CHAPTER 208: _ THEY’LL COME FOR HER

The exchange breaks a little of the tension, laughter fizzing through the air like sparks from kindling. But even laughter feels dangerous in this room because it dances too close to the fire.

Darien’s patience finally breaks, suffocated by all the banters. He straightens, rolls his shoulders back, and lets silence settle calmly. His gaze sharpens into that Alpha cut, and the three other wolves instinctively still, probably because the subject of the matter is Heidi. The fireplace crackles behind him, painting his face in flickers of amber and shadow.

He decides to stop circling and go straight to the throat. "Alright," he clears his throat, hands on his waist. "Enough of this. Amias, first—good luck and congratulations on digging your own pit. But that’s not even why I called you all here."

Amias’s brow furrows. "Excuse me?"

Darien’s eyes flash gold for a heartbeat. "Heidi’s in danger."

The words hit feel to the rest like a stone has been thrown at them.

Amias jerks upright. Grayson goes rigid. Morgan actually drops his boot from the armrest. The crackle of fire seems to falter, the entire room holding its breath.

"What?" Amias demands.

Morgan’s mouth works uselessly before he blurts, "Wait, what do you mean she’s in danger? We literally drove her home ourselves, she was fine, defiant and stubborn as always, even."

"She did threaten to stab us if we didn’t stop talking about her hair," Grayson mutters, half to himself.

Darien ignores that. "She’s not fine. Not anymore."

Amias frowns, squinting hard to make a point. "If this is about her case with the NAY boys’ sisters, I already took care of it."

All three brothers turn to him in perfect, stunned synchrony.

"You did what?" Morgan says.

Grayson echoes, "He did what?"

Darien just stares, trying to decide whether to be impressed or furious. "You did?"

Amias folds his arms, defensive. "Why do you all look so surprised? I can pull a few strings too."

Morgan whistles low. "Well, color me impressed. Our little Amias is growing claws."

Little? Referring to the oldest as ’little’ is diabolical, but Darien ignores it. Morgan is the most unhinged of them all... that much, he knows.

Grayson leans forward. "By ’pulling strings,’ do you mean intimidating half the school board again, or was this more of a blackmail situation?"

Amias glares at him. "Neither. I spoke to people who owed me favors."

Morgan grins. "So blackmail."

Before the twins can keep at it, Darien cuts in. "Enough. Whether or not you played savior, we’re all responsible for her protection now. Like it or not, we can’t escape the mate bond."

That gets the kind of reaction he expects.

The twins exchange looks, the laughter bubbling up before they can stop it. Grayson slaps Morgan’s shoulder. "Oh, the irony."

Morgan chuckles. "The man who spent a month lecturing us about discipline is now saying we can’t escape fate. Mark the date."

Kairos huffs amusement under Darien’s skin. "They’re laughing because they’re scared."

Darien’s jaw tightens. He pushes off the desk and begins pacing, boots heavy against the rug. "While trying to help her, I found out something else. Something bigger. I pulled a string of my own and spoke to Headmaster Halric."

The room goes very, very still.

Grayson’s eyes widen. "You did what?"

"Wait..." Morgan leans forward. "You have enough pull to get Halric to talk to you? That man is Father’s spy and you know that!"

Amias, who is ever the moral compass when it’s inconvenient, snaps, "You shouldn’t have done that, Darien. The whole point of my pulling my strings is to ensure the whole thing doesn’t get to the higher-ups."

Really? They’ll blame him when it’s obvious they all tried to help her in their own ways?

"That’s not the point right now," Darien fires back.

His voice hits the air with enough force to silence even Morgan. The twins glance at each other, realizing whatever’s coming next isn’t just family drama, it’s pack-level serious.

Darien’s tone drops low, carrying that quiet, dangerous weight that only truth can bear. "The point is that Halric told me something the pack council isn’t revealing. A prophecy. About a dual wolf who will emerge to bring down all pack authorities."

The words hang there like smoke.

Morgan leans back slowly. "A dual wolf?"

Darien nods once. "Two wolves. One vessel."

Grayson lets out a breath, trying to mask his unease with sarcasm. "Sounds like a bedtime story for paranoid Alphas."

"It’s not," Darien lets out. "Halric made it clear they believe it. He said the council is terrified. And from what I gathered, they’ve already chosen a suspect."

His eyes burn crimson again. "Heidi."

Amias’s chair scrapes the floor as he stands. "No."

Darien doesn’t blink. "Yes."

Morgan’s humor dies instantly. "You’re saying the pack—the council... thinks Heidi’s this dual wolf thing? Because of what, her strength? Her... what?"

