IRIS POV
The summons comes during breakfast.
A guard arrives at the cottage and tells her to report to the main house immediately. Iris's stomach drops because she's been at the compound for almost a month and nothing good comes from immediate summons.
She finds James in his study. He's wearing all black and his expression is unreadable. He stands when she enters and walks closer to her.
Starting today, you'll attend council meetings with me. You'll sit where I can see you. You'll speak to no one. You'll answer no questions. You'll simply observe and listen. Understood?
Iris nods because she can't find words.
The council won't like it. They'll protest. But I don't care what they like. You're my bride. You'll be present in those chambers. Are we clear?
Yes, Alpha.
He touches her face briefly.
You're intelligent. You see things others miss. I want you in that room because I want those eyes watching everything.
Then he releases her and turns back to his work like the conversation is over.
Eleanor arrives at the cottage an hour later and she's furious.
An omega in the council chambers, she says, pacing back and forth. It's unprecedented. It violates every tradition. It will cause chaos.
He's the Alpha, Iris says quietly.
Eleanor stops and stares at her.
Don't be stupid. Yes, he's the Alpha but that doesn't mean the council will accept this. Tradition holds power even over the Alpha sometimes.
But I have to go.
Eleanor nods and her expression becomes grim.
Then you'd better be invisible in there. Don't draw attention. Don't speak. Don't react to anything. Your job is to be so unobtrusive that the council forgets you're there.
The council chamber is massive with a long wooden table and high-backed chairs. James sits at the head. His council members file in one by one and every single one of them stops when they see Iris standing against the back wall.
Eleanor looks scandalized. Her eyes go wide and her face goes pale. She actually gasps.
Alpha, she says, standing immediately. An omega cannot be in this chamber. The charter is explicit about the sanctity of council spaces.
She can. She's here at my request, James says flatly. Anyone who has a problem with that can leave.
The other council members exchange looks but no one leaves. James Blackwell doesn't make requests. He makes statements.
They take their seats and begin.
The first order of business is the quarterly budget report. A man named David presents the numbers. Territory income. Trade revenue. Expenses. Investments.
Iris listens carefully.
Something is wrong with the numbers.
She watches Elena Voss as David presents. Elena nods at certain points. She exchanges meaningful looks with two other council members. She writes notes that seem unnecessary.
The numbers don't add up in Iris's head.
Territory income should be higher based on the number of merchants James has contracted. Trade revenue seems artificially low. Expenses are overstated in certain categories.
Money is disappearing somewhere.
The meeting continues for two hours. Territory disputes. Pack security. Upcoming ceremonies. Expansion plans. Elena speaks frequently and everyone listens to her.
But Iris watches the numbers in her head and realizes that Elena is steering conversations away from financial topics whenever David tries to go deeper into the numbers.
Elena is hiding something.
After the meeting, James catches her before she can leave.
What did you see?
The numbers are wrong. In the budget report. Territory income doesn't match what it should be based on your merchant contracts. Trade revenue is understated.
He studies her face.
What else?
Elena Voss is involved somehow. She was controlling the conversation. Steering it away from financial details. The two men on the right side of the table keep looking to her for approval before they speak.
James nods like this confirms something he already suspected.
Come with me.
He takes her to his chambers. Inside, he locks the door and pulls out files. Account ledgers. Territory reports. Correspondence.
Look at this, he says, handing her a ledger. Tell me what you see.
Iris studies the accounts carefully.
The deposits don't match the reports. If territory income was actually this amount, the expenses should be different. Someone is creating false deposit entries. They're making the money appear bigger than it is then moving the excess somewhere else.
It's embezzlement.
James watches her as she works through the files.
How did you learn to see this?
My father taught me before everything fell apart. He said strategic omegas need to understand money because money is power. He said most people are lazy about numbers and that's how they get stolen.
Smart man. Stupid for other reasons but smart about that.
He pulls out more files. Personal correspondence.
And this. Tell me what you see here.
It's letters. Some are from Elena but some are from someone else. Someone named Victor Nash. They're discussing territory lines. Pack movements. Something about leverage and timing.
Who is Victor Nash?
A rival pack leader. One of the few who could actually challenge me. He's hungry for expansion but he doesn't have the numbers to take what he wants. So he needs internal chaos. He needs the Blackwell Pack weakened from the inside.
James points at one particular letter.
Elena is working with him. She's stealing from me to fund her own operations. She's destabilizing the pack from within so Victor can move in when we're fractured.
Iris feels her heart racing.
You have to remove her. From the council. From the pack. She's actively betraying you.
He nods and puts the files away.
I know. But I need proof. Real proof. Not just your observations. I need the council to see it so when I remove her, no one questions it.
How do I help?
You watch. You come to every meeting. You see what Elena does. You track the numbers. You find the evidence.
It's dangerous.
Yes.
For me?
No. For her. If she realizes you see what she's doing before I have enough proof, she'll try to discredit you or eliminate you as a threat.
Iris feels fear spike through her body.
She's already killed to protect her secrets. The last Alpha before me had a bride who discovered his embezzlement. Elena had her poisoned.
Iris's breath catches.
Why are you telling me this? Why would you put me in danger?
Because I trust you. And because you're the only person in this entire pack who isn't connected to Elena's network. Everyone else on the council has either benefited from her scheme or is afraid of her.
He steps closer to her.
But if you're uncomfortable with this, I'll remove you. You can go back to the cottage and pretend none of this is happening. I won't force you.
Iris thinks about Eleanor's scandalized face. About the council members exchanging looks. About a system so corrupt that the Alpha's closest advisors are actively betraying him.
She thinks about what Eleanor said. About omegas needing to understand their place.
But James showed her the original charter. He showed her that omegas were supposed to have power.
I'll do it, she says.
James pulls her closer and his expression shifts into something dangerous and protective.
If Elena suspects you know anything, you come to me immediately. You don't try to investigate alone. You don't confront her. You don't put yourself at risk. You come to me.
Iris nods.
He kisses her forehead briefly.
You're braver than you should be.
Then he releases her and she realizes they're standing in his chambers. Together. Alone. And she's never been more terrified or more certain of what she's supposed to do.
As he walks her to the door, she catches sight of a letter on his desk. From Marcus Blackwell. His father.
The words jump out at her even though she's not supposed to read them.
The boy is weakening. A bride already? He's becoming soft. We should discuss accelerating the transition.
Iris's blood goes cold.
James sees her reading it and his jaw tightens.
That's a problem for another day, he says quietly.
But it's clearly not another day's problem. It's a today problem.
Marcus Blackwell is making moves. Planning something. And James is caught between his bride and his father.
Iris realizes she's not just watching Elena anymore.
She's watching a power structure collapse in real time.
And she has no idea if she's supposed to help save it or if she's supposed to stand aside and let it fall.