My Alpha Biker Mate

CHAPTER 63

CHAPTER 63

CASSIAN'S POV

I am not shocked when the elders ask for a meeting first thing in the morning. As I head towards the council room, I spot most of the wolves outside their houses. Like they are waiting for something to strike. Anything to happen.

Most importantly, they are waiting for Nova, so that they can see something to judge and talk about.

Even I don't know what is going to happen next. The only thing I know is that I am not going to be able to miss the council meetings.

I walk into the hall, and Killian is already there. I narrow my eyes at him. Why does he have to be early? What has he been telling them?

“Take your seat, Alpha,” one of them says, making me snap out of my thoughts. They are all standing, with their heads bowed as they wait for me to sit.

This is the one thing that cannot be compromised. The amount of respect they have for me.

I c**k an eyebrow at him, and Killian seems to scoff. I ignore him. I have to be the bigger person somehow.

I sit down on my chair at the top center of the room, looking at the other elders.

“I know why we're all here,” I say calmly. “The silver pulse that hit the pack yesterday. I want to assure you that it has nothing to do with Nova.”

“You can't keep supporting her all the time, Alpha,” one of them speaks up immediately. “If she has something to do with this, then maybe she should just speak up instead of making life unbearable for the rest of the pack members.”

“Pack members are scared, Alpha. We have to make decisions sooner or later.”

“All we need are answers.”

I watch as they speak. I don't even have the answers they want.

One of the oldest wolves slowly stands up. “The vessel should have never been awakened,” he says slowly, and silence detonates in the room.

Is Nova the vessel? Why doesn't he call her the lady that she is? Why does he have to regard her as a vessel? Like she is some kind of object they are just supposed to use?

Killian has his hands folded in front of him. He is a little too calm. And it is weird that he isn't even reacting to whatever is going on. He is watching me.

I look around the room, and notice that Beatrice is doing the same thing. They are both watching me. Waiting for me to make a mistake.

Waiting for me to react so they can have something to talk about. I know I don't even want to give them that satisfaction.

“I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to speak,” Jason suddenly says, standing up. Gasps echo in the room.

“Betas are not allowed to speak where the council stands,” Elder Xavier says, and I hate that it is the truth. But I am going to let it pass just this time.

“Go ahead and speak,” I say calmly. Jason gives me a respectful nod. One that he hasn't given in a while.

“I believe that the council is reacting in the wrong manner,” he starts calmly. “They are enveloped by fear, and it's making all of you look stupid.”

“Jason!” Council members warn, but that doesn't seem to faze him. I am not ready to stop him either.

“Nova has been protecting us one way or another. Maybe you can't see it, but I can.”

I freeze. Coming from Jason, that is something I am not expecting. Not in this life, and not in the next.

The elders sit up. They are paying attention. It might be in the wrong way. They only pay attention like that when they are looking for weaknesses to use against him.

“And why would you say that she has been saving us?” one of the elders asks. Jason's shoulders are squared, and his chin is lifted. This man knows that I am going to save him. It doesn't matter what he is doing. I am not going to let anything happen to him.

“She's the one that the brokers want. You all want her as well. You're all desperate to keep her in confinement. You want to study her. And you all want her alive. Maybe we should start asking why the enemy wants the same thing.”

The room goes silent, and I notice the way the elders look among themselves, before they start engaging themselves in little conversations. But there is something different about it. They have little groups.

The pack is slowly dividing itself. Something that has never happened before.

Protect Nova, use Nova, fear Nova, and destroy Nova.

That is what different people want. And I know that I am only going with something that they don't even want.

And that is to love her the way she f*****g deserves.

The meeting finally comes to an end, and there is no single resolution that comes out of it. Well, that is off my neck.

Jason doesn't say anything, and I watch him walk out of the council hall with his shoulders slouched.

That is… new.

The second I head out as well, Beatrice is already waiting for me in front of the building. I am more than willing to walk past her when she holds on to my arm.

“Cassian, I wanted to talk to you,” she whispers, making me look down at her.

“Killian asked you to talk to me? To talk me into handing Nova over?”

“No,” she says sternly. That is enough to make me stop in my tracks.

“What is it then?”

“It's about the silver-eyed girl that Nova has been seeing. She's a vessel. Just as the elders address her. And she escaped once from captivity. Years ago.”

I freeze. Someone has been holding her down. So why is she suddenly trying to connect with Nova?

Beatrice immediately answers my question even if I don't say it out loud. “If she's looking for Nova now, that means someone else has given her location away. It might be better if we find her now.”

My mind immediately goes to three possible people that know where the silver vessel is being held captive.

The elder council, Killian, or Jason.

And I immediately hate myself for thinking all three.