aded for the sixteenth floor alongside his cousins and

fferent to those peering at them. Only the room at the end had opaque walls and doors, bookended by a guard on each s

ere to go. She knew who they guarded any

meeting, a matter of great urgency that just arose. You have been notifie

. It was scheduled last week and it's a matter of interspecies urgency. Unless his matter concer

zed to let you enter," Lowe

id. "I'm informing you that I'm going in the

barely lasted a second when a stoned face Tobias Tristan, the Minister of Defense - who was right in front

placket of the man's uniform, lifting him off the ground, making the guard do a one-eighty when hi

respecting my wife, I will crush your limbs, tear out your balls, your dick, make the smallest i

pped away from the door, his hand froze by his side,

ur irresponsible coward of a boss put you and your colleague i

e stood on her toes to peck a kiss on his jaw, whispering, "That's very sw

more - sprinted out of the king's grip. Greg couldn't help the scoff that left h

o the room of officials, all of whom were hunters.

ting at the beer-bellied man at the head

unters with salt and pepper hair, stood, stunned

he front, eyed the presentation with an empty smile and said,

ted. After the king pulled out a chair for his mate and she sat, he sank into the seat between her and V

, "Alagumalai, Patterson, Abbott." One woman and two men pivoted their gazes to him wh

d them as they took their seats

could dream about being one of them, but if he didn't possess the birthmark on his nape in one of the three

in combat and anything involving physical attacks or defenses; the second, the octopuses - the brains on strategy and tactics not solely in battles and wars, but also in mediating between species;

tegory they were destined for, the leader - when chosen by the majority - had his or her birt

heir proficiency in ones they weren't born with may be lower: they may be born octopuses, but tha

de with a defined jawline, thin lips and narrow frame. His muscles bulged from the baby blue short-sleev

Delilah. Patterson had always been apt in getting what he wanted when he wanted. Ask him for advice and he'd tell you that looks would only get you so far.

to act. Act calm, act happy, act amicable, act harmless - she had it all. It was no surprise to Patterson that she hooked the king. Sure, this chameleon would give her points for her beauty a

nd people to his will too. The trick was to be aware of the

flattering and flirting with her, even saying that she "must" save an after-meeting coffee chat with him and maybe t

ny how he didn't see it was an empty smile. Little did he know he'd successfully pissed her off, though she didn't show it at that time. Her alpha brother was piss

nters trade more than the original bargain due to Patterson's "inappropriate mannerism and

ack into Valor's good books and climbed to the top of his kind while those know-it-alls remain exactly where they were - below him. Well, except for one know-it-all, the one

queen from her head to those bare arms. Still smooth as ever. He'd bet they taste g

warning came in a whisper beside him. A whisper - though soft - carried a firm warning. Patterson

gaze off Lucy and only stealing glances now and lookin

ersonality was anything but spiky. His arms remained crossed over a forest green shirt as he leaned back into his chair, but his shaking left leg under t

g Greg insane, and his animal asked whether th

e responses when asked a question. Some even labeled him as being discriminatory when he shelled up with wolves but opened up with his fellow hunters and huntresses. Ax

rk brown eyes and square face, dark hair bunched into a low ponytail that reached her upper back, where the ends curled in all directions. A bright pink, worn-out

the benefit of hunters, but she was the only octopus who refrained from disregarding the interests of wolves during mediations. She'd b

le something on her notepad before pushing it to her superior, who'd then glance over it and replied in accordance to the contents on the note. More than once, the chief read the scribbles

continue the discussion on behalf of her superior from there, only stopping when she didn'

ion, of course, but he and Lucy would begin fantasizing about plucking Sushmita out - just temporarily - whenever they wanted an easy win against the hunters. There were t

eaned forward just slightly, her arms folded inwards at her elbows that were anchored on the table. Her eyes were a

tooth and nail for. Taking in his partially onyx eyes on his sharp face and pitch black hair, a concave nose above the full s

d many others had a hard time guessing what Izabella had accomplished to deserve the undivided atten

And whether that now dead chameleon was smart was up for debate. It was an odd fit with the duke but - as one of her colleagues chimed like a broken record - the mate bond triumphed over al

th no brains, which was not objectively accurate. So her hat

st of the chameleons. But the moment most of the former chiefs and deputy chiefs were found to be involved in the Delilah Conspiracy, th

he hunters gave her disapproving looks. Half of them thought her outb

Lucy but which at least sixty percent sounded exactly like Lucy, who had an eye as sharp as an arrow and brain as crafty as

were involved in the fucking shit with Izabella that Sushmita now had to clean up. The huntress respected the gamma-turned-queen but

lly been carrying this cluster fuck of an issue. Valor was just the one with the final say,

Sushmita blew up, telling him to be ready to watch his family slaughtered and his house burned to the ground and prepare himself when the l

alive and nothing and no one was burned to the ground

logically. She was on her second cup of coffee before noon and had only Izabella and her pals to blame for th

ld wonder why she even became a h

olding her from leaving, and after seeing that through, she'd be o