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Ruling The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 3) 54
I’d had a messenger grab Lance, and he and Dom were standing near the center of the room, eyeing the council members. The Wargs sat on one side, with the Kings on the other. It was strange to see the room divided in half like this, and it added to the tense mood.I let out a deep breath, then went to stand between Lance and Dom. I waited a few more minutes for people to filter in, and when I felt enough time had passed for everyone to be settled, I cleared my throat. “Welcome, everyone.” The sound of my voice silenced the chatter. “Let’s get this meeting started.”I had both councils sit at the largest table with me, Dom, and Lance standing at the head. I saw the reluctance on every council member’s face. This would be a tough meeting, and it was more likely that the Wargs council would give me the most trouble. I would never let them know it, but not having their support set me on edge. Especially now. A pack that wasn’t united allowed danger to get in.Bryn and I’d both had little v
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“Truth be told,” said Frankie, “the only thing that has been slowing progress down is the council.” She eyed each Warg council member, but her gaze stayed on her grandfather’s. “A council should be the voice of the pack, but it’s starting to feel like you five haven’t been living up to that. Maybe we need new members.”The threat was not one to be taken lightly. An alpha had to be challenged to lose their position, but a member of the council could be voted out.I watched the Wargs Council look around the room and then at each other, panic and surprise widening their eyes. I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I got some satisfaction from their reactions. After all, they’d blindsided me with their opinions.Following another tense silence, Graham cleared his throat. “Perhaps we were too quick to speak out. Night, please, if you would continue.”I didn’t bother hiding my grin. “Certainly. Now that I’ve got a better idea of how everyone is feeling, I’ll tell you that these changes for the comm
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As Tavi and I offered our support to the parents, Gladys walked up to me.“What will happen to them now?” Gladys asked, silent tears tracking down her cheeks. “Can they be saved?”I reached for her face before I could think better of it. But she didn’t flinch away as I wiped the tears from her soft cheeks that were withered with age.“Looking through Samuel’s memories seemed to help him a great deal, and I’m hopeful that doing the same for these kids will help. But I can’t promise the impossible. All I can do is assure you that I will do what I can as a descendant of the pack mothers.”She nodded, sniffed, then hugged me. I embraced her as tightly as I could.“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you anything more concrete,” I said.“No, we should all be thanking you,” Gladys said. “You followed through on your promise.”“My promise?”“To find our babies. Most of us had already given up, but you’ve given us something to hope for. Before you and Alpha Night, hope was in very short supply.”I smi
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Chapter 19NightBryn and I left Dom, Lance, and Tavi to make their plans and headed home. As we closed the door behind us, we let out heavy sighs.“I’m happy,” Bryn murmured. “But it was tough. I feel like I’ve been carrying the entire world on my shoulders since yesterday, and now I’ve finally let some of that burden go.”“I hear you.” I pulled her close and then lifted her into my arms, carrying her like the queen she was. She was coming up on eight months already. It seemed these last few weeks of her pregnancy had passed so quickly. “My meeting with the council went really well.”“Did you tell them off?” she asked, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.“I didn’t have to.” I carried her into the living room and sat on the couch with her in my lap. “The pack did that for me.”“That’s awesome!” She nuzzled under my chin and slipped her hands down to my chest. “Tell me everything.”“At first, they were very resistant to the third phase of the merger, but many of our pack members def
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She moved closer to me and lay her cheek against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, stroking her back. She and I had made huge strides for the betterment of our packs, but the threat of Troy hanging over our heads made it hard to really appreciate how far we’d come. I’d have to go out there soon to deal with him and put an end to all of this. That time would probably come the minute my hunting team returned, when I’d head out with them to track him down.“There are too many unknowns,” Bryn said. “Too many loose ends. It feels like if even one more thing goes wrong, everything we’ve worked for will fall apart.”“I know how you feel.” I ran my fingers through her hair. The strands passed like silk ribbons between my fingers. “We’ve worked so hard, and the thought of it all falling apart is too painful to consider.”She looked up. “It almost sounds like you’re about to say ‘but.’”I smiled. “But there’s nothing we can do at this very second. Nothing more that can be done tonight. It
Ruling The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 3) 59
I threw off the covers, freshened up, then went downstairs. As I got closer to the kitchen, I heard laughter, and I realized that laughter didn’t belong to Night. It was Mom and Violet, chatting and giggling.I entered the kitchen and found the two of them standing by the stove. Violet was making the pancakes. She flipped one, and I watched the sweet, golden-brown treat soar in mid-air before landing in the pan again. My stomach rumbled, and the baby gave another ferocious kick.“Bryn, honey,” Mom said, turning a beaming smile toward me. “Have breakfast with us.”“With the grandmas!” Violet added, shifting the pancake onto a plate where a couple dozen of them were stacked.“The grandmas?” I repeated with a smile. “It almost sounds like you two could be a band.”Violet and Mom exchanged a mischievous glance. “But we could, couldn’t we?” Violet asked. “I’ll do the vocals, and you the flute, Glenda?”“Oh, absolutely.” Mom nodded.I laughed as I sat down at the table, which was already co
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The fact that you have these worries already bodes well for your future as a mother. It’s important to think about these things; it’ll make it easier if and when those things come up.”“I guess that’s true.”“It’s normal to have these anxieties when your due date nears,” Violet said. “But if you find that they’re really gnawing at you, you should talk to Night about it. I know he was feeling a bit down, but I’m sure he’ll be open to hearing your worries.”I nodded. It was reasonable advice. “Night was feeling the pressures of being an alpha, but I think he’s been doing a lot better. Our recent successes have helped bolster his confidence, but it was tough for a while there. He even kept the fact that Lance was my brother from me.”Mom’s eyes widened, and Violet demanded, “He did that to you?”“Lance asked him to keep it a secret from everyone, including me.”She let out a tight sigh. “Fates above, I’m so sorry on my son’s behalf. If you need me to, I can give him an earful.”Mom frown
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It came to me that this was a pivotal moment. I was always planning on being involved with the search for Troy’s lair—after all, I was the only one who had an idea what the lair looked like—but it meant that I would be going out into the thick of it. I was heavily pregnant, and I’d be leaving the safety of our territory to find a dangerous, crazed man. The Night I had gotten to know months ago would never have let me do something this risky. But how would he react now?There was a pause, and I watched Night’s face closely as the gears turned in his mind. And then, he said, “Bryn, I need you with me.”A flood of emotion, of relief, of love came to me then, rocking me so hard, I actually swayed on my feet.“Of course. I’ll get ready now.”“Wait, Bryn.” Lance stepped up. “It’s too dangerous. If you just tell us what to look for, I’m sure we can find it—”“Lance, no,” Night interrupted before I could open my mouth. “It’s okay. Bryn is the only one who can lead us to Troy’s hideout. She’s
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