33. Danny

Chapter 33

Danny

I hated leaving Riley in bed, all alone.

Hated that our date was being cancelled again.

Hated that my life was now dictated by the council once more.

But most of all, I hated that I couldn't see a way out of it. The council flat-out refused to accept Finn as a permanent leader. As far as they were concerned, the matter was settled.

Maybe it was. That didn't mean I had to like it.

There was something going on though, and both Finlay and I had noticed it. A friction between us and the council, especially Iain, Alisdair, and Iris. They argued every point, refusing to let us do anything that might drag the clan into line with modern times. There was only so much Finn had been able to push through without me backing him up. Even with me here now, we were still hitting roadblocks. They were resistant to any change, and it was infuriating as fuck.

Halfway through the meeting that absolutely could've been an email, I started picking up that Riley was up to something. There was determination. A frisson of excitement. A bounce of annoyance.

Just what was my mate doing?

Sliding my phone from my pocket surreptitiously, I saw the message from him. I bit my lip, uncertain how I felt about him being out in the woods alone. I shook myself. The falls were well within the boundaries of our land, and I could be there in less than thirty seconds if necessary.

Besides, everyone who might be foolish enough to hurt Riley was sat in this room with me. Iris was across the table, arguing with Calan about what crop should be planted in the northeastern field. Ian was listening closely, while Alisdair was doing what he always did in these meetings.

Glaring at me.

It said a lot about his respect for me, or lack thereof. Most wolf shifters didn't dare to challenge their alpha so openly. Alisdair had never been one for intelligence though.

I met his stare, arching a brow at his audacity. Gratification filled me as his wolf submitted and he averted his eyes with a scowl.

"Let's table this for another time," Finlay interjected wearily. Like me, he was exhausted by the council. Everything we tried to do got tied up in their bureaucracy. "Danny, anything to add?"

I shook my head. Really, it was my job to chair these meetings, but I was happy for Finn to take charge.

If only they'd let him do it permanently, everything would be golden.

Quiet conversation broke out around us as everyone prepared to leave. I stood hastily, more than ready to track down my mate and make the most of the day we had left.

"Actually—" Alisdair's irritating voice rose about the chatter. "—there's a matter of a sensitive nature that we need to discuss. Danny, Finlay, and Logan, please remain behind."

My wolf sat up suddenly, his fur rolling. Something is wrong.

Everyone moved to leave except Calan. Alisdair turned his sneer on him. "Is there an issue with your hearing? You aren't required."

Calan's stony expression didn't shift. "You're not my alpha. I stay here until my alpha indicates otherwise."

"I am head of the council," Alisdair said, spittle flying across the table. "If I tell you to leave, you leave ."

"You are not the alpha," I said calmly. "Calan stays. Whatever you have to say to the rest of us can be said in front of him."

Finlay nodded in agreement, not taking his attention from the three council members who remained.

No, make that two council members. Iris was slipping out the door behind the others, head ducked as if to avoid notice.

Unease grew in me. Less than a minute passed before I felt Riley's end of the bond pick up, the same sensation dogging him.

Fuck.

I fought against my instincts, forcing myself to think clearly. Assessing the odds of different pathways and trying to figure out how best to protect Riley.

I wanted it to be me. I wanted to go to him, but there was a risk I'd be stopped. That orders had been given to slow me down.

Which meant going against everything I believed, everything I was burning to do, and sending another in my stead.

My wolf was pacing under my skin, just waiting to be unleashed. Without moving my head, I let my hand fall from my leg and hang out of sight below the table. In my peripheral vision, I saw Logan clock the movement.

Hoping like fuck they still used the system I'd implemented centuries ago, I tapped my middle finger against my thumb three times.

Danger. Go.

Relief flooded me as Logan jumped up, grabbing his stomach and wincing. "Fuck, I need to leave."

"Sit down," Alisdair barked. "This concerns all of you."

"No can do." He was already hustling for the door, patting his stomach, eyes comically wide. "Ate this dodgy chilli last night, and man, it's making itself known."

Iain took a step towards Logan and blocked his way. It was then that I spoke, dominance rolling through my words. "Logan, you may leave."

Iain and Alisdair exchanged a helpless look. My wolf growled. Fuckery was definitely afoot.

Iain's throat bobbed as he protested once more. "We need him here."

That was interesting. Why did they need me, Finn, and Logan here, but not Calan?

