All the other councilors agreed to Blake’s choices. They started shifting in their seats and gathering their things, which meant the meeting was almost over. They had established the more pressing matters, and the rest could be left for later, when Blake would have moved to London.
“I have one more thing to add,” said Blake. Her voice was low, but firm. “I want you to know that I completely support the new law which you have just passed after the Annual Summit. I regret not being able to attend the Summit. I couldn’t leave my father’s side. I know it doesn’t make any difference now, but the law has my vote. I believe my faction has been taking advantage of the peace treaty and the boarding schools for too long, and I’m glad something has been done to stop it. This is one of the reasons why I made my wife my first adviser: regardless of their faction, shape-shifters must appreciate the tremendous favor the human faction has done by offering us shifter-brides. Amelia is a wise young woman whose opinion I trust. I hope you’ll all welcome her and come to appreciate her as I do.”
And that was when Jonathan cursed himself for having been so naïve. Blake was exactly like his father, if not worse. The Sylfur Inari didn’t choose him because they had the same views, but because he wanted to keep him under control. “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,” he thought, bitterly.
Jonathan and Jane were the only ones who left the conference room sulking. All the other councilors and advisers were more than pleased with their new colleagues, Blake and Amelia Sylfur.
***
Amelia, Blake, and Seth were among the last ones to leave the conference room. Just as they were walking out the door, Councilor Harington asked Blake to stop for a second and made it clear to his bride and his Beta that he wanted to have a word with their Alpha alone. Amelia’s stomach twisted and she forced down the bile that had risen in her throat. How could she possibly leave Blake alone? It only took one mistake, just one, and this whole business could end really badly. However, Blake nodded towards her, letting her know it was okay. Seth followed Amelia down the corridor.
“It’s all right,” he reassured her. “It’s only Councilor Harington. He’s human, he won’t catch her real scent. Let’s just make sure no shape-shifter enters the conference room while they’re in there.”
Amelia sighed and stared at the closed door.
“What do you think he wants with her?” She bit her tongue when she realized she had just referred to Blake as “her”. On second thought, Seth had done the same earlier. Even though they were whispering, the building was full of shape-shifters. “Him…”
“Shit,” Seth cursed under his breath. “I don’t know. I’m sure he’ll tell us.”
Amelia looked up at him and smiled. He was watching the door intently, and the image of a Greek sphinx flashed before her eyes. She chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” She kept staring at his handsome profile. God, he was gorgeous! Those full lips, that square jaw, the disheveled hair and bright purple eyes… She suddenly felt hot, and it had nothing to do with the heaters in the building, which were working on full power. They hadn’t done anything in such a long time. With all that had happened in the past month, it had felt terribly inappropriate. “Do you know the legend of the sphinx?”
Seth didn’t have time to answer her. When he saw Max and Karl Blackmane walk towards them, he tensed. As any fox-shifter, Seth had never liked werewolves, but that wasn’t it. If they stopped to talk to him and Amelia, they would be very close to Blake, who was still in the conference room with Councilor Harington.
“Amelia Sylfur, what a pleasure to meet you!” Max offered Amelia a bright smile and a respectful bow.
“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Blackmane.” She couldn’t believe she was talking to Avelyn’s husband. She couldn’t believe Avelyn’s husband knew who she was.
Karl stopped behind his brother and nodded towards Amelia and Seth. Seth greeted them as nicely as he could.
“Please call me Max. When I told Avelyn that I was going to meet the new fox councilor today, she really wanted to come. As usual, she knew more than me. I had no idea Blake had taken an Alma Venus bride, but she had found out from her friends when we… visited the boarding school in September.” He hesitated at the word “visited”, as everyone present knew that had been anything but a visit.
“How is she?”
“Oh, she’s fine! Our son is keeping her busy. He’s growing fast.” His whole face lip up when he started talking about his wife and son. “Once your husband moves to London, you two should definitely meet. I told her you weren’t staying and there would be plenty of opportunities after everything settles down. Maybe you’ll even visit Schloss Blackmane.”
Max sounded so enthusiastic, and Amelia hated it that she couldn’t accept his invitation. The fact that Blake was now a councilor meant that Amelia couldn’t leave her side. Ever. And she doubted her friend would want to spend even an hour in the middle of a clan of werewolves.
“Sure, we’ll see.” She offered him a shy smile. “I’ll have to talk to my husband, you understand…”
“Of course, of course…” He was silent for a moment, unsure of what else to say. He had to come up with something, though, as Avelyn would be all over him the second he set foot at the Schloss. His gaze stopped on Amelia’s baby bump. “Oh, congratulations! Boy or girl?”
Amelia blushed and stole a glance at Seth. She knew how difficult it was for him when she received congratulations for becoming a mother and he had to simply stand there and mask his feelings. He was proud. Ecstatic. But no one could know.
“Thank you. We don’t know yet. My husband and I decided we’d like it to be a surprise, so we asked the doctor to keep it secret.”
Melancholy shimmered in Max’s green eyes. “It must be an Alma Venus thing. Avelyn didn’t want to know either, although she was sure it would be a boy the whole time. Boy or girl, your child will be blessed. With such beautiful, bright parents, he or she will have a great future.”
Amelia moved her weight from one leg to the other. She was the adviser of the fox councilor now, she had to get a hold of herself. It was silly to feel like a school girl every time a stranger complimented her. She cleared her throat before speaking.
“We’ll do our best.”
Max smiled. “I hope our children will meet and become good friends one day. The world is in need of a new, young generation that believes in the peace treaty. All we have to do is teach them well, and incidents like the one last year will never happen again.”
“I agree.”