Waking Bel (Lords of Discord 3)

“They had a choice.”

“Did they? Truly?” Bel wanted to reach out and shake the stubbornness from his brother’s thick head. “You have no problem mocking the Ministry and flaunting your love of Philippe, but what would you sacrifice to be with your Philippe?”

“Everything!”

“Really? Would you do things you don’t agree with to protect him? To be with him?”

Rafe stared past Bel at where River and Wyatt sat. Some of the anger had left his frame, and he was now clinging to Philippe’s hand as if Bel’s words could make the vampire disappear.

Wyatt stood and River joined him. Both men placed their hands over their hearts and bowed their heads. “We are sorry for causing you any injuries,” Wyatt said. “We hope that you can one day understand we did what we had to so we could remain together.”

Rafe’s shoulders wilted and he grunted. “I’ll think about it.”

Bel nearly smiled. Rafe had never been the most gracious when it came to admitting he was wrong about something, but Bel would take it as a step in the right direction.

But all his hope died when he turned his attention to Aiden’s sad expression. “The timing of this is bad, adding a complication to our clan that we can ill afford right now.”

Bel’s stomach sank and he took an unsteady step backward. “What are you talking about?”

Aiden glanced over at Winter, who sighed. “Word is spreading that Beatrice was found murdered this evening. That’s the sixth Ministry member killed in less than a year.”

“No!”

“Catherine and Titus have both gone into hiding,” Winter continued, his tone grim. “Rumors are circulating that they’ve abdicated their seats on the Ministry. That leaves only Damon, Paavo, and Christopher left on the Ministry and none of them are particularly big fans of the Varik clan.”

Bel shook his head. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. “I don’t understand. I thought Minerva from the Black Wolf clan admitted to killing the first three members. She’s dead. The clan has been disbanded.”

“Winslow and Robert killed each other, thanks to our rumors, in a bid to protect themselves and their claims to power,” Marcus said wearily.

Even Bel had to flinch at that reminder. The desperate acts of angry and hurt children following the murder of their mother. They had thought striking out and adding to the chaos would help heal the wounds of their kind, but it had only made things worse.

“But who killed Beatrice?”

Winter shook his head. “We don’t know. No one has admitted to it yet or claimed her seat. But with only three of the eleven seats filled…”

“What? What are you thinking?”

“Damon remains in power,” Aiden said in a low voice. “Paavo and Christopher are little more than flunkies for him. While the power of the Ministry has shrunk without the other eight clans behind it, Damon is incredibly old and a terrifying force all on his own. I don’t think it will be long before he abolishes the American Ministry completely and places a crown on his head.” Aiden paused and licked his lips. “To do that, he’ll want to consolidate his power and remove any potential threats.”

Bel’s breath was caught in his throat. It was only when strong hands grabbed him that he realized his knees were giving out. Tucked tightly against Wyatt, he allowed the werewolf to usher him over to the seat River just vacated. Wyatt resumed his perch on the arm, pulling Bel to his side. River sat on the floor, but he leaned much of his weight on Bel’s legs. Their warmth wrapped around him, making it easier to breathe, but it didn’t touch the ugly cold knot in his stomach.

“You think he’s going to come after the Variks,” Ethan said. His words were barely over a whisper, but they were like a shout in the silent room.

“We can protest that we have no interest in the Ministry or power, but our actions say otherwise. The Variks have destroyed both the Black Wolf and MacPherson clans. We’ve absorbed the Arsenault clan, added three other members, and we have alliances with the Moon and Novik clans.” Aiden paused and stared heavily at Bel. “If we accept a pair of werewolves into our clan, it will appear as if we are altering a five-hundred-year-old truce to form an alliance with the werewolves. If I were Damon, crushing the Variks would be the first item on my to-do list.”

“But that’s not what I’m asking at all!”

“Few will ask for our reasons. The appearance of things is more than enough to convince most vampires.”

The silence stretched for several seconds. Bel forgot about all the other people in the room except the two pressed against him. Pain radiated throughout his body, hitting him from all different sides. He could no longer tell what was his and what belonged to the wolves and even Rafe. It was crushing him, making it hard to draw in a breath. It was making it difficult for even his heart to beat.