<b>CHAPTER </b><b>94 </b>


    The door swung open with a muted thud, and the weight of bootsteps followed–measured, deliberate. Saphira’s heart beat quietly against her ribs <i>as </i>led and Jasper entered first, their expressions carved from stone, shoulders squared with intent. Behind them came half the pack’s warriors, a steady stream of bodies filling the space with silent tension. Finn and Amara followed, moving side by side, Finn’s brows drawn and Amara casting <b>a </b>nce toward Niks with quiet recognition.


    Raven stepped in with a purposeful stride, her posture already stiff with expectation. Talia’s eyes scanned every corner of the room as she slipped in behind her, fingers twitching once before folding across her chest. Sam gave Saphira a nod, brief and grounded, before settling into his usual position near the far end. Then came Anastasia and Asher, Zafira trailing beside them. Zafira’s gaze swept the room in quick, deliberate flicks–already reading the mood before a single word was spoken.


    They gathered around therge meeting table in uneven silence. Some sat heavily–Finn leaning forward, Amara settling beside him, hands resting in herp. Others remained standing, arms folded, tension curling in their muscles, fingertips tapping against wood and fabric. Saphira stayed near Niks, her fingers brushing the edge of the table, gaze flicking from face to face. They feel it too, she thought. A weight in the air. A shift waiting to tip.


    Niks stepped forward with ease, radiating a calm authority that silenced even the soft rustle of movement. He looked around the room slowly, deliberately. “Thank you,” he said, voice steady. “For dropping everything and being here. What we’ve learned is urgent–and we need everyone willing to stand with us.<b>” </b>


    He paused just long enough to let the words settle, then nodded toward Jed and Jasper, stepping back.


    Jed stepped beside Jasper, folding his arms tightly, his jaw tense. “We intercepted a meeting the other day,” he began. “Silvermoo Matchmaker.”


    e Elders. <b>The </b>


    The room shifted subtly.


    “No disguises,” <i>Jed </i>continued. “No caution. They werefortable. Confident.”


    Jasper picked up where he left off, voice clipped. “The message was clear: eliminate all mixed–species packs. Consolidate supernatural bloodlines. Take full control of the Matchmaker–to bind, select, and reshape power from within.”


    The murmurs came sharp and immediate.


    “This pack is mixed,” Talia said, her voice low and firm. “They’lle here.”


    Sam’s eyes narrowed. “And we won’t hold if they move first.”


    Niks stepped forward again, shoulders drawn back, his gaze cutting through the fear. “That’s why we don’t wait. We prepare now. No perfect strategy, no easy route–just protection. For every single person in this house.”


    Jed pulled a small device from his jacket, thumb sliding across the screen before lifting it. “There’s more,” he said. “Last night confirmed Damon’s alliance. He’s working directly with Silvermoon and the Elders. His task: recruit a witch strong enough to anchor their ritual structure.”


    Jasper added, “Silvermoon is searching for an old–blood vampire. They’re building an army. Awork of dominance.”


    Niks’s gaze flicked to her, then returned to the group. “We need to know who Damon’s approaching. Which packs are being courted. If we can track that, we’ll know who’s considering loyalty–and who’s already in motion.”


    Amara leaned forward, elbows against the table. “And when we find them?”


    Niks looked her way, then swept his gaze over every face. “Then we decide how to respond. Diplomacy first–if they’ll talk. But force if we must.”


    The silence after was deafening.


    Saphira <b>turned </b>slightly, meeting Zafira’s gaze–steady and unshaken. Then Anastasia’s, her expression tight, eyes flickering with questions. Around them, the ripple hadnded. Not panic. Not uncertainty/Just… readiness.


    This was no longer a warning.


    The room had sunk into a heavier silence after thest <b>detail </b>dropped–Damon, aligned with Silvermoon and the Elders. The flicker <b>of </b>uncertainty <b>was </b>


    etched into every shoulder, every jawline. It was Asher who finally broke the quiet.


    “So,” he said, arms crossed, his voice level but expectant, “what’s the first step of the n?”


    Niks looked around at the room, deliberately, as though counting each face. “That’s exactly where I want input. We’re not doing this alone.” He stepped forward, setting both hands lightly on the table. “Once we trace Damon, we bring him in. We need a team for that–sharp, fast, adaptable.”


    One of the warriors straightened. “I can be part of that.”


    Raven nodded from her seat, already shifting forward. “I’ll lead it. And I can shield us,” she added, eyes locking onto Niks. “No one sees what I don’t want them to.”


    The reaction was immediate.


    Jed’s head turned, sharp and sure, and without missing a beat he said, “Then I’m joining you.”


    Saphira’s eyes flicked to them–quick, but enough to catch the moment. That look between Raven and Jed: it wasn’t new. She’d seen it before, when they returned from scouting Silvermoon. Something was growing there, she was sure of it. But now wasn’t the time to ask.


    Finn leaned forward, voice cutting through the moment. “Okay, then what?”


    Saphira didn’t hesitate. Her fingers tapped once against the edge of the table. “We need eyes on the Elders,” she said. “See how many recruited. Track their circles. That gives us reach.”


    She paused, eyes scanning the room. “New recruits won’t be fully initiated–not fully Elders. If we learn before they gain full control. It’ll tip the bnce.”


    15


    already


    how to spot that difference, can target them


    There was a beat of quiet. Then Niks smiled–pride etched into the curve of his mouth–and gave her a subtle wink that made her stomach flicker.


    Zafira nodded. “That makes sense. If we can identify their influence early, we gain time.”


    Asher stood a little straighter. “I can lead that team,” he said confidently. “I’ve done recon before. I know how to move through shifting territory.”


    Sam and Talia both raised their hands slightly, Sam already turning toward Asher. “We’ll join,


    Saphira nced across to Zafira and Anastasia–and saw it. Just for a second. That flick Anastasia’s shoulders tense, her gaze pointed away.


    They couldn’t shift. Not yet.


    we can pull in a few more warriors.”


    hesitation, the way Zafira’s fingers knotted in herp.


    Saphira’s heart tightened–not with pity, but with quiet protectiveness. She didn’t let the silen


    “I want to form a strategy team,” she said smoothly, her tone steady. “That I’ll lead.”


    Then she looked directly to them. “Zafira, Anastasia–I want you both with me.”


    Both blinked, startled. Then slowly, gratefully, nodded.


    stretch.


    There was something unspoken in their eyes–thankfulness, yes,


    but also relief. That they wouldn’t be benched. That they mattered.


    Niks straightened beside her. “Then the rest of us,” he said, turning to the room, “will work on a battle n.”


    A new kind of silence followed–one not of dread/but of resolve.