"Because of the Striker game," Darien says tightly. "Her aura. Her control. The way she destroyed the machine like it was nothing. Halric said they’re watching her, quietly, waiting for a sign. If they decide she’s the one, we all know what happens next."

Grayson curses softly under his breath. The lightness that usually dances in his eyes is gone. "They’ll come for her."

Darien nods. "Exactly."

Morgan pushes up from his chair, running both hands through his hair. "But if that’s true, why hasn’t Father said anything? If the council’s hiding a prophecy that big, he’d..."

"Apparently," Darien interrupts, "we’re under surveillance. The council’s watching us, too. And thanks to you two..." he points at the twins "...our very public hovering around her hasn’t gone unnoticed."

Grayson freezes mid-protest. "What?"

Morgan blinks. "You’re blaming us?"

"I’m stating facts," Darien replies. "You were the ones who couldn’t keep your eyes—or your mouths, off her in front of half the pack. You even went to the bloody Labyrinth for crying out loud! Everyone knows how selfish you two are. You wouldn’t just risk your lives to look after some juniors you don’t give a bat shit about. Of course, Father would sense foul play. Don’t tell me you believe all of his acting in there!" He threw his hands listlessly in the air.

He can’t believe these dummies. Seriously!

Grayson crosses his arms. "You’re acting like you didn’t hover too."

"Not in public."

Morgan scoffs. "Oh, please. You literally brought her to the estate."

"That was for an investigation," Darien bites out.

"It looked romantic," Morgan mutters.

Darien’s patience frays. "This isn’t about how it looked. This is about survival. The council won’t hesitate to make an example of her if they think she’s dangerous."

Grayson sighs, rubbing his temples. "So what do you propose we do? Lock her up in the cellar?"

Morgan perks up. "She might like that."

Grayson snorts. "She’d break out in ten minutes."

Darien growls low, the sound not entirely human. "This isn’t a joke!"

His wolf is close to the surface now as his control thins to threads. The air in the room thickens, Alpha energy pressing down like gravity. The twins feel it first and their smirks fade, their spines straighten. Amias doesn’t back down, though his pulse beats visibly at his throat.

That’s how involuntarily an Alpha wolf demands a response from you.

Darien exhales through clenched teeth, forcing the wolf back. "We need a plan. If they move against her, we move faster. We protect her."

Kairos hums approvingly in his head. "Finally."

Amias crosses his arms. "And what do you think we should do? You can’t exactly challenge the council on a prophecy."

"We can protect her from being found out," Darien says. "Keep her out of their reach. Out of sight."

Grayson laughs humorlessly. "She’s not exactly low-profile. Half the academy’s obsessed with her."

"Then we make them look elsewhere," Darien says. "We distract them."

Morgan grins, some of his usual mischief returning. "Distraction is my specialty."

Grayson smirks. "Ours."

Amias groans. "No. No more of your ridiculous plans involving fake fights or staged scandals. You’ll make it worse."

Morgan puts a hand to his chest. "You wound me, brother. Our scandals are always premium quality."

"Premium disasters," Amias mutters.

Darien pinches the bridge of his nose. "Goddess help me, this is why I drink."

Morgan’s grin widens. "Correction: you drink because of us and the council."

Grayson shrugs. "Mostly us."

The tension thins just enough for the humor to breathe again, but it doesn’t vanish. It just coils beneath the banter like a predator waiting for the right moment.

Darien steps away from the desk, eyes shadowed. "Listen to me. If the council makes a move, they’ll use Father first. They’ll test our loyalty to see if there’s a secret we are hiding before they strike. We can’t let them reach her. Not through him, not through anyone."

Amias’s voice drops. "You think they’ll use Tobias against us to get her?"

"They’ve done worse to less dangerous people. Halric’s already watching. If the pack decides she’s the prophecy’s threat, she’s as good as dead." Darien points out.

The words land heavily. The fire pops. Somewhere outside, wind howls against the windowpanes like distant wolves answering a call.

Morgan breaks the silence first. "So, basically, our mate might be a mythological doomsday trigger, our pack might be plotting murder, and our headmaster’s a gossiping prophet. Lovely."

Grayson nods solemnly. "I give it a week before someone starts a cult."

Darien stares at them. "This isn’t funny."

"It’s horrifying," Morgan says. "And when things get horrifying, humor is survival."

Amias mutters, "Then we’ll survive a long time at this rate."

Darien moves to the window, staring out into the cold sprawl of the Bellamy estate. The sun slicks the trees golden. He can almost feel Heidi’s energy somewhere beyond that forest, wild and unbending. He wonders if she feels the same pull—the creeping sense of a threat neither of them can name.

Kairos murmurs, "They’ll come for her soon."

"I know," Darien whispers.