CHAPTER 375: THEY WANT US DEAD

Meredith.

For a long moment, no one moved. The air in the conference room had gone heavy again, thick with unspoken fear and clashing pride.

Brackham’s fingers drummed softly against the polished surface of the table.

"I see," he said finally, looking up at Draven with that faint political smile that never reached his eyes. "You will help us... but on your own terms."

Draven inclined his head slightly. "Exactly."

Brackham leaned back, his chair creaking under the motion. "And what do you want in return, Alpha? Surely this kind of mercy doesn’t come free."

The edges of Draven’s mouth curved faintly, but there was no warmth in them. "You are right. It doesn’t."

He paused, letting the silence gather like smoke before finishing—slowly and deliberately,

"When I’m ready for what I want, I will let you know my request."

That earned a flicker of unease across Brackham’s features. Then he laughed—short, dry, and fake.

"This sounds dangerous, Alpha. Very dangerous."

Draven spread his arms slightly, the motion smooth and powerful.

"I’m not forcing you, Mayor," he said, his voice low but steady. "But that is my term and condition for offering you help."

The room erupted in quiet murmurs. Some of the senators leaned toward one another, whispering, their thoughts bleeding into mine before they even opened their mouths.

"This wolf is playing a game."

"This wolf wants leverage over us."

"What if he demands control of the city later?"

"This is madness—Brackham shouldn’t agree to his request."

Then one of the senators—bald, the same one who had insulted Draven earlier in his head—rose from his seat.

"Alpha Draven," he said with forced politeness, "your request is too vague for us to agree to. What happens if, when the time comes, you ask for the impossible? Something that no human government can grant?"

A few others nodded in agreement, their voices rising, echoing their support.

"Yes, he could demand anything!"

"This condition is unreasonable!"

Draven didn’t speak at first. He let their protests fill the air until the noise became its own kind of desperation. Then he stood with a composure that silenced even their mutters.

He rested both hands on the table and leaned forward just slightly, his gaze cutting through them all like a blade drawn from its sheath.

"I am neither greedy nor unreasonable," he said quietly. "But I also won’t force you to trust me."

His tone sharpened—still calm, but with an undercurrent that made the senators shift uncomfortably in their seats.

"Because only those with ulterior motives feel the need to convince others of their honesty."

A ripple of murmurs passed through the table again—this time lower, uncertain.

I could hear the chaos in their minds, how their arrogance wavered against the quiet authority in Draven’s voice.

"He is toying with us."

"Does he know something?"

"Why isn’t Brackham stopping this?"

I held my breath, watching the way Draven stood there—unmoved and unbothered like the very room bent around his will.

Even Brackham’s thoughts betrayed him, though his face showed nothing but practiced composure.

"This wolf thinks he is clever. He will get what he wants... for now."

Valmora’s voice stirred faintly in my mind, smooth and knowing. "Power doesn’t always roar, Meredith. Sometimes, it simply waits for the rest to realize who has already won."

And looking at Draven then—calm, commanding, untouchable, I knew that Brackham and his men had already lost this round, even if they hadn’t realized it yet.

Brackham sat back slowly, the faintest glimmer of victory flickering in his pale eyes.

"Then we have an understanding," he said, his tone smoothed back to that practiced political calm. "Your condition stands, Alpha. We will accept it."

Draven inclined his head slightly, then leaned back in his chair. "Good."

The tension in the room shifted—just slightly.

I could feel it: a ripple of triumph running through the humans’ minds. But beneath the surface, something darker pulsed.

I focused on Brackham, letting my power slip quietly into his mind. His thoughts came clear as day—cold, venomous, and threaded with pride.

"Once he is done cleaning up the vampires, I will make my next move. The werewolves will follow soon after. Every single one of them in Duskmoor will burn."

My stomach twisted. I turned my gaze briefly toward the senators. Their thoughts weren’t any cleaner.

"Savages, all of them."

"Let them kill the vampires first, then we deal with them next."

"The Mayor will have his city free of monsters—both kinds by the end of the day."

Their hatred was a fire they didn’t bother to hide, at least not in their minds.

I bit the inside of my cheek, struggling to keep my expression smooth.

Through the mind-link, I sent my voice, low but urgent.

"Brackham plans to destroy every werewolf in Duskmoor once you’ve finished with the vampires. And those senators—most of them agree. They want us dead."

Dennis’s response was a sharp, bitter snarl in my head. "I knew that old bastard couldn’t be trusted."

Jeffery added, "He is not even trying to hide it. The arrogance in his thoughts—moon above, I could tear his throat open right here."

Draven didn’t respond right away. He simply sat there, his face unreadable, his gaze fixed calmly on Brackham.

Then, finally, he spoke aloud, completely ignoring the mental chaos swirling among us.

"Mayor," he began evenly, "there is one more thing."

Brackham turned to him, feigning polite curiosity. "Yes?"

Draven’s tone didn’t change, but I caught the faint curve of a smile at the edge of his lips.

"I want to dissolve the group you created to investigate the supposed human-trafficking syndicate."

The room went utterly still.

Brackham froze for a heartbeat too long before forcing a thin smile. "Alpha, why do you suddenly wish to dissolve the group?"

Draven rested one arm on the table, his gaze level and unblinking. "Because it’s a waste of time. I’m no longer interested in chasing fairy tales. My men and I have better things to do."

The silence that followed was heavy—almost suffocating.

The senators’ bodies shifted uneasily. Some looked at each other, others fixed their eyes on the table as if afraid to meet his.

But I didn’t need to see their faces to know the truth. Their thoughts came rushing at me like a storm.

"Did he find out?"

"Impossible... he couldn’t have known!"

"If this wolf is onto us, we are finished."

"The group was just a distraction—how could he know?"

My breath caught. I glanced at Draven quickly, my pulse hammering.