The Hidden Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 2)

They exchanged a couple more pleasantries, then Blake and Councilor Harington came out of the conference room, and Max’s and Karl’s attention was drawn to them. Amelia ran to Blake’s side and squeezed her arm. Blake smiled down at her and kissed her forehead just to offer the audience a proper show. They were supposed to be newlywed and completely in love with each other, after all.

“Are you ready?” Blake asked her. “We have a long flight ahead of us.”

“Sure.”

Arthur Harington, Max, and Karl wished them a nice flight and went back to their own business. Amelia and Seth were dying to ask Blake about her secret discussion with the human councilor, but they waited until they exited the building, just to be sure.

“He wanted to warn me about Redfur,” Blake finally explained. “I told him I am well aware of whom I am dealing with and promised I’d be careful. From what I gathered, it seems that the Council still has no idea about what actually happened with Jason Woodtail. They are very suspicious of Jonathan.”

“Maybe you should tell them?” suggested Seth.

“I don’t know. What good would it do? I’d rather wait and see if Jonathan has anything else up his sleeve. The guy is full of surprises.”

“What about Jane?” asked Amelia. “She was disappointed you didn’t choose her as your adviser. I could see it in her eyes.”

“Yeah… I’ll have to talk to her. She’s a good girl, although I’m still not comfortable knowing she betrayed Jonathan. That’s the thing: when you’re the member of a clan, you don’t betray your Alpha no matter how wrong he might be, and when you’re an adviser, you don’t betray the councilor who trusted you with his life and secrets. It’s a red flag right there, and I’ll have to keep an eye on her. She might still replace Jonathan in the future if he doesn’t behave. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Amelia and Seth exchanged a quick glance, then they both looked at Blake in awe. Yes, she was a good Inari and an even better councilor. This thing they were doing might actually work in everyone’s favor.

***

Jonathan Redfur had to wait until late in the evening, when he was finally in his personal office, in the luxurious apartment he owned in London. He had kept a straight face all day, and when he finally arrived home, his shoulders slumped and he leaned against the closed front door for a few moments. He focused his senses and sighed in relief when he realized his wife wasn’t there. She was probabl

y out with her girlfriends, nursing a glass of wine in one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. Their relationship had grown cold long ago, when he chose his career over his family. And for what?

He forced himself to move. He dropped his coat on the sofa and went straight into his office, sat in the leather chair and took out his phone. He stared at the screen for a while, thinking of what he was going to say to the person he was just about to call. He knew what he wanted to say. The plan had taken form in his mind not long after the council meeting was over. But should he make that suggestion? Was it safe? Could he trust him? Could he trust anyone at this point? The phone rang twice before the person picked up.

“Jonathan.”

He had been expecting his call, Redfur could tell.

“How did the meeting go?”

“Not as expected,” said Jonathan. He tried to hide the exhaustion in his voice.

“I’m sorry to say it doesn’t surprise me.”

“I should have listened to you. You know Blake Sylfur better than I do.”

“So, what now?”

“He chose me as his second adviser, after his bride.”

The person on the other end huffed. Jonathan understood his reaction. An Inari giving so much credit to his human bride… unheard of. On the other hand, maybe that was Blake’s first mistake. While the other factions might appreciate his bold move, the one faction that mattered wouldn’t. The fox-shifters were well-known for treating their human brides as they were supposed to be treated: a necessary weakness.

“We’re not out of the game,” he said. “You can still do a lot for our cause.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I was counting on the new councilor to be more open to our views thanks to his… well… youth. I lost all hope when he mentioned the new law has his vote. Frankly, I think we’ve stalled enough and it’s time for Plan B.”

There was a long pause and Jonathan knew the person at the other end of the line was weighing the possibility.

“You know very well why we waited this long,” he finally said.

Jonathan sighed. He did, but that didn’t mean he completely agreed with the reasons.

“Roman was loved and respected by many. Making a move while he was still alive would have been a great risk.”

“Yes, but Roman is no more. And Blake is not like his father, even though he embraces his views. The fox-shifters barely know Blake Sylfur. He has stayed hidden in Alaska for too long. It will take him some time to gain their trust, and that’s why we have to strike now.”