there was a resolve in his words that made me believe. That refused to let me argue with him.
Ethan didn’t say things for the sake of it. He was quiet, if anything. Saying fewer words and imbuing each one with power.
“I-I’m not powerful.”
“You might not think you are, Sabina,” Eli drawled slowly, “but apparently, the Mother wouldn’t agree with you.”
Four
Ethan
“What are they doing here?”
My lips twisted into a snarl of satisfaction. I knew it was churlish, knew it was petty too, and I tried to be neither where the council was concerned because it was a waste of damn time, but I had to admit to being satisfied to hear Brandon’s, the beta, and Conrad’s, the council head, discontent at our presence.
Eli rocked back in his seat like he didn’t have a care in the world. Knowing him, he didn’t. I knew what concerned him rarely concerned the council, and vice versa.
Honestly, I was surprised he hadn’t changed the council since he’d taken over from his father, but in a way, Eli was respectful, and I figured that was why he’d kept the same assholes on, hadn’t brought in fresh meat to rejuvenate these lofty chambers in honor of his father’s memory.
Everyone knew Merinda had suffered since her mate’s death, and everyone had been on tenterhooks around her.
I had to wonder if, now, after her passing, Eli would shake things up further.
Dear Mother, I hoped so.
Anything to see that prick, Conrad, get his just deserts.
“All will be revealed once the council is in session,” Eli said softly, eying Brandon with a matching discontent that came from his lack of appreciation at being questioned.
Even I rarely questioned Eli when he spoke with that tone of voice, but apparently, Brandon was an asshole with an inability to discern whether or not he should shut the fuck up.
Not that I minded if Eli tore his ass crack wide open… Brandon was a douche.
Had been since middle school, when he’d had his first rite and his wolf had presented itself as being powerful enough to be beta.
Not all powerful wolves were assholes, but unfortunately for the Highbanks pack, a lot of the powerful men and women here were.
I wasn’t sure if it had something to do with the water, some mass chemical spill that put us in line to be surrounded by more idiots than usual…
“Anyway,” I inserted when Brandon stood there, head bowed in the face of Eli’s irritation. “Not sure when you stopped being able to count, but there’s only me here.”
“Tweedle Dee and Dum are rarely separate for long,” Conrad sniped, twisting around to find Austin. “Where is he anyway?”
“He’ll enter when I ask him to.”
If they didn’t hear the forbidding note in Eli’s tone, then I wasn’t sure what hope they had. He was seconds away from his anger snapping. I could literally feel his wolf’s outrage throbbing through his damn skin.
I stared at him, wondering at that. Wondering how I could feel his wolf, even though he was still in his human skin…
Had I never felt that before?
Or had I always felt it, and it was just more powerful at the moment because I was so close to him?
I wasn’t sure which was true, but I figured it had something to do with Sabina.
Knowing she was in the outer chamber with Austin filled me with a kind of strength I’d never had before.
She was as in the dark as we were, but really, her confusion went to a whole other level than ours did. At least we understood how our society worked. It was totally new to her. But the link between us was as alien to us as it was to her, so in that, we had a level playing field. But…
Always a but.
Her presence fired me on, giving me strength as I leaned against the edge of Eli’s desk, perching myself there as I folded my arms across my chest.
I was a strong wolf, powerful, and if I hadn’t been a twin, if I’d just been a regular man, I’d have probably been able to take Eli on in a challenge. I wasn’t sure who’d win. Maybe Austin would even whoop my ass first, but there was a fire in us all that burned at a similar heat.
Even while Eli was bristling, I felt it but wasn’t affected by it. Unlike Conrad and Brandon, who were cringing at Eli’s displeasure. That they were still questioning things told me how annoyed they were to have me here.