VIKTOR.
I know the exact moment he sees Rowan because of the way his whole body freezes up and his eyes go wide like he has just seen a ghost.
Fear.
That is what I see in his face.
I wonder what is going on in his head right now.
The woman he was supposed to love and cherish, the one he betrayed in the worst way possible is right here, in his enemy’s house, surrounded by the alphas he is trying to convince to join his cause.
Just how terrified is he?
I really want to know.
“Lo… Louisa?”
Huh?
Who is-
I see the way Rowan instinctively flinches, just a tiny start that no one would notice even if they were looking at her.
But I am looking at her and I know her well enough to read even the tiniest twitch.
Louisa.
That must have been her name before… well, before everything that happened.
“It is nice of you to join us,” I call out to him, effectively getting his attention on me as I move through the crowd. “We had almost written you off and started the meeting without you.”
A sneer breaks out on his face as I approach, only broken by the way his eyes keep getting drawn back to Rowan.
“I already apologized, didn’t I?”
“Actually, you didn’t.”
He glares at me in response before his face clears.
He can’t afford to show his true colors here, not when he is trying to get people on his side.
Pity
I am planning on revealing those very colors.
“Fine,” he growls. “I apologize. To everyone.”
I smirk in response before turning to the others.
“Do we accept?” I call out to the crowd.
A few of them snicker at him while some nod in response, just ready to get the meeting over with.
“We accept,” I say with a shit eating smirk as I turn back to him.
Unfortunately, he is not looking at me. His gaze is back on Rowan.
I am going to hit this guy.
“Shall we?” I call out loud to the wolves as I walk towards Rowan.
“Where to?” He demands as he watches the space between us.
“We are here for a council meeting, are we not?” I ask.
“Yes, but we just got here,” he says with a look around. “We haven’t even socialized yet.”
“As stated in the invites we all received,” Alpha Douglas, one of Maxwell’s friends, speaks up. “The arrival time was between twelve to one. This is past two. We have wasted enough time waiting for you.”
“True,” another alpha adds. “We too have important things to do.”
He must have finally gotten the idea that he has made a misstep because he viably growls
Out loud
“Is there a problem, Alpha Dominic?” Maxwell asks.
“No. Not at all.”
“In that case, Viktor, please lead the way.”
I give him a nod while stretching my hand out for Rowan.
It can be seen as mere courtesy but I hope it bothers him.
A lot.
Together, we lead the wolves toward the selected conference room, hand in hand.
“Stop antagonizing him,” she whispers to me.
“I can’t help it,” I respond. “I really want him dead.”
“I know. But you don’t want the others to think you are out to get him. We need to show that this meeting is purely altruistic. At first.”
“That is going to be a problem when people find out we are mates.”
“Hopefully, before that happens, we will have already averted this war.”
“Fingers crossed.”
As we all make our way into the conference room, I hear from behind me a murmur of stunned appreciation.
When discussing Dominic these past weeks, Rowan had told me about Dominic’s vanity and how he always wanted to have the best of things and never liked it when others outshone him.
So, with a lot of help from Andre and interior designers, I had the conference room refurbished with the very best of things.
Even by my standards, this is over the top but anything that helps in putting down Dominic is a win for me.
The room is enveloped in a dark gray color scheme that reminds me of a moonless night sky, with a polished black marble floor that subtly shines in the light, reflecting the sleek silver legs of the conference table. At the far end of the room stands a proud bronze statue of a wolf, mounted on a black marble base with intricate details highlighted, from its sharp claws to its textured fur, everything screams power.
The room’s centerpiece is a crescent-shaped conference table made of dark wood with intricate wolf claw carvings along the edges, and a smooth surface with surrounding chairs with curved legs and black leather upholstery, each featuring a silver emblem of a wolf’s head. The room is lit by silver chandeliers shaped like wolf fangs, casting a warm light that reflects off delicate crystals. Black-and-white wolf photographs on the walls framed in sleek black wood pay homage to our world heritage.
“Wow!” Rowan murmurs as her eyes flicks around the room, taking everything. “You really went above and beyond.”
“You said he gets jealous easily, what do you think? Does this suffice?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” She responds before giving a small nod towards him.
His eyes are roaming across the room, staying longer on the wolf statue and I can see a sneer trying to break free before his gaze catches mine.
He gives me a strained smile, with bared teeth and I can’t help but smile beatifically at him.
Oh, he is jealous all right.
I lead Rowan to a seat by the side of the head chair before taking my seat as well as the others, the only one standing: Dominic fucking Valor.
“What is it now?” Sven asks as he takes a seat beside one of the alphas.
“What?!” Dominic snarls at him.
“Why are you just standing there?” He responds. “Get a fucking seat already and let’s get this thing on the road. Haven’t you delayed us enough?”
“I am sorry,” he responds with a sneer. “Am I the only one who can see the outsider here?”
“Outsider? What outsider?” Aloha Black asks
“Her!” He rages as he points at Rowan. “Who is she and what the hell is she doing here?!”
Sven cackles at the question, deep od sounds as his body trembles in mirth.
“What is so damn funny?” Dominic demands from him.
“You,” Sven replies. “You are the hilarious one. Ridiculously so.”
“You -”
“Are you actually going to stand there and say you don’t know her?” Sven asks with a knowing smirk and I see Dominic pale a little.
Good, make him sweat a little.
“Wha- what do you mean?” He asks.
“You are the one calling for a war, saying that the rogues are a problem and yet, you didn’t know who she is?”
“What- I don’t understand.”
“The lady over there,” Maxwell speaks up. “Is Rowan Blaze. The head of the Winter Wolf Coalition.”
A look of confusion comes over his face before he looks around the other wolves and then it morphs into disbelief.
“What?!”