Deak stormed into the building, making his way through the crowd to get to his desired destination.

"Excuse me, sir? Do you have an appointment?" A young female asked him while he tried to pass her.

Deak stopped and slowly turned to look at the woman. He took a sniff and sensed she was a shifter. His eyes narrowed at her before he answered, "I don't need one."

Two large security guards stepped before him to block him from taking another step further.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Marco warned.

One of the guards poked Deak in the chest. "You can't pass without an appointment."

Deak looked down to where the man had poked him, then looked back up at him and growled. Deak thrust his hand against the guard's chest, pushing him across the room and hitting the wall. The other guard was ready to pull his weapon but was too late when Deak grabbed him and flung him in another direction.

"I suggest you both stay down," Deak threatened.

He brushed himself off and continued on his path into the council room.

Marco shook his head as he passed the guards, "I warned you," he said and followed Deak.

Deak walked into the center of the room; the place fell quiet as they all sensed the Lycan in the room.

"What's the meaning of this?" Abigail asked in an annoyed voice.

"I'm here to get some answers from the council," Deak told them.

"This is not how you seek our attention, Lycan," Reece said, guarded.

Deak turned to look at him with narrowed eyes and a growl coming from his chest. His wolf was not happy.

"Would you like me to cause chaos and get your attention that way? Or how about I break into your house and take something that belongs to you." Deak suggested as he lifted his hand, and his claws grew.

"We don't take kindly to threats, Lycan," Reece spat out.

"That's Lycan King," Deak corrected him.

A gasp went through the audience as Deak announced he was the Lycan King.

"I apologize; we hadn't heard the news of a new Lycan King," Felicia said. "How can we be of service to you?"

"One of your vampires broke into my house, and I demand to know who it was," Deak declared.

There was talk amongst the members of the council. Tabitha leaned into Marco and whispered, "Did you know?"

Marco shook his head. Tabitha couldn't believe it and was concerned about this. Deak was the new Lycan King and hadn't told them about it. Why was he keeping it a secret?

Deak's hands clenched into fists when he saw a pair of doors flung open, and his childhood nemesis entered the room.

"Apologies, our esteemed faction council members," Emil said as he bowed toward the panel of members before him.

Reece stood up, as did all the other vampires in the crowd, and bowed toward Emil. "Your majesty, I was unaware of your return to Silver City," Reece admitted.

Deak's eyes rolled into the back of his head when he heard them call him Your Majesty. Great, just great, he said to himself.

Emil lifted his hand. "I hadn't let my visit here be known for personal reasons. Now that I am here, what seems to be the problem?"

"It seems there is speculation that a vampire broke into the new Lycan King's home," Reece responded.

Emil turned to Deak and smiled devilishly at him. "Lycan King? I hadn't heard that your uncle had retired."

"He didn't; he's dead," Deak confirmed.

Emil's eyes lit up with anger when he heard this. "I'm sorry for your loss. Your uncle was a good man and always treated me like family."

Deak's chest rumbled softly as his wolf growled at Emil's statement.

"Well, let's move on to why you're here. I apologize if any of my vampires did break into your house and stole something of yours. I will speak with my lead vampire, who handles the terrain of Silver City. I promise you, I will get to the bottom of this," Emil swore.

Deak stared at the man he'd known most of his young life; he didn't know how much Emil had changed and didn't know if he could trust the man. "See that you do," Deak threatened before he exited the room with Tabitha and Marco on his tail.

When the door closed behind them, Tabitha said, "Damn, I had hoped that went differently."

Deak smirked. "So did I."

"Which brings me to my next question. Why have you been hiding that you're the new Lycan King?" She asked with a lifted brow and her arms crossed over her chest.

Deak groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He was starting to get a headache. "Let's get out of here, and I will fill you in. I need a drink," he admitted.

***

Vita tapped her foot on the floor as she listened to everything Gretchen told her. She was annoyed that Gretchen hadn't told her about Tristan disappearing, but that wasn't why she was upset. Vita had a bad feeling and was getting more worried about Deak. She wished he would reach out and let her know he was okay or where he was going.

"So, all Amanda told you was there was smoke on the video?" Gretchen questioned.

Vita shook herself out of her thoughts and focused on what they were discussing. She nodded. "One moment his body was there, smoke appeared on the video, and when it disappeared, so had Tristan's body."

"Do you think it was Merga?" Gretchen suggested.

Madeline shook her head. "This doesn't sound like a witch or a spell but something else."

"What do you think it is?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not sure exactly, but we must stay on guard. We need to reach out to Amanda and the pack as well. If something or someone could get into the dungeons without anyone's knowledge, they can do it again." Madeline confided.

"I'll contact Luna Cynthia and let her know what we've discussed. Vita, can you call Amanda and update her?" Ruby asked.

Vita nodded and stood up. She grabbed Gretchen's arm and announced, "Gretchen and I are going to head back to my room for a few minutes."

Colson stepped forward to disapprove, but Gretchen walked over and rubbed his arm to calm him. "I won't be gone long," she promised.

Colson's shoulders slumped, and he sucked in a deep breath and nodded. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before telling her, "Meet me back in our room when you're done."

Gretchen smiled and nodded before being yanked out of the room and dragged down the hall to Vita's room. Vita was quiet until they got into her room.

"What's going on, Vita?" Gretchen asked once the door was closed.

Vita turned to look at her. "I think I know what took Tristan's body," she exclaimed. "And if I'm right, we are all in trouble."