h4Chapter 87: Eira At The Council/h4

    strongRoman’s POV/strong

    The entire day had been spent managing the chaos in the estate, each of us handling different matters alongside our security teams andmandos. Some of our own were dead, the injured were being treated in the hospital, and the corpses of our enemies had been gathered onto trucks to be sent back to those bastards who had caused it all—dumped on their doorstep like rotting gifts.

    By the time we returned home in the evening, an unexpected sight greeted us.

    At the far end of the drawing room, beside Vixen’s small house, Eira sat slumped against the wall, fast asleep. Her legs were folded to the side, her head resting slightly forward, and in her arms she cradled Vixen, who was sleeping just as soundly.

    Both of them werepletely unaware of the world around them.

    It was the first time we had ever seen something like this—her, in our home, greeting us not with res or defiance but with the quiet stillness of sleep. None of us moved. None of us even spoke. As if by silent agreement, we didn’t want to make a sound that might wake her.

    Then a voice cut through the moment. "Alpha, outside everything is fixed. The rooms inside—"

    Kael’s hand lifted sharply, silencing the man mid-sentence. Any loud noise might disturb her.

    I stepped forward, blocking the view from where they stood. She was wearing only a shirt, and although her legs were tucked neatly to the side, they were still bare. No one outside of us was allowed to see her like this.

    I wasn’t the only one who reacted. The other three, Lucian, Jason and Rafe, shifted subtly, forming a wall between her and the workers.

    "You can returnter," Kael said without looking back.

    The way we moved seemed to startle them. They exchanged uneasy nces, as though they had done something wrong, and quickly nodded.

    "Do not enter this home without our permission," Lucian added, his tone full of warning.

    The men nodded again and left in haste.

    When we turned back to her, Eira was still asleep, undisturbed by the noise or our presence. A pureblood werewolf should have sharp senses—she should have reacted the moment we stepped inside. Had she truly lost them?

    Lucian frowned. "We have to take her with us, but she’s sleeping."

    Kael turned to me. "Wake her if she takes more than half an hour. And make sure she wears enough clothes to cover herself."

    "The clothes I ordered have arrived," I told him. "But we were busy outside."

    Without another word, Kael headed upstairs, Lucian and Jason following him to their own rooms. Rafe and I remained in the drawing room.

    Rafe dropped onto the sofa, eyes fixed on his phone, while I kept my gaze on Eira. She stirred in her sleep, hershes fluttering before her eyes opened slowly.

    I walked over and knelt in front of her, carefully taking Vixen from her arms as the cat woke as well. "We’re going out in a while. You need to get dressed."

    Her sleepy gaze held a silent question.

    "We’re going to deal with our enemies, and we can’t leave you behind," I exined. My attention shifted to Vixen. "We need you to take care of Vixen and Fluffy."

    She gave no verbal answer, but her expression made it clear she understood. I handed her the shopping bags and gestured toward Rafe’s room. "Change in there."

    Rafe shot me a sharp re, but I only smirked. "If you prefer, she can change here in the drawing room in front of us."

    "Don’t taint my eyes," he muttered, which was his grudging permission.

    Not long after, she returned wearing a loose white top andfortable dark-grey trousers—clothing that would not aggravate her wounded skin.

    By then, the other three hade downstairs. We were ready to leave.

    Eira moved to take Vixen with her, but Rafe stopped her. "With babies in her belly, I don’t want her surrounded by bullets and grenades."

    She seemed to understand and left Vixen and Fluffy behind without protest.

    Along with punishing our enemies, we had to be careful towards Eira so she won’t pull out any stunt like the previous night. It was impossible to guess what went in her mind. Her silence was the dangerous weapon she had with her.

    ----

    strongLucian’s POV/strong

    As nned, that night we headed straight to the enemy’s stronghold—one of the bastards who had dared to scheme against us andy a hand on our woman. Just like them, we came prepared for war, yet we made certain Eira would be kept far from harm.

    When we arrived at the sprawling estate, we struck without hesitation. Our assault was swift and merciless, ensuring that no man fighting in the enemy’s name remained breathing. By the time we were done, the grand estate had been reduced to a graveyard, its fallen ready to be buried in whatever pit awaited them.

