EIGHTY-ONE | TACT(ICAL) MOVES

"We have reasons to believe our future selves are trying to communicate with us." Blue bursts out not even a second after the Alpha looks up. Alpha Azure's mouth literally pops open, then closed, then open again as he seems to struggle with what Blue just said.

"You could have said that with some tact-" I grumble to Blue.

"We don't have *time* for 'tact'." Blue mutters back. "We've been having visions-" He tells his father.

"Visions - *plural*?" Alpha Azure echoes slowly, his confusion morphing into icy disbelief as he looks from me to his son and back again.

"Yes. That's how I knew the Reiniers were going to attack the first time-" Blue explain in a rush, obviously getting impatient. I nudge him in the ribs giving him a 'slow down' gesture - which he rolls his eyes at.

"Wait- how long have you two suspected-?" Alpha Azure asks, blinking rapidly. *So he didn't know.*

"Since we met-" Blue says at the same time I say:

"About a three days after we met-" I stop and look at him before looking back to the Alpha.

"Months. You hid something this important from me for *months*?" Alpha Azure glares at his son. Blue nods, not even looking the slightest bit scared of his father. If our role were reversed, I'm sure I'd be a puddle on the floor right about now.

"I wasn't sure - at first." Blue admits coolly, never once averting his gaze from his father's. A clear and brash defiance the Reiniers wouldn't have ever stood for. "I knew you wouldn't like it, but I had to think about Re- *Scarlett*. She wasn't trusted by the Pack - still isn't - and I couldn't risk a kill order-"

"We wouldn't have-"

"I *know* how the Pack works, Dad. If she was deemed a threat early on, you wouldn't have hesitated." Blue growls, narrowing his eyes at the Alpha. I begin to feel a little nausea stirring my gut at the thought of everything I've learned about the Azures over the last few weeks. Everything I *thought* I knew. *Could it be the Azures really aren't that different from the Reiniers?* Alpha Azure would have had a kill-order drawn up against me, no wonder Blue's been so distant. There's only so much he could have hidden from the Alpha.

Alpha Azure doesn't correct Blue, instead his face becomes impassive.

"How certain are you that the visions are reliable?" He asks instead.

"Eighty-five percent." Blue replies without missing a beat. Alpha Azure's eyebrows raise and he blinks, giving away his surprise. "We...because she's only half Wolven, I can't be sure that's all it is." Blue hesitates, his jaw clenching. Alpha Azure's eyes narrow and a look of concentration furrows his forehead. His silvery grey eyes flare iridescently. Something in my head begins to tingle and Blue stiffens beside me, the bond between us humming like a live wire.

It's more alive than it's been in months, making me shiver with a mix of anticipation and general basking in the warmth it sends through me. For a moment, I feel like my old self, the Wolven in me breathing a deep breath of fresh air as my eyes flutter shut. It's like the first time being out in the sun after years of being confined in darkness. But as quickly as it comes, it fades and I fight a whine that bubbles from the back of my throat as the world sinks back into muted colors and stale coolness. Empty and alone.

"What have you two seen that has you all riled up?" Alpha Azure frowns, looking from me to Blue.

"There's going to be an attack. *Everyone* dies-" Blue replies immediately, his words becoming so fast I can't make out the rest. His tight grip on my hand becomes almost painful.

"Slow down and just show me," Alpha Azure demands, narrowing his eyes at his son. Blue's lips twitch into a snarl and the two seem to be having some sort of internal conversation. "Stop being a child, Zane and sho-" The Alpha's eyes gaze over and a look of horror flickers across his face for a second.

"We need to stop it." Blue mutters beside me when his father blinks, taking a step back into his chair and he practically drops into it.

"Yes. We'll have to give your cousins time to heal, but we can alert the rest of the Pack during the morning meeting." Alpha Azure tells us hollowly, his eyes glassy, but present. "Contact Hale. Have some vampire blood given to the injured-"

"That's ill-advised-" Blue begins in a rush, his eyes widening, but the Alpha raises a hand tiredly to stop him.

"We don't have time. You were right to come tell me, son. And," Alpha Azure looks to me with a little apologetic smile. "Right not to tell me until I've gotten to know your mate and her family better. I trust you, my dear." He adds to me when he sees my stricken expression. "Now, I do. But..." He hesitates, looking between me and Blue. "Had we had this conversation three months ago, my answer and actions may have been different." He reaches for a drawer in his desk, reaching inside and taking something from it. "Tell Hale he's won." He holds out a thick necked bottle with a wax crest over the top.

"Won?"

"We made a bet." Alpha Azure smirks as Blue takes the bottle of dark liquid. "It's not important, but I have a feeling we're both going to be too busy to communicate face-to-face over the next few days."

"You and your bets." Blue rolls his eyes, but there's a hint of a smirk on his own mouth as he leads me out of the Alpha's office.