Hearing that, David froze. For the first time, the picture sharpened in his head. He finally understood why Isolde had sent her "gifts" to the whole quarter instead of to him personally.
It wasn't some grotesque whim; it was a strategy. She wanted the hunters themselves to believe they had no other option but to bend and work with the vampires.
His hands clenched until his knuckles whitened. "Do you really want to work with vampires?" he asked, voice low but sharp enough to cut glass.
"The very existence that created this mess in the first place?"
Silence. The meeting room felt like a funeral chamber, heavy and airless. No one dared to answer. They were all staring at the table, busy with their own private calculations.
Finally, a voice rose. It was young, hesitant but steady. "Do we have a choice?" The speaker was Matthew, the new hunter, the one who had found the Chief's head in the crate.
