Chapter 8: The shadow's council
The next morning, Ren sat at the head of the long, gleaming mahogany table, its polished surface reflecting the cold fire in his eyes.
The room was bathed in shadows, the faint glow of a chandelier casting jagged streaks of light across the seven men assembled before him.
These were no ordinary men, they were the pillars of the Shadow Court, his most trusted advisors, the architects of an empire built on blood and power.
"Gentlemen," Ren began, his voice smooth as silk, yet sharp enough to cut. The weight of his authority settled like a noose around their necks. "We have much to discuss."
One by one, they delivered their reports. Their voices filled the room, weaving a tapestry of crime and control, drug routes secured, debts collected through fear and fire, fortunes laundered beneath the veneer of legitimacy.
Ren listened in silence, he takes a sip of his whisky, swirling it in the glass absentmindedly, his fingers steepled, a picture of calm calculation.
Then came her voice.. Victoria's.
The youngest of the family, Ren's sister wore her wickedness like a second skin. She leaned forward, a venomous smirk curving her lips as her gaze flicked toward me.
I stayed silent, my breath shallow, hoping to remain unnoticed. The bandage around my thigh throbbed. My chair felt like a trap, every creak threatening to betray me.
"Brother," Victoria purred, each word dripping with mockery, "there is the matter of our...unexpected guest."
The air grew heavy. Every pair of eyes turned toward me, their weight suffocating.
"The waitress who dared interfere with our affairs," Victoria continued, her tone honeyed but sharp enough to cut through bone.
She was savoring the tension, feeding on it like a predator.
Ren's gaze shifted to me then.. cold, piercing, and void of mercy. It was the kind of look that stripped you bare, leaving no corner of your soul unexamined.
The room fell into a suffocating silence, broken only by the faint sound of my uneven breathing.
I was no longer a person in that moment, just a question waiting to be answered... a problem waiting to be solved.
His eyes suddenly snap towards his sister.
Ren raised a hand, the simple gesture slicing through Victoria's words like a blade.
Silence fell instantly, the kind of silence that swallowed the room whole and left nothing but his presence to fill the void.
His gaze, cold and unyielding, locked onto hers. "Elena Marlowe has been extensively vetted," he said, his voice sharp as tempered steel.
"She poses no threat to our operations, .."
"And I decide who lives and who dies in this family, nobody else."
The weight of his words settled over the room like a stormcloud, dark and suffocating. He turned his gaze to me, and my breath hitched. It was not a look of warmth or reassurance but one that commanded submission.
Under the weight of that stare, I felt stripped bare.
I looked straight into his eyes.
"You don't decide anything about me."
The words slipped out of my mouth, startling even me. How did I find the courage to say that? To his face, in front of everyone, and in this room where every gaze felt like a silent judgment.
The air thickened, the room falling into a tense silence. The men around us held their breath, waiting for his response, as if he held their very lives in his hands.
He simply raised an eyebrow, his smirk morphing into something colder, more calculating. A cruel smile spread across his face.
"Oh, really?" he purred, his voice low and dripping with amusement. Slowly, he reached for his glass, swirling the amber liquid within it, as though savoring the moment.
My nerves exploded, and I quickly averted my gaze, staring down at my plate as if it held the answers to everything. I grabbed my fork and shoved a slice of steak into my mouth, trying to calm the sudden quake in my chest.
"Yes, really," I muttered, though my voice was smaller than I intended.
Ren didn't look away. His gaze remained fixed on me, dark and intense, as if every shift of my body entertained him more than I could understand.
Slowly, he placed his glass back onto the table, his eyes never leaving mine.
He leaned , his presence overwhelming, his voice dropping to a hushed whisper, yet the danger in it was unmistakable.
"You know," he said,
"most people who talk to me like that... don't live to finish their meal."
I felt my heart hammer in my chest, a nervous fluttering taking over my insides. His proximity was suffocating, and I instinctively leaned back, trying to create some distance between us, but it was no use.
Ren noticed. He chuckled darkly, the sound chilling, almost like a predator toying with its prey.
He leaned back in his chair, the wicked grin never leaving his lips.
"Relax," he said, his tone still low, his eyes glinting with malice.
"I'm not going to kill you. At least, not yet."
Dmitri, one of the older advisors, cleared his throat, the sound almost timid in the oppressive atmosphere. "With respect, Ren," he began cautiously, his voice trembling at the edges,
"we cannot ignore the liability she represents. The girl knows too much of... our business."
A muscle in Ren's jaw twitched, the first crack in his otherwise impenetrable composure. It was subtle, but the room noticed. I noticed. It was a warning,
When he spoke, his voice was low, steady, and lethal.
"Elena Marlowe is under my protection."
The room froze. His words didn't carry the tone of a promise, they were an executioner's sentence, undeniable and absolute.
His gaze swept across the room, landing on each man in turn, daring anyone to challenge him. None did.
They shifted in their seats, their discomfort palpable, as if the walls themselves were closing in.
For a fleeting moment, his eyes flicked back to me, cold and calculating. My presence here had shifted something, something I didn't yet understand. But one thing was clear,
Ren's word was final.
As the meeting concluded, I caught Victoria's venomous glare. It was clear she resented my presence and would stop at nothing to remove me from her brother's life.
The tense meeting dragged on as the men debated the latest developments.
Ren listened intently, his icy gaze scanning the room, occasionally offering a sharp directive or pointed question. It was clear he ruled this council with an iron fist.
Victoria, however, seemed intent on undermining my presence.
"Brother, surely we cannot ignore the risk this girl poses," she hissed, leaning forward in her chair. "She has seen too much, knows too many of our secrets."
Ren's eyes narrowed, and a tense silence fell over the room. I could feel the weight of the men's stares, their unspoken agreement with Victoria's assessment.
"I will not repeat myself," Ren said, his voice dangerously soft, as he repeat the same sentence he said with cold voice,
"Elena Marlowe is under my protection."
Victoria leaned back in her chair, her eyes glittering with malice. "So be it. But when this girl's loyalty is tested, don't say I didn't warn you."
Ren's lips curled into a humorless smile. "Is that a threat, dear sister?"
Victoria matched his gaze, unflinching.
"A promise."
The meeting continued, I sat quietly, trying to appear unaffected by the clear animosity directed towards me. But inside, my heart raced, and I couldn't help but wonder how long I could survive in this ruthless world.
Its been hours and i was tired already, why would he demand me to stay with them , As the meeting drew to a close, Ren stood, his imposing figure commanding the room's attention.
"Gentlemen, we have much work to do. I expect your full cooperation in the coming weeks."
The men filed out, throwing wary glances in my direction. Victoria lingered, her eyes narrowed, before finally sweeping out of the room, her heels clicking against the polished marble floor.
Ren turned to me, his expression unreadable. "You're safer here than out there," he said, his voice low.
I swallowed hard, remembering the wolves in the woods, the pain in my thigh, i couldn't even stand up without feeling pain all over,
"You mean when you told your wolf to bite me " he stayed silent and it made me feel anxious and uncomfortable.
"And what about your sister?" I said nervously
"Victoria has always been... Like this. She'll have to learn to accept your presence."
I felt a chill run down my spine. "And if she doesn't?"
Ren stepped closer, his hand brushing against my cheek as im still sitting, without saying anything.
I didn't understand his obsession with me.