Dmitri and Constance were waiting for me outside the kitchen, as promised, standing with another wolf who I recognized as Dmitri's Second.

"Mikael," he introduced himself when I joined the group. I shook his hand.

"We've met, I think. I've treated your son at the clinic." His son was six or seven years old, cute as anything, and an absolute terror. I'd bandaged him up more times than I could count on both hands.

"In that case, I'm sorry." Mikael chuckled. "We've ordered him a helmet."

"You may need to add elbow and knee pads as well," I teased. It was comforting being around my pack members; I felt more myself in those three minutes than I had all month. That feeling didn't last, though, and the nerves began creeping in as we approached the meeting space.

From across the room I saw Gabriel's body react to my arrival: his eyes darkened and his muscles rippled with tension across his chest and shoulders, then on down his arms. Though his hands were hidden beneath the table, I was sure they were balled into tight fists in his lap. I hoped to at least put the length of the room between us, but we were the last group to arrive and the only seats open at the table were across from him.

Dmitri and Constance both noticed his reaction, likely expecting it after his behavior after dinner the night before, and took the seats directly across from him. I sat between Constance and Kellan. I was across from the wolf who'd offered me water from the passenger's seat on the drive up, who I now understood to be Gabriel's Second.

I recognized Isaiah, Amari, Archer, and Kellan from the night before and they, too, were joined by their Seconds. As they had all already been acquainted, they didn't bother with introductions before Archer kicked off the discussion.

I listened quietly and tried to absorb as much as I could. These were the sorts of meetings I always wished to be included in back home, and now here I was: far from home, but finally seated at the table. Inwardly, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of input the Alphas were taking onboard from Constance and Amari. Their mates' opinions seemed to hold just as much water with them as their Seconds' did. I never knew about this side of their dynamic, and it made me respect them even more.

They were discussing the recent incursions on their shared borders and their concerns about escalation. I knew that Dmitri was hopeful that this weekend would yield greater support from old alliances, and possibly pave the way for new ones. I wasn't sure where he and Gabriel stood with these two packs, but it seemed that they were all dealing with similar issues.

The humans had been lobbying to take back their park lands, to push the wolves out and consolidate pack territories in areas that they had no vested interest in. They'd push us into land with less access to natural resources, less fertile soil, and less acreage per head. It was how things were long ago, and it seemed that they were eager to return to those times of separation.

"Kiera is familiar with both of our worlds, she might have a different perspective." Dmitri leaned forward to look at me, putting me on the spot as he had at dinner, seemingly determined to bring me into the conversation. "What do you think?"

My face flushed when all eyes turned to me, waiting for my response. My mind circled back through all the times that Jack would come back to the house after a meeting and fill me in, then take my comments back to the Council as his own. He hated doing it that way, but I didn't mind. I was grateful to contribute any way I could. Now here was a real chance to share my ideas, straight from my mouth to their ears, and I was frozen. Constance nudged me gently under the table and it shook me out of my thoughts.

"I wonder whether they're connected." I tried not to stumble over my words, but my mouth suddenly felt incredibly dry; dryer than it had ever been. I realized I had said out loud the end of a train of thought I'd had in my mind and backtracked quickly: "The human incursions and the recent rogue attacks. I wonder whether they're connected."

Though all eyes were on me as I spoke, I could feel Gabriel's the strongest. It was as if his gaze had set the entire left side of my body on fire. I kept my own focused on a spot on the table so that I wouldn't glance in his direction. If we made eye contact, I knew there was no chance I'd be able to formulate another coherent sentence.

"Why is that?" Isaiah's Second, Ambrose, asked. The genuine curiosity in his voice encouraged me to continue.

"The silver weapons. I don't know if there've been any more attacks with them, but last year Ga—" I stopped myself and course-corrected. "Alpha Gabriel was injured with the silver blade in our territory, and they came up again when one of his healers was killed. Wolves don't forge with silver, right?"

The question had been lingering on my mind for some time, and it was one I'd discussed at length with Jack. Ever the optimist, he hadn't believed it to be true. If the humans were truly pitting us against each other, this was a much larger issue than anyone anticipated.

There was a murmur of agreement around the table, and Gabriel nodded slightly. I couldn't help but glance over at him when I noticed his movement. When his eyes met mine, they were softer, lighter. There was a new emotion in them that hadn't been there before—pride? A warm sense of satisfaction swept through me, which was followed almost just as quickly by annoyance. Why should I care what he thinks of my opinions? He quickly averted his gaze, eyes hardening once again. I sat back in my chair and let the Alphas chew on my comments.

The meeting continued, and I tried to contribute where I could. But as it wore on, I grew more and more restless. As much as I hated to acknowledge it, Gabriel's coldness was wearing on me. Despite my blood, despite my status, everyone else had accepted me readily. He was the only one at the table that seemed to take issue with my being there. Even his second, Victor, had warmed up to me easily.

After the meeting ended, I found myself again flanked by Constance and Dmitri. I didn't mind their protectiveness over me, and in fact planned to take advantage of it as much as I could for the remainder of the weekend. We exited the room as a group, all moving in the direction of the kitchen for dinner.

"Gabriel!" Odette was descending the stairwell, bundled in a elegant winter coat and holding a pair of fluffy earmuffs and gloves. Her long red braid bounced off her back as she jogged down the last few stairs. He'd moved ahead of us, so I had to watch their interaction as we passed. She was smiling and stood just below his eye level, enough so that she had to cock her head up slightly to look at his face. She asked whether he would like to walk with her to see the winter gardens. I didn't hear his response, but I assumed he'd agreed when he didn't rejoin our group in the kitchen a few minutes later. The dinner options were impressive, but I'd lost my appetite.

I found the pair together once again the next morning when I came down for breakfast. They were seated at the table across from one another in the kitchen, sipping from steaming mugs. I straightened my shoulders and ground my teeth together, determined to ignore them both. I refused to be the one to initiate contact again; I wouldn't let him embarrass me in front of her.

I tried not to let my mind wander off to what their night must have looked like strolling through the gardens, or what they had been discussing before I'd walked into the kitchen. Instead, I kept my back to them and focused on mechanically filling my own mug with boiling water. Gabriel's eyes inspected me as I flipped through the bags of tea as though trying to memorize each different type. I could feel them trained on the back of my neck and goosebumps rose on the exposed skin that they glanced over. Uncomfortable with the sensation they left there, I pulled my ponytail loose and shook my hair down over my neck.

Though I hadn't eaten since lunch the day before, the thought of turning towards them to pick food off the table made me feel sick, so I took my tea and tried my best to walk out steadily and slowly. With purpose.

As I walked down the hall, aiming again for the library, I told myself that this wasn't jealousy that I was feeling. Rather, it was frustration that he had taken to someone else so quickly and still hadn't yet accepted me. Either way, I did my best to squash whatever it was down deep enough to ignore.

I was eager to find a book to lose myself in for the rest of the day. Without any further invitations from Dmitri, I had twenty-four hours to kill before we'd leave the next morning. Although I was sure if I showed up to any of the meetings he had scheduled he would happily let me join, I felt uncomfortable inviting myself.

I explored the shelves slowly, taking my time to systematically read each title. Pulling out books at random, reading the dust jackets, then replacing them. At the back of the room, there was a break between the shelves where another painting hung on the wall. It was a similar style to the others I'd passed in the corridors, this one a detailed likeness of the estate in the fall. I peered closer, appreciating the tiny details, down to the tire tracks in the muddy road and the windows that glowed a soft yellow as though the painting were lit from behind. In the bottom-right corner, I noticed the artist's signature: Odette.

Of course she's a fucking artist.