I suspected I knew the answer, but fuck, I hoped I was wrong. Being right meant this day was going to end with a tonne of bloodshed. Suddenly it became clear that we weren't the only ones frustrated by how the clan was being run.

They were too. They wanted more control. Control that neither myself nor Finn was willing to relinquish. To get that, they needed someone else in charge. Someone with my powers but their will and intentions.

And in order to achieve that, they needed both me and Finlay out of the way.

If they were truly planning on executing me and Finlay, what was about to happen was going to be etched into the history books of the clan. A warning to future generations of what happened when council members overstepped.

I knew why they didn't want Calan here. He was too vital to the clan. If they removed him as the lead pack enforcer, they'd be opening themselves up to attacks during what would be a perilous transition period as a new alpha took control.

Obviously, they were assuming they were going to overpower us. Which, to be clear, they would not.

I got their logic though. They were probably hoping to quietly dispatch myself and Finn, taking the leadership of the clan for themselves along with my powers. Then they'd spin a tale of bullshit to Calan, thinking he'd be easily influenced into believing their version of events.

Fucking idiots. Like always, they were underestimating the power of love. The love I'd had for my family that had led to me abandoning the clan. The love Lydia had had for her daughter which had made her tell me the plan she'd discovered. The love I had for Riley, which meant I'd end them all for this without a second thought.

And they were underestimating the love Calan had for his brother. They weren't outwardly close, but I knew them better than most. Their public distance was for the good of the clan. They didn't let others see their private familial bond for fear of it being exploited.

It was going to be the council members' downfall. Even if they'd succeeded in getting Calan out of the room and, somehow, overpowered both me and Finn, there was no world in which he'd be on their side.

He would've ended them all for us.

Logan though, I could see why they wanted him here. No one could've missed his growing bond with Riley. They knew he'd go straight to his friend to defend him. I knew from Finn that the council had been unhappy with Logan for a long time. ‘A loose cannon' they called him. One they wanted to deal with, but didn't know how to.

Said loose cannon was at the door, trembling as he tried to control his shift. Iain was blocking his way, his own body shaking in a similar fashion.

I got to my feet, leaning on my fists on the table. "Are you challenging your alpha?"

Iain began stuttering, red covering his skin. Logan took his chance, shouldering past him and heading out the door. I felt almost dizzy with relief, knowing Logan would track Riley fast. Hopefully whatever was about to happen wouldn't involve my mate, but I wasn't taking any fucking chances. If I'd thought I could make it to the door and go after him myself, I would've done that.

But my instincts were telling me they weren't going to let me leave this room without a fight. And yes, I could end both Alisdair and Iain in under a minute, especially with Finn and Calan at my back.

Who knew what that minute could cost me though. If Iain and Alisdair had planned this properly, there was no doubt others would be waiting to slow me down.

Logan though? Hopefully he'd be able to slip past without arousing suspicion.

I sat back down, waiting for them to make their move. Finlay and Calan did the same on either side of me. None of us reached for our weapons. If this came down to a fight, we wouldn't need them. They'd only slow us down.

"There's a delicate matter we need to discuss," Alisdair said, breaking the silence. In the distance, I heard the heavy thudding of boots on floorboards. Fuck. They'd brought reinforcements in. They knew they were no match for us and had planned accordingly. Question was: who?

None of us let a flicker of emotion betray us. All of our wolves remained silent, not pushing the shift. They knew as well as we did that we needed to choose our moment wisely. "Why don't we drop the pretence, Alisdair? What you have planned isn't a discussion."

"No, it's not." Grim satisfaction took over his face as the door to the room burst open. Shifter after shifter trailed inside. I didn't recognise a single one of them, but I was willing to bet good money that they weren't from a single tribe. All of them bore the marks of lone wolves. Shifters with no clan who preferred a solitary life.

I should know—I'd been one for a century and a half.

If I'd had to guess, the council had hired mercs. It wasn't unheard of. Without a clan to guide them, most shifters prowled without purpose. Taking on missions such as these gave them that sense of belonging they craved, even temporarily.

Whoever they were, it would work in our favour. The loyalty between them, if any, would be easily broken. These weren't the type of wolves to risk their immortality for the shifters at their shoulders.

I counted the shifters lining the room. Ten. Which made twelve including Iain and Alisdair.

Four each.

I liked those odds.

"You overstep." Finlay's voice was controlled beside me. "Bringing armed, unknown shifters into the clan house is treason. Step down now, and we can discuss this as rational men."

