considering Cillian and Scarlet had beaten Aksel and me back, we were down Kelley, and we had a shit ton of secondaries and former Elders here.
I did my best to get ready quickly, trying not to acknowledge the relaxing feeling of the hot water bouncing on my skin. Given the current circumstances, I needed to be ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice, so I opted out of dressing for my title. Instead, I donned the fighting leathers I used to train with Eros and Kelley. My hair was twisted into a tight braid crown to keep it out of my way.
Quickly, I made my way down the hall and to Wyatt’s office. The door was propped open. Inside, Eros, Fenrir, Alistair, Sirius, Aksel, Cillian, and Wyatt were waiting. Wyatt motioned for me to close the door.
Once I’d taken my spot beside Wyatt, he started to speak, “As a quick recap for anyone who’s struggling to keep up, the following things have happened in recent weeks:
I died and was brought back to life after we defeated the shifter warlock, Desmond.
The Elder Council attempted to put me on trial, citing that my actions and decisions were treasonous and put the entire Dominion at risk. Lines were drawn, sides were chosen, and an amnesty period was given for travel.
Kelley left. Shasta died.
Cillian has joined us.
Nadine is stuck in wolf form, with no human soul detectable currently. An entire pack of wolves seems to have vanished with no explanation. These two things occurred within days of the Elder Council attacking the pack with their own army of Reawakened.
Did I miss anything?”
Cillian chucked darkly, “Think that about sums it up, boss.”
Wyatt nodded, “Before I dive into the rest of this here, I want to offer you all an explanation as to why Aksel is present.” Aksel rolled his shoulders back, his interest piqued. I cocked my head to the side as Wyatt spoke, “Things have moved very quickly over the last few months. With Kelley leaving us so unexpectedly, it has left a very important position open in this pack and in the Dominion. Aksel has the trust of my mate and has proven himself very useful these last few weeks.” Wyatt turned his gaze to Aksel, “I believe he would be a good fit for the position of Beta of the Obsidian Banes. Any objections?”
No one spoke. Wyatt nodded at Aksel, who bowed his head, “It is an honor, Alpha King.”
“Your commencement won’t be the usual one, I’m afraid,” Wyatt nodded at the previous Elders, “We will perform the ceremony shortly after this meeting and welcome you to our ranks privately before announcing it, along with everything else, to everybody.”
“I understand,” Aksel glanced at me, and I smiled at him.
Wyatt cleared his throat, “Now, we need to decide how we’re handling this going forward.”
“They’re a formidable enemy,” Alistair sighed and rested his elbows on the table, “I’ve been trying to figure out where they found someone who can perform tasks like creating Reawakened and such. None of my answers are good.”
“Do you think that’s where we need to focus on striking them?” I asked softly, meeting his scarred gaze.
“I think it’s the only way to weaken them,” Eros interjected with a cluck of his tongue, “The question is how we get close enough.”
Silence resounded through the room. Cillian shifted in his seat, “I have an answer. But I don’t think anyone’s going to like it.” We all turned to look at him, and he swallowed, “A double agent. We have one they wouldn’t question. One that could give them a believable story of capture and torment.”
“Absolutely not,” Wyatt growled, “He can’t be trusted.”
My eyebrows furrowed, “Who are you two talking about?”
“Spencer,” Wyatt snapped, hands gripping the arms of his chair roughly.
“Told you that you wouldn’t like it,” Cillian smirked before motioning around the table, “But I don’t see anyone else coming up with anything better either.”
Wyatt turned to me, eyes pleading. I wanted to have a stroke of brilliance for him, to come up with something so tactically brilliant that there was no doubt it was a better option. But I couldn’t. Cillian had a point, and we could most likely flesh everything out to make a solid and workable plan. So far, they’d overpowered and outsmarted us. We needed to beat them at their own game instead of fighting by the usual rules of warfare for our species.
My hand rested on Wyatt’s thigh as I lowered my voice, keeping my eyes locked on his, “It’s a solid idea, Wyatt.”
He sucked in a breath and sat back in his chair, briefly looking up at the ceiling, “Moon Goddess help us. I guess we ask him if he’s up for it.”
“And in the meantime?” Sirius asked, motioning to the group, “How do we fight them when we don’t know where they’ll strike?”
I nodded slowly and cleared my throat, “Unfortunately, I think the answer to that is obvious and could help us with the cover story for Spencer, if he’s up for it,” I bit my bottom lip, looking down at the table, “We take the fight to them.”
“Are you crazy?” Eros asked, voice higher in pitch, “We’d be sacrificing so many advantages by—”
“Tell me what advantages, uncle,” I cut him off sharply, “because so far, they’ve outmatched us and outpaced us in every decision and every attack.”
Wyatt hissed out a breath, standing up, “Let’s sleep on it. We can meet back here tomorrow morning. All of you take the day,” he looked at me, “You and I can meet with Spencer and discuss some other things.”
Cillian stood and clapped Wyatt on the shoulder, “Good to see you alive and well again.”
“Nice to be alive and well again,” Wyatt’s voice fell flat as almost everyone scurried from the office. Aksel stayed behind, remaining seated. My mate cocked his head to the side as the office door closed behind Aksel, “What is it?”
“What are you keeping from us?” Aksel narrowed his eyes on Wyatt, “When you were talking about everything that’s happened, your voice shifted after you talked about you coming back to life. Is there something that I need to know, as your soon-to-be Beta?”
Wyatt’s jaw set sharply, his eyes flashing gold. My eyes jumped between the two of them, my heart pounding. After a few moments, Wyatt sucked in a deep breath, “Lucky is certainly a good judge of character. I suppose the three of us should talk then.”