Hiding My Twin Pups From their Alpha Dad novel Chapter 85

The great hall of Silverstone was packed with tension. Fire crackled in the hearth, but it didn’t warm the room. Crescent’s council members sat stiffly at the long table, their cloaks thick, their expressions unreadable. Max stood beside them, arms folded across his chest, his gaze locked on Eva.

She stood at the far end of the room, flanked by Tiana and Dany. Her chin was high, shoulders straight, her Alpha mark glowing faintly on her collarbone. Her long dark hair was braided tightly down her back, and though her face was calm, her eyes burned with steel.

One of the Crescent elders, a man with graying temples and a permanent scowl, leaned forward.

“This is our final offer, Alpha Eva,” he said slowly. “The vampires are preparing for war. You are outnumbered, undertrained, and isolated. If you agree to merge Silverstone with Crescent, you will gain full protection, resources, and reinforcements. You will remain as a figurehead, of course, but—”

Eva raised her hand, silencing him before he could finish.

“A figurehead?” she repeated. “You want me to be a puppet?”

The elder gave a polite smile. “We’re offering peace. Stability. The weight of leadership doesn’t have to rest on your shoulders alone.”

Eva’s eyes swept over the room, taking in the faces of her own wolves—some hopeful, some nervous. Then she turned her gaze to the Crescent wolves, dressed in polished leather and silver accents, sitting like they already owned the place.

“I was chosen to lead this pack not because I was the strongest,” she said clearly, “but because I was the only one left standing when everything burned. And I did not stand through that hell just to hand over what’s mine.”

Max shifted slightly, watching her closely.

The elder tried again, his voice smoother this time. “Eva, this is about survival. Not pride.”

“No,” she said firmly. “This is about dignity. Legacy. My parents died defending this land. My wolves bled on this soil. You think I’m going to trade it for some false sense of safety?”

“You’d rather see your people fall?”