Chapter 179
Meredith.
The ride felt longer than it was, though I knew it couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes.
I kept my eyes on the shadows of the buildings passing by, my body pressed into the seat beside Draven.
His presence was like a silent mountain next to me: steady, immovable. But my heart still wouldn’t stop its restless flutter.
When we finally pulled up, I stepped out of the car and felt a shiver slide over my skin.
The place was nothing like I’d imagined: an old, half-collapsed warehouse tucked deep among forgotten roads.
The corrugated metal walls groaned against the wind, and shards of broken glass glinted under the pale moonlight like dull teeth.
For a moment, I hesitated, my breath misting in the cold night air. But Draven stepped around the car to my side, and I moved closer until my arm brushed against his.
Inside, the warehouse felt even larger, darker—and frighteningly alive. Hundreds of unfamiliar faces turned toward us as soon as we stepped through the cracked doorway.
Some stood together in small clusters, their cloaks drawn tight. Others leaned on broken pillars or perched on crates, silent but watchful.
Their gazes found me. All hundreds of them.
Then, as if they already knew what to do, they all gathered around, forming a large circle.
A tight knot curled in my stomach, but Draven’s low voice beside me steadied it.
“Everyone, this is my wife, Meredith Carter,” he announced, calm and clear, the sound cutting through the mutter of voices.
I swallowed, blinking at the unexpected weight of the words. My wife.
As one, the crowd bowed slightly, heads dipping in respect towards me.
For the first time since I turned sixteen, since I realized my wolf would never awaken like the others… Since the moment I was declared cursed,I felt something almost painfully unfamiliar: acknowledged .
Seen.
Respected.
Heat prickled at the corners of my eyes, but I forced my chin up and gave them a small, grateful nod.
Draven’s gaze brushed mine for a heartbeat—warm, quiet approval—before he turned to face the gathered wolves.
His voice rose, firm and commanding.
“This will be our meeting place for now,” he began. “The woods are no longer safe for gatherings.”
Low murmurs rippled through the crowd, like the rustling of dry leaves.
He continued, “The humans have set up CCTV cameras in the woods. They don’t know it yet, but they are watching vampires.”
There was a sharper reaction this time. Some heads turned, whispers growing urgent.
I also noticed Deidra whispering something to Kira’s ears, while Cora and Arya remained quiet behind them.
Azul was the only one who met my gaze.
Draven’s tone darkened, measured and cold. “The humans plan to capture one of them. Torture it. Question it. Possibly run experiments.”
I saw shock flicker in the faces nearest to us: widened eyes, jaws tightening, a few mouths falling open. The realization of what that meant, sinking in like frost through skin.
Draven lifted a hand, stilling the room. “The vampires won’t like being watched. Soon, they will come down from the forests. Into the streets, the alleys—the heart of Duskmoor itself.”
A silence fell, heavy and unsettled.
“And when that happens,” Draven went on, “the humans will bear the brunt of their rage. Not us.”
And yet, these were the monsters that Valmora said we were both were going to kill together.
Who was she kidding?
I am yet to see the sense, or even find the confidence to imagine the scene she wanted to become a reality.
A young man near the front, hair tied at the nape, raised his hand hesitantly. His voice broke the hush.
“Alpha… does that mean we aren’t to fight them when they enter the city?”
Draven nodded once, the motion slow and deliberate. “Exactly. Do not interfere. Do not hunt them. Protect yourselves, your mates, your young. Fight only if you’re directly threatened. But don’t become the humans’ shield.”
A few shocked gasps, more whispers.
I shifted my weight, my brows knitting. The question that burned in my mind pushed itself forward before I could swallow it: Why?
Why wouldn’t Draven let our people fight the vampires as well when they come down to our dwelling places?
But Draven seemed to sense the unspoken question hanging between so many of us. His gaze swept the crowd, cold and sure.
“They’re coming for the humans, not us,” he said. “We will not risk our people’s lives for those who see us as monsters. This fight is not ours. We wait. We watch. And when the time comes… we decide what must be done.”
The words settled over me like cold iron.
Part of me—a softer part—recoiled at the thought of standing aside. But another part, a harder edge I hadn’t known I’d grown, understood.
The humans had brought this on themselves.
It was only right they danced to the tune of the music they played.
For a brief heartbeat, I caught Draven’s eyes. In them, I didn’t see triumph or cruelty—only a quiet, merciless resolve.
I swallowed, my mouth dry.
So this is what it means to lead. To decide who to save, and who to let fall.
Around us, some nodded solemnly, the weight of the Alpha’s decision pressing into their bones. Others lowered their heads, accepting.
I stayed close to Draven, his warmth grounding me against the cold vastness of the warehouse. And though fear coiled in my chest, it was chased by a fiercer truth:
And tonight, for the first time, I felt what that truly meant.
But somewhere deep in my heart, I wondered if Valmora was listening to all these deep conversations.
I knew she had to stay hidden as she still didn’t want anyone to know about her presence, but a part of me just wanted to check if she was here or asleep.
In the end, I couldn’t risk being distracted in such an important meeting I finally found myself to now be a part of.