Two Problems
791 Words
(Zulan’s POV)
The council chamber carried tension before anyone spoke.
It sat in the air, quiet but present, built from weeks of reports that didn’t align with normal rogue behavior. Zulan stood at the head of the table, his posture relaxed in appearance only, his attention fixed on the councilors gathered before him. Kael stood at his right, silent as always, while the rest of the room waited.
“The situation along the southern border is already being handled,” Zulan said, his voice even, controlled. “There’s no need for escalation at this time.”
One of the councilors frowned immediately. “Handled?”
Zulan didn’t shift. “Yes.”
“With what force?” another pressed.
Zulan’s gaze moved across them briefly before answering. “My Gamma and two guards.”
Silence followed. Then—
“…Three?” the first councilor repeated, disbelief clear in his tone. “Surely you must be joking.”
Zulan’s expression didn’t change. “I’m not.”
The response settled heavily, not because it was loud, but because of the certainty behind it. There was no room for interpretation, no suggestion that he might reconsider. The councilors exchanged looks, unease shifting between them.
“That’s not a response to a coordinated rogue presence,” one of them said carefully. “If they’re operating in groups, if they’re being directed—”
“They won’t be for long,” Zulan interrupted. That ended it. His voice wasn't sharp or aggressive but it was final. It wasn't because they agreed, they understood Zulan didn’t repeat himself.
A knock sounded at the door, followed by it opening without waiting for permission.
Another councilor entered, this was a councilor from Ember Soul pack. Zulan’s attention shifted immediately.
The man moved with purpose, crossing the room before inclining his head in brief acknowledgment. “Alpha.”
“Councilor,” Zulan replied.
The man extended a document. “A formal request.”
Zulan took it without hesitation, unfolding it as his eyes moved across the contents. The room remained quiet. Watching. Waiting.
Zulan read it once, then again, slower. His expression didn’t change—but his gaze sharpened slightly as he finished. He looked up at the councilor who had delivered it.
“Do you have proof of this… indiscretion?”
The councilor gave a dark smile that spoke of certainity. “I do.”
That—that shifted the room.
One of the other councilors inhaled sharply, seeing the letter, the sound breaking the controlled silence. “You’re claiming a breach of a Fated bond?” The implications landed immediately. Not political or territorial—something far more serious.
The councilor didn’t look away. “I’m stating it as fact.”
Zulan’s gaze remained fixed on him, weighing not just the words—but the conviction behind them. If it existed—this wasn’t a minor issue. It was a matter for him as the King.
Before anything further could be said— the doors burst open. Movement cut through the room, sharp and immediate as Kat entered without hesitation. She didn’t slow, didn’t wait.
Blood marked her from shoulder to wrist, dark against skin and fabric alike, not her own. Her presence shifted the room instantly, the controlled tension snapping into something sharper as every eye turned toward her. Zulan didn’t react outwardly but his attention locked onto her completely.
“Report,” he said.
Kat didn’t bother with formalities. “We engaged the rogues along the southern line,” she said. “They’re dead.”
Shock flickered across more than one face. Three. They had sent three and it was done.
Kat continued without pause. “We found a survivor.”
That—that changed the direction of the room again.
“A woman,” she clarified. “She was their target.”
Zulan’s gaze sharpened slightly. “Status?”
“Alive,” Kat said. “For now.” She took a sharp inhale. “She was poisoned. And wounded.” Her tone tightened just slightly. “The poison is interfering with recovery. She is in the infimary and been sedated.”
Zulan’s mind moved quickly, aligning the information in front of him. Rogues. A hired target. A woman. And now—a request sitting in his hand. He folded the document once, cleanly, before setting it aside.
“Inform me when she wakes,” he said.
Kat inclined her head once. “Yes, Alpha.”
Without waiting for further instruction she turned and exited just as directly as she had entered, leaving the room in a silence that felt different now. Zulan’s gaze shifted briefly back to the councilor from Ember Soul, then to the document, then forward again. Because now—there were two problems.
- Writer
