17. Silas -Pack House
1514 Words
The dining room was alive when we entered—but not with laughter.
Alpha Daniel sat at the head of the long wooden table, sleeves rolled up, posture rigid. Mira sat to his right, her hands folded tightly in front of her, eyes alert and worried. Beta Ethan and Gamma Eric were already there, along with a handful of senior warriors. Conversation hushed the moment Andreas and I crossed the threshold.
“Good,” Daniel said, relief flickering across his face before he masked it. “You’re back.”
“Something pulled me here,” I replied honestly. “I didn’t want to ignore it.”
Mira looked up then, and our eyes met and the room faded.
I took the empty seat beside her without thinking.
As I sat, our hands brushed—accidentally, deliberately, it was impossible to tell. Her fingers were warm. Steady. She didn’t pull away. Neither did I. I pulled her little finger with mine. She responded by turning her palm up and sliding her hand in mine. A quiet hum sparked through me, grounding and distracting all at once.
After a pause Andreas asked. “What is the status of curfew?”
“In effect as of tonight,” Beta Ethan said. “No one is patrolling alone. Pairs are minimum. Triple near the northern boundary.”
I nodded, listening—but my awareness kept circling back to Mira. Her knee shifted slightly under the table, bumping mine. A small thing. Intimate in a way that felt almost illicit in a room full of leaders and warriors.
I forced my attention outward when Ethan cleared his throat. “We were just discussing containment rotations. John’s stable for now, but the fluctuations are unpredictable.”
I added, “We have some news for John’s situation. We might be able to stabilize his transformation for a longer time. Sedona Coven from Arizona is flying in tomorrow.”
Gamma Eric said “Yes, all the preprations has been done for their arrival. We have prepared a house further in the woods for them.”
I said “That’s good.”
A ripple moved through the table. Eric swore under his breath. “So Lucien has one?”
“Either that,” Andreas said, “or he’s carrying witchcraft embedded into his own corrupted magic.”
Mira’s fingers curled briefly against my hand. I didn’t look down. I didn’t need to. I felt her concern like a tide.
The conversation moved on—patrol schedules, reinforcement spells, evacuation contingencies—but beneath it all, the tension hummed. Every plan felt like a stopgap. Every answer raised another question.
When the meeting finally adjourned, chairs scraped softly as people rose. Mira and I exchanged a smile and a look, and she disappeared in the stairwell giving a back fleeting glance at me.
My heart is thumping so badly I am sure everyone around me can hear it.
Alpha Daniel caught my eye and I asked “Alpha Daniel, can we meet in your office?”
The door closed behind us with a quiet click.
Alpha Daniel leaned against his desk, studying me the way he studied battle maps—carefully, thoroughly. “Your Majesty, you said something pulled you back here,” he said. “What did you mean?”
I exhaled. “Call it intuition. Call it instinct. I’ve learned not to ignore it. I’d like to be on patrol in your borders tonight. Also, we have brought some Oak Tree weapons and these high frequency noise speakers, please distribute them to the wolves patrolling tonight. It will come in handy if in case of vampire or the wolf vampire hybrid attack.”
Alpha Daniel nodded slowly. “Good. That would be helpful.”
After a beat I sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Also, please stop calling me ‘Your Majesty.’”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
“This,” I said, gesturing between us, “works better without titles.”
He considered me — the Alpha who had sacrificed everything for a child who wasn’t his, the leader holding a pack together while shadows gathered.
“Then you should stop calling me Alpha, its just Daniel to you” He said quietly.
I snorted. “Deal.”
We shook on it—firm, equal.
As I turned to leave, one thought pressed insistently at the back of my mind.
Whatever had drawn me here tonight… It hadn’t finished speaking yet and Mira was at the center of it.
------------------------------
By the time I reached my room, the clock read just past 11:00 p.m.
The suite was quiet—too quiet. The kind of silence that invited thoughts you’d been deliberately avoiding. Daniel’s instructions echoed in my mind.
You can join the second patrol. 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. I had plenty of time before that. I loosened my jacket, set it aside, and stared at my phone longer than was reasonable for a Vampire King who had commanded wars and survived centuries.
Just text her, I told myself. You’re not sixteen. I unlocked the screen.
Silas: Are you awake, my Mogra? Or have the wolves finally convinced you to sleep?
The reply came almost instantly.
Mira: Wow. Is that concern or an accusation?
A smile tugged at my lips.
Silas: A careful inquiry.
Mira: I’m awake. Curfew energy is very real.
Silas: I have patrol from 2 to 6. Thought we could… talk? If you wanted.
Three dots appeared. Paused. Appeared again.
Mira: Talk?
I hesitated, then typed honestly.
Silas: About nothing. Or everything.
A beat.
Mira: You’re terrible at being casual, you know that?
Silas: I am exceptional at many things. Casual is not one of them.
There was a pause long enough to make my chest tighten. Then—
Mira: You could come here and see my room.
I stared at the words. Read them again. Once more, for good measure.
Behind me, Andreas chose that exact moment to walk in without knocking.
He took one look at my expression and froze.
“Oh,” he said slowly. “That face. I know that face.”
I locked my phone. “What face?”
“The face that says someone just invited you somewhere and you are pretending you’re calm about it.” He was grinning like a cat.
“I am calm.” I defended.
Andreas crossed his arms, grinning. “You look like you’re about to face a dragon. Or your first crush. Hard to tell which.”
I ignored him and typed.
Silas: Are you sure? I don’t want to—
Mira: Silas. It’s fine. Come.
My throat went dry. Behind me, Andreas made a sound like he’d just won a bet.
“NO,” he said loudly. “Absolutely not. You cannot tell me the Vampire King just got summoned with one word.”
I slipped the phone into my pocket. “I’m stepping out.”
“Oh, I’m coming with you,” Andreas said immediately.
“No, you’re not.” I said.
“Yes, I am. I need to witness this moment for historical records.” He said dramatically.
I turned. “You will not say a word.”
He held up his hands. “Scout’s honor.”
“You were never a scout.” I snorted.
“Details.” He said.
As we walked into the hallway, Andreas leaned closer. “Just so we’re clear—you’re going to her room.”
I defended again - “I am going to talk.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Or Have tea.”
“Sure.”
“Or Maybe sit.”
“Groundbreaking.”
He stopped walking and stared at me. “You realize you’re nervous like a groom, right?”
“I am not nervous.”
“You adjusted your collar three times.”
“That was dust.”
“There is no dust,” he said smugly. “You’re a disaster.”
I stopped at Mira’s door.
Andreas whispered, far too loudly, “If she slams the door in your face, I will laugh forever.”
I shot him a glare. Then I knocked. The door opened and Mira stood there in night clothes, hair loose, eyes warm—and smiling in a way that immediately erased every ounce of tension in my body.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” I replied, utterly useless.
Behind me— Andreas cleared his throat. “Good evening, my queen.” He bowed, an actual bow.
Mira blinked, then laughed. “Is he always like this?”
“Yes,” I said flatly.
She grinned wider. “Good. Then I’ll need snacks.”
Andreas clutched his chest. “I like her.”
I stepped inside, casting Andreas one last warning look.
As the door closed, I heard him mutter “I give them ten minutes before he forgets patrol.”
I smiled to myself. For the first time that night, the storm outside faded, if only for a little while.
The door closed softly behind me, and I simply stood there.
- Writer
