Unexpected Encounters

Chpt. 13: Strained Behaviour

Henry

I couldn't decide whether it was comforting or distressing to find familiar things in their council room. Like London's, it was incredibly large. The small pulses of light made by the antique fixtures were swallowed by the dark walls and darker furniture. The council table dominated the space, leaving little room for anything else. Shaped in an oval ring, the rim of the surface was engraved with tiny, delicate designs of ivy leaves and flora. I ran a thumb along the lacquered surface, trying to remember the design on our table. I'd sat in front of it countless times, but the name escaped me.

I casted a subtle glance over the ring. There was space for a little over twenty chairs, enough to seat the representatives of all five houses as well as extra additions. Like me and my brother.

"How was the flight?" I murmured quietly to catch the attention of the seat beside mine.

"Fine," Theo said, ever curt. His voice rasped in a way that made him sound like he was old, or a chain smoker. He was neither of those things, his fit and muscular frame still clear from behind the table. He'd always been a stickler with self discipline.

"You were supposed to land at 1 am. I never heard you come in," I continued lightly.

"There was turbulence."

"Bad?"

"Fine."

Theo was the third sibling in our family, but he had the manners and tone of an old crone. Curt and stubborn and perfect for arguments, but horrible for any kind of pleasantries. I shot him a subtle glance. His eyes were settled on the meeting papers that had been set in front of his chair, a corner pinched between his fingers as he leisurely flipped through. When his gaze did flicker up, it pointed straight ahead at the pair of wolves sitting opposite of us on the other side of the ring.

"Did you know they were going to be here?" he murmured. I followed his gaze. Ravi immediately caught my eye, his wide grin letting his razor canines peak out.

"I never asked," I muttered through my teeth.

"But you've said hello?" He said mildly. Just because I couldn't hear judgment in his voice didn't mean it wasn't there.

"I ran into him unexpectedly," I said, sliding my documents closer. On the corner of each page was the McKennis insignia, an elegant fan of curls that curved in a flipped crescent. It mimicked a paw print, just fancy and without the claws.

Ravi's words from that night were swinging back to hit me. I should've realized that he might show up here, but I'd been blindsided when he walked in, especially because he wasn't alone.

Ottus Malis was next to him, Ravi's father and the patriarch of the Malis house. The pair surveyed the rest of the room like it was completely normal for them to be there. It was one thing if Ravi came alone, but having a foreign house head attend a meeting took planning and a really really good reason. Had Janet invited them, or was it another house? The bigger question was why would any house extend an invitation to wolves outside of their own groups?

Speaking of the McKennis leader, Janet sat at the head seat at the far end of the room, two aides at attention a step back from her place. One of them was Cassandra. Poised next her mother, the resemblance between their sobered expressions was more distinct.

Most of the states along the eastern border of the US was their territory, so this meeting was on their home turf. But right now, they were dealing with a room of affluent lycans on par with them in influence and power. The meeting hadn't begun and each house kept to themselves, speaking in muted tones. The hush to the room was calm, but it left a lurking tenseness in the air.