219- Councils of Power and the Weight of Blood
POV Aldren Valmorin:
“Do you feel guilty for having to punish a friend this way?” he continued.
“No. Not anymore.”
“Will you send the prisoner to us?”
“No. Not yet…” My manipulated answer made my beast dig its claws into my entrails.
If it depended on my savage side, the answer would probably be: never, I would never imprison Elowen in Noctheria.
“Why are you keeping a spy in your home, Aldren?” I couldn’t even look at them to answer.
“Elowen is not a spy, she is Lunara’s sister, and she was only searching for her in my lands, with no knowledge whatsoever of my laws.”
A surprised gasp slipped from the eyeless one’s mouth, and for the next few minutes, silence reigned.
Edric’s loyalty still impressed me. To help his wife, he could have informed the elders of what had happened and demanded my prisoner for his village. Perhaps he would have succeeded, because of their kinship.
“And only now do we learn this? That your prisoner is the queen’s sister?”
“Forgive me.”
“And how will the matter be resolved? Will you accept the female into Valmorin?”
“I still don’t know. I am testing her loyalty…”
“We would like to meet her.” His tone softened.
“Soon.”
I turned my body, gathering the courage to look at their faces. All three were standing with their arms crossed, but there was no disapproval in their expressions.
“This female must be extraordinary, to have invaded Valmorin and kept her head attached to her neck,” commented the earless one, receiving a nod of agreement from the lipless one.
I tightened the muscles of my face, hiding the smile that wanted to form. It would be far too embarrassing to show that I enjoyed the turbulent company of that female.
“There is nothing special about her.” Suddenly, the presence of that prisoner turned me into an abominable liar.
The eyeless one turned his face, seized by one of his omens.
“The others have arrived,” he announced.
…
I was surprised as I entered the hall. The alpha of the Averwyn pack, who almost never graced us with his presence, was finally occupying his place.
If we were to elect the wealthiest among us, without a doubt it would be him, the owner of a precious stones mine to which none of the alphas—except me—had the privilege of being invited.
Business.
The few females that remained in his territory needed my antidote, and his aggressive wolves needed the healing injections.
Viktor dressed in garments that, although reflecting a fashion from three hundred years ago, benefited his appearance. Any of us would look ridiculous in those clothes, but on him, they actually worked.
His cold white skin, with the appearance of snow, sculpted his square face, which now carried a shadow of beard. His dark, somber eyes held more secrets than they could hide, and a lock of brown hair with mahogany nuances fell over his furrowed forehead.
He hardly looked friendly, but he didn’t care in the slightest.
“Viktor, it’s a miracle to have you here. Without a doubt, you’re only attending today to cause some trouble,” I mocked, sitting in my ancient wooden chair in the circle, the one assigned to me.
Edric chuckled discreetly beside me, running his fingers through the curls of his hair. Completing the arc, Konrad tried to look more serious than he truly was, and Sullivan, with disheveled hair falling over his shoulders, sat with his legs and arms crossed, like someone who hated meetings.
“You are mistaken, dear Aldren,” Viktor replied seriously.
The elders took their positions and seemed pleased to see all their beloved “sons” gathered.
“From now on, may our meetings always be complete,” declared the eyeless one, baring his yellow teeth in a satisfied smile.
“As far as I’m concerned, this spoiled brat can keep not showing up,” declared Sullivan Tharengard, scratching his unfinished beard, unconcerned.
“Sullivan, restrain yourself,” reprimanded the earless one.
“To your displeasure, you’ll have to swallow me every month from now on,” Viktor shot back, casting the other an odious look.
I never understood what the big issue was between those two, but even the coal production carried out by the Tharengard pack was suspended for the Averwyn pack. Sullivan’s luck was that he didn’t value precious stones, because he wouldn’t be able to acquire them from Viktor either.
I found it strange not to hear any interference from Konrad in the exchange of barbs, since he also didn’t sympathize with Viktor, simply because his entry into the Averwyn village was forbidden.
The moralistic shepherd did not understand that it wasn’t just him who was forbidden to enter, but all of us, including our paternal figures. The traps surrounding the territory struck anyone who decided to visit it without permission. Anyone.
Alpha Viktor lived reclusively and made no effort to maintain a friendly relationship with us, but as far as I remembered, his disdain for Konrad and Sullivan stretched back centuries, since our childhood.
“Calm yourselves, boys,” the centenary voice of the eyeless one reverberated.
“Viktor, is your presence due to some problem, my son?” the earless one asked him, with affection and respect.
“Do I need to have a problem to show up?” He fixed his eyes on the elder who had asked the question, unmoved by the gentle and friendly tone that had been used. “As far as I remember, you always insist that I be present.”
“And we are happy about that. It is something new.” The one without eyes seemed quite focused in the direction of the alpha, giving the sensation that he could see him before himself. “We hope it will be another reason for unity.”
The corners of Viktor’s mouth lifted with slight scorn as he slowly swept his gaze over everyone in that room, as if coldly analyzing us. Or searching for something, which was strange. There was no reply.
“Elders,” Sullivan raised his voice, interrupting them. “My village is suffering from a lack of females. I would like to ask you to consider new admissions to my territory. The little lust party hasn’t solved anything; new partners are not being bonded.”
I rolled my eyes at the alpha who complained the most among the five, yet never brought a solution. The mouthless elder shook his head in disapproval, revealing the true opinion of the three.
“We have not had good results from the newly admitted she-wolves. Between chaos and a pack without new offspring, we prefer the second option,” declared the eyeless one.
“And what do we do if we are left without successors?”
“We made a good choice by trusting territory to you. The result is how you are able to live in prosperity, without needing humans. If necessary, we will do it again. Do not worry about the future.”
The legend we knew said that our elders were immortal, but in recent months, their appearances had deteriorated a little more.