<h4>Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Building Bridges</h4>
The table crashed to the floor as two council members started fighting.
ra jumped between them before anyone got hurt. On one side stood Dr. Rachel Hayes, a human scientist. On the other was Viktor Nightshade, an ancient vampire. Both were yelling at the same time.
"Vampires can’t be trusted with human blood banks!" Dr. Hayes shouted.
"Humans poison everything they touch!" Viktor hissed back, his fangs showing.
"Enough!" ra’s voice made the windows rattle. Her silver eyes zed with power. "We’re here to work together, not fight!"
Kael watched from the corner, feeling helpless. Three weeks ago, his mother had announced the creation of the Integration Council. Twelve members - six humans, six supernatural beings. Their job was to write newws that would let both species live together peacefully.
It wasn’t going well.
"This is impossible," whispered Councilwoman Martinez, a human politician. "We’re too different."
"Maybe different is good," suggested Fairy Queen Luna, her tiny voice somehow filling the room.
"Different got my brother killed," snapped General Morrison, a human military leader.
"Your brother died fighting the Shadow Council," Elder Moonbeam corrected gently. The old werewolf’s eyes were sad. "Not fighting us."
ra rubbed her temples. Leading a pack was hard enough. Leading humans and supernatural beings together felt impossible.
"Let’s try again," she said tiredly. "Today’s topic is housing. How do we help families find homes in mixed neighborhoods?"
"Humans won’t want to live next to vampires," Dr. Hayes stated bluntly.
"Some humans," Councilwoman Martinez corrected. "Others are more open-minded."
"What about werewolves?" asked Professor Chen, a human teacher. "The full moon could be dangerous for human neighbors."
"We have control," Elder Moonbeam said firmly. "We’re not mindless beasts."
"But idents happen," General Morrison argued. "My men have reports-"
"Your men have prejudices," Viktor interrupted coldly.
The argument started again. Louder this time.
Kael wanted to help his mother, but he didn’t know how. Every suggestion led to more fighting. Everypromise made someone angry.
Then little Emma Santos walked into the room.
"Hi, everyone!" she said cheerfully. "Mommy sent cookies!"
She carried a te of chocte chip cookies, still warm from the oven. Behind her came Maria Santos and Jake Morrison - the newly married couple everyone was talking about.
"Sorry to interrupt," Maria said. "Emma insisted on bringing treats to the important meeting."
"We’re not making much progress anyway," ra sighed.
Emma walked around the table, offering cookies to each council member. "Here you go, Dr. Rachel! These are for you, Mr. Viktor!"
Something magical happened. As Emma smiled at each person, they couldn’t help smiling back. The tension in the room began to fade.
"These are delicious," Professor Chen said, taking a bite.
"My grandmother’s recipe," Maria exined. "She always said food brings people together."
"Your grandmother was wise," Elder Moonbeam agreed, epting a cookie.
Emma climbed onto ra’sp. "Why is everyone sad?" she asked innocently.
"We’re trying to solve problems," ra exined. "But it’s very hard."
"What problems?"
"How to help humans and supernatural people live together happily."
Emma frowned thoughtfully. "Don’t they want to be happy?"
"Of course they do, sweetheart."
"Then why don’t they just be nice to each other?"
The room went quiet. Adults looked embarrassed. A three-year-old had just pointed out what they’d been missing.
"It’splicated," Dr. Hayes said softly.
"Why?" Emma asked.
No one had a good answer.
"My mommy is human and my daddy is werewolf," Emma continued. "They’re nice to each other. It’s notplicated."
"Some people are afraid," Viktor admitted quietly.
"Of what?"
"Of... of being hurt. Of being different. Of not belonging."
Emma climbed down from ra’sp and walked to Viktor. The ancient vampire looked nervous as the small human child approached.
"You’re scared?" Emma asked gently.
Viktor nodded, looking ashamed. "I’ve lived for eight hundred years. I’ve seen humans hunt my kind for sport."
"That’s very sad," Emma said seriously. "But not all humans are mean. Dr. Rachel isn’t mean."
She turned to Dr. Hayes. "Are you scared too?"
The scientist’s eyes filled with tears. "Yes. My daughter was killed in a supernatural attack three years ago."
"I’m sorry," Emma said, her voice full of genuine sadness. "That must hurt very much."
"It does."
"But I didn’t hurt your daughter. And Mr. Viktor didn’t either. And Elder Moonbeam didn’t. Bad people did."
Emma looked around the room at all the adults. "Maybe instead of being scared of each other, we should be scared of the bad people. And help each other be safe from them."
Silence filled the room.
Then General Morrison spoke. "The child has a point. We’re fighting each other instead of fighting our real enemies."
"The Shadow Council wants us divided," Councilwoman Martinez realized. "Every minute we spend arguing is a minute we’re not stopping them."
"What if we started small?" Professor Chen suggested. "One neighborhood. One mixedmunity as a test."
"I know the perfect ce," Jake said. "My pack’s territory borders a human town. Both sides have been talking about sharing resources."
"Medical facilities," Dr. Hayes added thoughtfully. "Human hospitals could treat supernatural injuries if we shared knowledge."
"And supernatural healers could help humans with diseases we understand better," Fairy Queen Luna offered.
For the first time all day, people were agreeing instead of arguing.
"This could actually work," ra said, hope creeping into her voice.
"It will work," Emma said confidently. "Because love is stronger than scared."
But just as the council members started smiling and shaking hands, Kael’s phone buzzed with an emergency alert.
His face went pale as he read the message.
"Mom," he said urgently. "We have a problem."
"What is it?"
"The president just signed the Supernatural Registration Act. Every supernatural being in the country has twenty-four hours to report to government facilities for ’processing.’"
The room erupted in shocked voices.
"That’s illegal!" Councilwoman Martinez gasped.
"Since when has legality stopped them?" Viktor said bitterly.
"What does ’processing’ mean?" Elder Moonbeam asked fearfully.
Kael’s phone buzzed again. Another message. This one made his heart stop.
"There’s more," he said quietly. "Anyone who refuses to register will be dered an enemy of the state. And anyone helping them..."
His voice broke.
"Anyone helping them will be arrested for treason."
Emma looked confused. "What’s treason?"
"It means they’ll take away the people trying to help," ra exined, her voice hollow.
"Even you, Mommy ra?"
"Especially me."
Emma’s eyes filled with tears. "But we were just starting to be friends!"
Through the window, they could see ck helicopters circling overhead. Government vehicles were already surrounding the building.
"They knew about this meeting," General Morrison realized. "They’re here to arrest the supernatural council members."
"And probably the humans who helped us," Viktor added grimly.
ra stood up, her silver eyes zing. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
"Mom, don’t," Kael pleaded. "If you fight them, you’ll prove they’re right about us being dangerous."
"And if I don’t fight, they’ll take apart everything we’ve built."
Emma tugged on ra’s sleeve. "Mommy ra?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"The bad feeling is back. The one that means the shadow eaters areing."
Everyone froze.
"They’re using the government," Emma whispered, her voice suddenly sounding much older. "The First Hatred found a way inside human leaders. It’s making them pass meanws."
"How do you know this?" Dr. Hayes asked desperately.
Emma’s eyes began to glow with that strange golden light.
"Because it just told me something terrible," she said, her small voice shaking with fear. "Tomorrow, they’re not just going to register supernatural beings."
"What are they going to do?"
Emma looked at all the adults with ancient sadness in her young eyes.
"They’re going to make all the supernatural children disappear. Forever."