See, that was why Finn deserved to be leader over me. Always looking for the diplomatic solution. They should take it too, because they certainly wouldn't hear one from me.

"No, you are the ones who overstep," Iain said. "For centuries, we've watched you disregard the traditions and sanctity of leadership. Daniel can't trace his lineage here past his own parents. His position of power makes a mockery of our heritage."

His words might've had more impact if Iain could have brought himself to meet my gaze, but the gutless fucker just stared at the tabletop.

I got to my feet slowly. "Let me remind you that it's a position I made no request for, nor do I want it now. Say the word and I'll happily relinquish all control to Finlay."

"Finlay," Alisdair spat. Unlike Iain, he had no issue looking at me, contempt dripping from his words. "Finlay is a beta . What's more, he's no better for the clan than you are."

"I think you mean I'm no easier to control than Danny," Finlay said, also getting to his feet. Calan followed his lead, his eyes tracking the shifters around the wall. I knew he was searching out their weaknesses. Deciding who to pick off first. "You want someone in charge who you can manipulate. You think that by executing us today, your path forward will be clear."

"Yes," Alisdair said, keeping his attention fixed on me. "It's something we should've done long ago. I told them we should've executed you that night you left. But no. They argued you'd paid a high enough price. That Finlay would be easier to influence."

Calan snorted. "That worked well for you all."

"Precisely. Which brings us to now."

Something else was said, by Finlay, I thought, but I didn't hear it. I couldn't hear anything over the agony and terror I was feeling.

No, not me.

Riley.

Riley was in pain.

Riley was afraid.

They're hurting him.

I didn't try to stop my wolf. I just let him take control.

The throat of one shifter hung from my maw before anyone else had even realised what was happening. I spat out the gore, turning to the next, as the room exploded into chaos.

There's a reason why battles between shifters traditionally happen outside. Our wolves were not small animals. We were bulky, muscled killing machines. Put this many into one room already filled with furniture, and it was hard to keep track of who was who.

That was, if you weren't me, Finn, or Calan. Many decades had passed since we'd fought alongside each other, but the knowledge of how we all operated hadn't faded. The training and experience we'd gone through together had us moving instinctively around each other. Where one of us faltered, another would be there to intercept.

The council might've thought they'd have the upper hand by trapping us in this small space, but they were fools. Fools who'd underestimated exactly who they were dealing with. All they'd done was make it easier for us. We barely had to move before finding our next target.

The whole time I fought, I tracked Riley with growing desperation. His panic was thick enough to make me choke.

I had to get to him. Had to get to him. Had to get to him.

The three of us were relentless, not letting any attacks or injuries slow us for even a second. We knew what was at stake here. We knew we were stronger.

But I also knew they had Riley. They had my mate.

Relief followed by jubilation hit me from Riley. Logan must have arrived.

Thanking whatever being was looking out for us, I kept shredding the shifters standing between me and the door. Logan was there, but who knew what other tricks the council members had up their sleeves.

I wouldn't rest until I had Riley back in my arms. Where he belonged.

It felt like an eternity before it was only Iain and Alisdair left standing, but in reality, it was likely only a few minutes. The effort and energy it had taken to end the mercs had been minimal.

The hardwood floor was no longer visible under the blood and gore covering it. The table was in pieces, shattered along with every other piece of furniture in the room. The two council members were cowering against the far wall in their wolf forms. Seeing they were unprotected, Iain shifted back. Raising trembling hands, he pleaded with us. "Please, show mercy! We were doing what was right for the clan."

If wolves could grin, that was what Finn's was doing right now. I didn't blame him—was Iain idiotic enough to think we'd spare him? That him being in his human skin might appeal to our own humanity?

He was about to learn how very wrong he was. Our humanity was nowhere to be found at present. We'd gladly handed the reins over to our wolves.

And they took no prisoners.

The execution of Iain and Alisdair was something I was going to have to miss. Without an army between me and the door, there was nothing stopping me going to Riley.

Finn gave a soft bark, yanking his head towards the door. His meaning was clear. Go.

I didn't hesitate. I raced through the house, skidding around corners before breaking free of the property.

I'd barely made it to the fence line before I was hit with a new wave of emotion through the bond. Dread. Panic. Terror.

Something was happening.

I snarled, my muscles bunching as I moved faster than ever before.

I'm coming for you, princess.