Lanie
| burst into hardughter that raked at my throat.
“No! You’re kidding, right?”
Mchi frowned. This is far from a humorous matter, Lanic.
“If | don’tugh, I’m going to scream, | said. “| mean, seriously. Brainwashing? What the actual f uck?”
Braden snorted a soft chuckle, which earned him a stern look from Mchi. It didn’t seem to sober him much. His amused gaze
met mine, but he pressed his lips together to hold back hisughter.
“They can’t really have everyone believing they''ve all been brainwashed,” Zane said, sounding incredulous.
“Why would everyone in every pack fall for that?”
“Your High Council can be very persuasive, and they’re very, very good liars. After all, they managed to hide the truth from all of
you for decades. What makes you think they''d have any trouble convincing you all that the opposite is true, especially if they''ve
crafted some borate story?” Mchi sneered a little when he spoke. “I mean, it’s well-known that you all follow your pack
leaders with an almost vish devotion.”
Xander rumbled with a hard growl that would’ve sent anyone other than an Ancient vampire running. “And, you vamps apparently
don’t know how to be courteous to guests under your roof.”
“It is the duality of your natures,” Mchi said without batting an eye. “It lends itself to duplicitousness. That means-”
“| know what it means, Xander interrupted. “F uck’s sakes. No matter what you obviously seem to think, we aren''t a pack of
idiots.”
Braden leveled a silent look at my grandfather that went on way too long before Mchi broke it. | didn’t think vampires had mind
links the way wolf-kind did, but something was definitely passing between them.
Something unspoken but definitely understood.
My skin pr ickled with awareness. Braden...and my grandfather? | wanted to leap up from the table and confront them both, but |
held myself together. This wasn’t the time or the ce.
“If | might be permitted to continue?” Braden’s voice oozed with politeness he addressed toward Mchi.
Mchi’s the one | take orders from.
That’s what he’d told me back when | was the one who was just learning that vampires were real. It looked like he was taking
more than orders from my grandfather now. My skin didn’t just pr ickle. It crawled as | remembered Braden’s mouth on mine
And now he was with my grandpa? Yeah, Mchi looked young, but..
“The High Council''s official stanca is that vamnites working tanather enhacivalu-”
“Like we’re a monolith,” Mchi spat out. “Like we aren’t individuals capable of our own choices!”
Braden gave another heavy sigh and continued.
“ording to the Council, vampires have been able to infiltrate every wolf pack, mating with wolves to create hybrids who could
subjugate wolves via mind control.”
“We canpel, yes, but something like this on a diabolical, wide scale....” Mchi hissed, showing his fangs.
*Clearly, you''re affronted,” Mason said coldly. “But could you let Braden f ucking finish?”
Mchi sat back.
“Hybrids carrying vampire blood are loyal to vampires, ording to the High Council, Braden said.
“That makes no sense whatsoever,” Zane replied.
Mason shook his head. “Why would hybrids be loyal to any one bloodline over the other? Especially if they were raised without
knowing they were hybrids?”
“Why would anyone with wolf blood be loyal to vampires, hybrid or not?” Xander snarled.
“Obviously, because we are superior,” Mchi shot back at him.
| stood up and mmed my palms onto the table, making them all look at me. “Shut up, all of you. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m
the one they called out.
I''m the one they used. So stop with all the d ick swinging and let Braden finish!”
My shout came out along with a burst of Luna power
| could see my own glow and feeling throbbing and pulsing in the air all around me. It even seemed to
affect Mchi and Braden. Both twitched backward.
Breathing hard, |posed myself and retook my seat.
Braden waited a few seconds before giving me a nod that was as good as apuse.
“However they spun it, people are all-in about it,” he said. “Fear mo ngering works. The packs are scared and restless. It was no
secret Orion was killed and you four went missing. Without any solid proof to the
contrary, they''ve managed to convince everyone that Lanie was able to get Xander, Zane, and Mason under her
complete mind control. Orion figured out what was going on and bravely confronted her, and she had her
mates kill him.”
Tuck Mason said. “They’re painting Orion as a martyr”
“And there is no better way to get people to rally together than behind martyr,” Charlotte said. “They''ve
essentially made all four of you into targets. You wont be able to go anywhere without someone trying to haul
you back to the High Council? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.
Braden gave up head a gran shake ‘Or worse take you out themselves”
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