The Council Ch. 13

Emily opened her mouth to protest but Stephan placed a finger over her lips, his eyes hardening again. She stared at him mutely, unhappy with his instructions but knowing he wouldn't be swayed from them, not when he had that expression on his face.

Something bad was about to happen. It had to be bad because he had called Alexei and there were two Hanlon wolves in cages downstairs. Whatever it was Stephan was going to be in the thick of it and she wanted to fight at his side. She could see he wouldn't let her though. "Stephan," she whispered when he took his finger away, her voice trembling slightly.

"Everything will be fine, Emily," he said soothingly. "I just need to know you are somewhere safe so I can concentrate on what I have to. Do this for me without fighting me on it, please." He really would be distracted if she stayed and he needed every ounce of his attention to be on the coming fight.

"Yes, Stephan," Emily finally sighed unhappily. "You will come for me though, won't you?" She couldn't keep the plea out of her voice. If she lost him as her mentor then she didn't know what would happen to her.

His expression softened again and he stroked her cheek lightly once more. "I will come for you, I promise," he said gently. "Now go, Emily. There isn't a lot of time and I want you safely out of here before the others arrive."

He watched her leave and then dialled his phone again. His words were quick and terse before he hung up. He frowned thoughtfully as he finished the call and stared into space. If anything happened to Loretta or Ashleigh there was going to be a civil war and no one would be able to stop it.

He had no idea exactly what was going on apart from the fact that Andrei and now Nors were quite attached to the wolves. He had a feeling it was something pretty momentous though and it was time to pick a side.

He already knew which side he would come down on. He would stand with the Romanovs and the Ancients and just hope that there would enough of their people left at the end of the bloodshed to pick up the pieces and start again. One thing he knew for sure. Daniel and Roberto were walking dead men. There was no way Andrei or Nors would allow them to live after this night.

To be continued...