Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Chapter 93

The council chamber smelled of parchment and burnt wax, three names laid out on the table before Lucien, each accompanied by a thin stack of reports.

Lucien had never been fond of men who mistook opportunity for entitlement and Unfortunately, the council was full of them.

"Alpha Kael should not be on the shortlist."

Lord Edric’s declaration brought the discussion to an abrupt halt. The elderly council member sat near the head of the long table, his fingers resting against a stack of reports that had been circulated that morning.

Across from him, Lucien continued reading.

"Silver Creek’s finances are deteriorating," Edric continued. "Its trade agreements are failing, its merchants are losing confidence, and its Alpha has already had his previous consideration for First House standing withdrawn. What exactly are we rewarding by allowing his name to remain?"

"Who said anything about rewarding him?" Lucien asked without looking up.

Edric’s mouth tightened.

"The Gathering of the First Bloods is not an ordinary council meeting. The Alphas invited to attend are expected to represent packs worthy of recognition."

"And Kael has been shortlisted for consideration. He has not been reinstated, nor has he been promised anything." Lucien finally raised his eyes. "I suggest you learn the difference before questioning a decision that has not yet been made."

Lucien leaned back in his chair.

"Removing his name now would accomplish nothing. If his pack is as unstable as these reports suggest, the Gathering will provide ample opportunity to observe him. Let him attend, let him speak, and let us see whether he can conduct himself like an Alpha under scrutiny."

"And if he cannot?"

"Then we will have our answer."

Lord Edric looked dissatisfied, but he didn’t argue further.

Lucien glanced at the reports before him. Silver Creek’s declining revenues had caught his attention several weeks ago. At first, he had assumed Kael was suffering the ordinary consequences of poor management. However, the figures had continued to worsen, and the reports from the trading houses suggested that several of his business arrangements had collapsed with unusual speed.

There was a difference between an Alpha who was struggling and one who was being systematically undermined. Lucien wasn’t yet certain which category Kael belonged to.

He intended to find out.

"Have the financial records been verified?" he asked.

"Some of them," his beta Marcus , replied. "We are still waiting for confirmation from two of the trading houses."

"Then I want confirmation before the end of the week. Check the original agreements, not merely the summaries sent by Silver Creek. I also want a list of every major business partner Kael has lost in the past three months."

Marcus made a note.

"And discreetly establish whether those partners withdrew independently or whether someone approached them first."

"I suspect nothing yet." Lucien set the report down. "I simply don’t believe a pack collapses this fast on incompetence alone. Kael is many things, but he isn’t careless enough to lose this many partners in such a short window without help."

"Help from whom?"

"That’s what I want to know."

He was about to move to the next matter when one of his advisers stepped forward, lowering his voice. "Alpha. A word, when the council’s concluded."

Lucien dismissed the chamber, waiting until the room had emptied before turning to him. "What is it?"

"Alpha Chris." The adviser’s expression had gone careful. "He was expected at the preliminary council meeting this week. He sent a representative instead, citing illness. No physician has confirmed it."

Lucien’s jaw tightened slightly. Ashira had flagged Chris’s movements days earlier, a pattern of unexplained absences that had seemed, at the time, like the ordinary evasiveness of a minor Alpha avoiding scrutiny. This felt different now.

"What else?"

"We’ve learned he recently made contact with an Alpha known for questionable trade dealings. The nature of the contact is still unclear."

Lucien absorbed that in silence, turning the pieces over. Kael, possibly concealing the true extent of Silver Creek’s collapse — or possibly being quietly dismantled by someone with enough reach to make it look like failure. Chris, evasive and suddenly entangled with men who dealt in things better left undealt with. Two separate threads, and he didn’t yet know if they ran parallel or tangled somewhere out of sight.

"Continue watching him," Lucien said finally.

"Continue watching him," Lucien said finally. "But I want more than a list of places he visits. Find out who he speaks to, what he discusses, and whether anyone has been moving money on his behalf."

The adviser nodded. "And if we discover that his dealings threaten the Gathering?"

"Bring the evidence to me. Until then, nobody approaches him."

"Yes, Alpha."

The man bowed and left. Lucien remained by the window, his attention fixed on the courtyard below. The Gathering was still two weeks away, but he could already see the trouble taking shape around it. Alphas who had spent years competing for influence would arrive with their grievances carefully concealed beneath formal greetings. Others would use the occasion to negotiate alliances, settle debts, or test the limits of his authority.

He would have to be prepared for all of them.

?

By evening, Lucien had managed to work through most of the documents awaiting his attention.

He was reviewing the proposed seating arrangements for the Gathering when a servant informed him that his mother wished to see him.

He considered sending his apologies.

Then he remembered that Veronica had a habit of appearing in his office whenever she decided he was avoiding her, so he put down his pen and went to find her instead.

He found her in the eastern sitting room, a book resting open on her lap and a cup of tea beside her.

"You sent for me?" He asked as he stepped into the room.

Veronica looked up to him, nodding. "I did."

"Is something wrong?"

"Must something be wrong for me to want to see my son?" She asked, almost bewildered

"No. But you rarely send for me in the middle of the afternoon unless you want something."

Veronica placed a hand against her chest.

"That is a terrible thing to say to your own mother."

"Is it untrue though?" He asked as he sat down.

Veronica huffed, setting her book aside with the air of someone who’d been caught and had decided not to fight it. "Fine. I did want something. I wanted to tell you about my evening."

"Your evening."

"Last night, specifically. I had dinner in Ashbourne." She reached for her tea, taking her time with it, clearly savoring whatever she was about to say. "I ran into Evelyn."

Something in Lucien’s chest shifted, though he kept his expression carefully even. "Did you."

"Mm." Veronica set the cup down, folding her hands in her lap. "She’s started going out again. On a date, as it happens."

Lucien’s brows raised, "A date?" He questioned. "Evelyn?"

Veronica hummed, "Why? Is it so hard to believe?"

"Not particularly." Lucien reached for the tea a servant had left on the table. "I simply didn’t expect it so soon."

Veronica tilted her head. "Soon? How long do you think a woman should wait before allowing herself to enjoy someone’s company?"

"I didn’t say she should wait."

"You did, rather. Just not in so many words."

Lucien gave her a look and smiled into her cup.

"Evelyn has been through enough," Veronica continued. "If she’s ready to enjoy an evening with someone, I think it’s a good thing."

"I’m unsure why you’ve chosen to share this information with me as though it will matter."

"I never said they did." Veronica’s eyes held a glint of something far too knowing. "You’re the one who asked when it happened."

Lucien paused, the question replaying in his own head before he could stop it. How long do you think a woman should wait. He hadn’t meant to ask it that way. He hadn’t meant to ask at all.

"I was simply curious," he said, too evenly.

"Of course you were."

"I have a great deal of curiosity about many things, Mother. It doesn’t mean anything."

"I didn’t say it did." Veronica reached for her tea again, entirely too pleased with herself. "You’re the one defending a question nobody accused you of asking for a reason."

Lucien opened his mouth, found no good response waiting there, and closed it again.

"Who did she go with?" The words left him before he’d finished deciding whether to ask them, low and almost reluctant.

Veronica’s smile deepened, slow and knowing. "I don’t believe I said."

"You didn’t."

"No." She studied him over the rim of her cup. "Does it matter?"

"No." The answer came too fast, too clipped, and he heard it land wrong even as he said it. "It doesn’t matter at all."

"Then I won’t trouble you with the name." Veronica set her cup down, folding her hands primly in her lap, victorious in a way that made him want to leave the room immediately.