Chapter 95: Chapter 95

Sven Ross occupied the fourth seat at the High Table and was more of an enigma than anyone else I had ever met. He was literally covered in scars. They crisscrossed his face, an old broken nose and a few marks on his cheek. He had scars on his arms and back; rumors had it that there were even more beneath his pant line. Those particular words had been whispered by blushing she-wolves, witnesses to this entire debacle. They were too afraid to approach him, but had no problem whispering from the sidelines.

Sven was the only one who seemed completely disinterested in the entire meeting. Even when David and Maurice talked about using my abilities for their own gain, he hadn’t flinched. His emotions mirrored that laid-back behavior, one that made me wonder if he had ever really cared about anything.

“I didn’t…” I began, but stopped when I met Maurice Evans’s icy eyes.

I had killed a member of the High Table, the second to be exact. Maurice Evans was ranked just below David Zoe, which meant he was wealthy and incredibly powerful.

My stomach twisted painfully, and I had only a moment’s warning before I bent over, emptying the contents of my dinner. My nose burned, and my eyes watered, but I couldn’t register the pain over my frantic thoughts.

It’s not like I hadn’t killed before. Many rogues died in battle, especially when I used my ability to subdue them. This, though, was confirmation of what I was. A soul devourer. What good could come from such a horrible gift? What was even worse was how euphoric I felt, how strong and power-swollen I was. Disgust came out of me in the form of acidic vomit.

Sven Ross patiently waited for me to finish. I stumbled into the connected kitchen and rinsed my mouth, frowning as I noticed the blank look on his face.

“Well, I’m sure you won’t deny it again,” Sven said, looking down at the three bodies on the floor. He nudged Maurice’s corpse with his foot and nodded. “I never thought I’d see a soul devourer in action before. Really something, though. Did you have to kill Maurice Evans?”

“It’s not like I had a choice, he attacked me,” I growled back, finally finding my voice. “I never wanted to kill them, but they backed me into a corner.”

“Either way, what’s your plan now?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. Jet-black hair fell over his forehead, brushing against a scar on the side of his neck. There was a subtle shift in his emotions; he had made a decision in his head. “Where will you hide the bodies? Or perhaps you’ll confess and tell the truth, thinking you’ll be declared innocent?”

I opened my mouth and closed it again before realizing he was right. I could tell the truth all I wanted, but then the world would know what I could truly do. There was no way they would let me roam freely after that.

Sven Ross occupied the fourth seat at the High Table and was more of an enigma than anyone else I had ever met. He was literally covered in scars. They crisscrossed his face, an old broken nose and a few marks on his cheek. He had scars on his arms and back; rumors had it that there were even more beneath his pant line. Those particular words had been whispered by blushing she-wolves, witnesses to this entire debacle. They were too afraid to approach him, but had no problem whispering from the sidelines.

“Ethan,” I whispered to myself, looking at Sven. “My mate can help.”

“Can he? He seems rather busy. Hunting down your lost partner must be tough,” Thomas mused, tapping his chin with a finger. There was a subtle change in his emotions, a decision had been made in his mind. “Run to your mate, Luna Sussan. I’ll handle this mess for you, but be careful not to tell others what happened here.”

Like any sane and rational werewolf, I slinked away. My heart raced with every turn I took through the hallways, convinced some of Maurice’s men had discovered the truth.

I collided with Ethan in the hallway, slamming into a wall of muscle that made my bones go crazy. My hands shook as I pushed Ethan into the suite and buried my face in his chest.

“Damn, sweetheart. I could feel you panicking from the other side of the hotel,” he growled, pushing my hair back until he found my pale face.

In a matter of seconds, he picked me up and enveloped me in his rich male scent. His arms formed a barrier around me and made me feel safe despite it all. I could still feel the thudding in my chest as I worried about Liam. As much as I wanted to snuggle up and stay in his embrace, I couldn’t. There was no way I trusted Sven Ross, and I needed to tell Ethan exactly what had happened.

His eyes darkened as I recounted the events of the past hour, ending with Sven Ross’s offer to help cover up my mess. Ethan stood me up and placed his lips against my forehead in a quick k**s before pulling me away. I trotted slightly to keep up with his brisk pace, but I understood the need to hurry.

When we opened the door to the suite where I had been attacked, my mouth closed. This had to be the right room, I still had the crumpled note in my hands. The entire room was spotless. Even my vomit was gone, the carpet was clean and white.

“That’s not possible, it’s only been ten minutes,” I scoffed, unable to believe the scene before me. There was magic and then there was this. An uncomfortable question came to mind. If David Zoe kept white wolves as slaves, did the other members of the High Table do the same?

“This is not good, we’re indebted to him now, and he’ll want us to pay up,” Ethan grimaced, extending his hand as a wave of guilt washed over me. I let him run his fingers through my hair and looked up as I tilted my head. His usually gruff voice was unusually soft and sent a little flutter through my chest. “None of this was your fault, sweetheart. If he were still alive, I’d be hunting Maurice Evans down myself. When Sven Ross comes knocking, we’ll deal with it. It means he’ll keep his end of the deal, which keeps the rest of the High Table from finding out what happened.”

“You can be pretty optimistic when you want to be,” I pointed out with a small smile, enough to earn a hearty chuckle from him.

“I have two roles to fulfill until we find Liam, which we will,” he replied with a snort.

Though it physically pained me to be away from Liam for so long, I trusted Ethan and knew that together we would bring him home.

We had to wake up early the next morning to meet with the others and plan how we would successfully bring the white wolves to our territory.

Axel looked as impeccable as ever in his pristine suit, while Thomas looked a bit tired. I couldn’t blame him; not even our suite’s amazing coffee machine could clear the cobwebs from my eyes. I was on my second iced mocha of the day and already thinking about a third.

“Nothing I like more than early morning war plans,” Thomas yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head. Axel shot him a sour look which he obediently ignored. “Especially with so much at stake.”

“We’re running on a tight schedule,” Axel snapped, frowning with his thick eyebrows. “This war, as you eloquently put it, can’t wait for your schedule to clear up.”

“We’ve worked out some of the details so far, now it’s time to set things in motion,” Ethan told me, cutting off any further argument that might arise between Thomas and Axel. Despite Axel’s organized appearance, he certainly wasn’t a morning person either. “There are orchards beneath the southern border of David’s territory. We have some men planting supplies there in a few hours. They’ll have to get about a mile away to this abandoned train station in the woods. David’s men rarely venture outside the pack boundaries, but when they do, they always take the main road. They use vehicles for transportation and have always stayed on two legs. There are some back roads that cut through the forest, those will be used to lead the white wolves away. The next town is almost an hour’s drive away. Once they get there.”

“You were busy last night,” I said, looking at Ethan with my eyes slightly hopeful. I was pretty sure Ethan felt the flicker of guilt that ran through my emotions, for the mess I had caused the previous night.

“You needed some downtime,” he replied, his lips quirking. “Plus, I’ve never been much of a strategist. That’s always been Liam’s forte. I’m not as good as him, but it’s good to know I can handle my own.”

The second part of my High Table meeting started a few hours later. The anxiety in my stomach chased away any remnants of sleepiness from my eyes.

We were escorted to the same room as before and gathered in our own group in the center of the room. I counted the seconds, listening to the dull ticking of the clock on the opposite wall. Ethan’s fingers traced small circles on my back, but I could barely feel his touch.

I was focused on the men entering the room, the four men with serious faces.