CHAPTER 153: PEOPLE FROM THE COUNCIL

One evening, Inez was returning to the lodge after another session. The cobblestone path had been washed away by the rainwater and covered with moss, causing her to slip and skid with every step she took. She was about to turn around and head over to her lodge when she suddenly heard the sound of cars coming to a stop.

Pausing, she turned around and looked in the direction from which the sound came. However, the second she turned her head to look at the car, which had stopped in front of the rest, her eyes widened when she saw the person who had stepped out.

"Dominic?" Inez was surprised to see Dominic standing in front of her.

The man was wearing a leather jacket with fur around the collar, with a matching shirt and cargo pants. As he looked around, his gaze fell on Inez, who stiffened like a deer caught in headlights. She noticed how his eyes darkened as if the stormy cloud had taken hold of them.

Inez sucked in a breath before turning her gaze away from him and looking at the man who stepped out of the car after him. The man was wearing a grey coat that had a lapel fold. His brown hair was slightly windswept as he looked around the territory with a stern expression on his face.

"Lyla."

Hearing the familiar voice calling out to her, Inez raised her head and looked at Dominic, who had come to a stop in front of her at some point. Her siren lunged to her surface, as she had not quite forgotten the video that had been posted on the NHM site. Even Inez wanted to let her siren take over, but she stopped herself in due time, for she feared a war between the two packs.

Though the lycans in this pack were crazy as hell and might even welcome a war, Inez didn’t want to be the key to start that war.

She lowered her head and suppressed the urge to rip Dominic’s head off his shoulders. She narrowed her eyes and raised her head to look at the man in front of her. She said to him, "Alpha Cherith, what are you doing here?" Once her rage had died down, what followed was surprise. She raised her hand and looked at her wristwatch, and saw that it was quite late.

So what was this man doing here, and that too at this hour?

"I am a member of the council. We received word that there was a witch hiding in the Red Blood Hill pack, and she was recently caught. Since Killian didn’t let anyone in the council know about it, we are here to check if there are any other unknown creatures hiding in this pack. One cannot be sure about it."

Selene, who had arrived with Laxus, was stunned when she heard Dominic’s words. Her eyes flickered to Inez, who stood in front of Dominic, and she exchanged a glance with Laxus, their hearts skipping a beat. Fortunately, there was a loud commotion going on around the territory with the arrival of the council members, and no one paid any attention to them.

They looked at Inez and then turned to look at Dominic, wondering what this man was even trying to do.

"Unknown creatures?" Inez asked, while wondering if the man was already aware of her identity.

"That’s right," Dominic nodded with a smile on his face as he took in a microexpression. The more he looked at her, the more the woman reminded him of Inez. She, too, would scrunch up her nose and frown like this when she was lost in thought or something was bothering her. "We are here to discuss the matter regarding the witch who was caught, and yet Alpha Sokolov failed to let the council know."

"If your men had worked harder and faster, then nothing like this would have happened. I thought you would be ashamed of the lack of attention, but clearly I overestimated you and the council." At long last, Killian had made his way to the clearing. His expression was mild, and his lips were curled up in his usual teasing smile.

He then glanced at the man next to Dominic and nodded at him. "Noah, a not-so-pleasant surprise as always."

The man named Noah didn’t seem surprised by Killian’s lack of welcome. He simply nodded and said to him gently, "Rickety and rebellious as always, Killian. You should have let the council know that you caught a witch before killing her. She could have been of great use to the council."

"You are misunderstanding something, Noah," said Killian as he flashed Noah a smile. "I don’t know who told you about my pack finding a witch, but the truth is that she was nothing but a halfling who was doing the bidding of the witches under their command. I don’t think that you would have found anything from her."

Noah narrowed his eyes. Though the man didn’t show it on his face, it was quite clear that he was quite unnerved by this explosive bit of information.

"A halfling, you say?"

"That’s right," stated Killian, looking at Inez, who was standing a bit away from Dominic. His eyes flickered as his beast lunged to his surface; now that he had finally claimed this woman, his possessiveness had only worsened. "Lyla, come here."

Inez heaved a sigh of relief as she walked past Dominic. However, as she stepped away from him, she heard the man let out a warning growl. It caused her to stiffen, but only for a second before she continued to walk up the slope.

As she came to stand next to him, Killian turned to look at the two men and questioned, "If that is all—"

"No", Noah stepped forward and looked at the man. With a stern gaze, he stated in a quiet voice, "We also received another bit of information. That there is a siren living in this pack."