    All the while, Eira remained inside one of our heavily armored vehicles, its frame reinforced to withstand any form of attack. Guards surrounded her, and Roman had been tasked with staying close, ensuring she remained untouched while the four of us dealt with the bloodshed.

    Eventually, we cornered the coward behind it all. The man was trembling in the sanctuary of his own home, but it did him no good. Soon he was on his knees before us, his voice breaking as he pleaded.

    "Alpha Kael, please... forgive me. I was a fool to think of going against you... and an even greater fool to think of taking your she-wolf. Please... forgive me."

    Patric was no ordinary Alpha—he was among the wealthiest in the ckriver Pack, one of the six most powerful packs. Men like him knew how to wield both power and gold to bend the world to their will. But this time, he had crossed a line from which there was no return. His prize tonight would be death.

    Kael’s gaze was cold, his voice cutting. "Tell me, Patric... how would you prefer to die? Shall I tear you apart piece by piece, or ce a silver bullet through your heart?"

    "Alpha Kael, please—"

    His plea was cut short by the arrival of another presence—the leader of the council’s guard.

    "Alpha Kael, the council summons you," the man announced. "You and your brothers... and the she-wolf you keep."

    We exchanged nces. It was no surprise. Wealthy Alphas like Patric were always entangled with the council, their riches feeding the corruption of its members.

    Kael’s lips curled faintly. "Seems Jeffery is in the mood for some entertainment tonight."

    The guard captain gave no reply, only repeating his duty. "I am to escort you all to the council hall."

    "Sure," Kael said coolly. That tone alone told us he had something nned—something the council wouldn’t like.

    We took Patric with us and headed to the council. The hall was crowded; other pack members had been summoned as well. Eira was with us, and we all knew we had to tread carefully. Still, Kael had chosen toe without resistance, so we trusted his judgment... and prepared to stand at his side when the time came.

    Before entering the chamber, I stopped and turned to Eira."Listen to me carefully," I said, my voice low but firm. "Keep your head down and your gaze on the ground. No matter what anyone says or does, you act dead—like you always do. Do not move, do not meet anyone’s eyes."

    She didn’t speak, only lowered her head as usual.

    Roman added, "If you don’t listen, they’ll take you away from us. And you can forget abouting back to us... or to your pets. You won’t even see the kittens Vixen is going to have."

    He looked over at us, as if to assure she would obey. He’d learned exactly how to push the right buttons with her.

    "And you won’t see Alice either," Roman went on. "I was nning to take you to her grave."

    That made her head snap up, her eyes locking on him. Damn it. Every time Alice’s name came up, this dead woman came back to life for a moment.

    Jason and I red at Roman. How could he even think of taking my sister’s murderer to her grave? I had to fight the urge to grab him by the throat.

    Roman ignored our stares and told her, "I promise. Just obey us while we’re here. Once we’re home, do whatever you want." Then he looked at me and Jason, silently asking us to let it go.

    Jason stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and spun her to face him with a rough tug. Gentleness was never his way.

    Without a word, he ran his fingers through her hair, spreading it around her face to hide it. The sides of her small face disappeared beneath the strands. Then, pulling a small knife from the gear at his side, he cut several locks from the front, letting the longer ones fall forward in uneven bangs that nearly shadowed her eyes.

    Without a mistake he put the cut hair in one of his pockets as it was not a good thing to leave them here for any certain wolf to turn into a dog after finding her hair.

    Damn, Jason was an expert. Nothing about the cut looked sloppy—it was clean, deliberate, and somehow natural. Those bangs didn’t just hide her face, they softened it, made her look younger. I almost asked him how many girls he’d given a haircut to before.

    "Only if we had thick sses over her tiny nose, it would hide her entire face," Rafe muttered, frowning.

    Even Kael approved what we did.

    When it came to hide her, we all were on the same page.

    We set thest strands in ce, letting heavy portions fall forward over both shoulders. Once satisfied, we moved out—Kael in front, Eira right behind him, and the four of us closing in from all sides, her small frame swallowed by our taller builds.

    She followed without question, each step silent, obedient. Good. The less attention she drew, the better in this hall full of Alphas.