Chapter 66: The Emergency Meeting

Michael’s POV

En route to the airport the following afternoon, I didn’t forget to ask the most important question.

"Xero, has there been any unusual activity around Emerald’s dorm or the campus?"

"Nothing suspicious, Alpha," he replied, already aware of what I implied. "We have maintained discreet surveillance, but there has been no unusual movement around her dormitory or anywhere else she regularly goes."

I nodded. "Keep the surveillance in place until we understand exactly what the shapeshifters want from the Hugo family. I don’t want anyone approaching her without my knowledge."

"Yes, Alpha."

Just then, my phone rang before I could continue. One glance at the screen showed Emerald’s name flashing.

I answered the call. "Emerald?"

"Good morning, Professor King." Her voice was polite as usual. She had forgotten to address me by my name outside the classroom. I didn’t bother correcting her and just let her carry on.

"Yes."

"I’m sorry for calling you this morning. I just remembered something I forgot to tell you."

"What is it?"

"It’s about Kelvin," she said. "He is planning to give Maya one per cent of Mercer Technologies as a wedding gift."

I wasn’t particularly surprised. Considering the sort of man Kelvin was, I could easily imagine him making such a decision simply to impress his girlfriend.

"That won’t be a problem for you," I replied.

"It won’t?"

"No," I assured her. "In due time, Miss Fox will willingly sign that one per cent back to you."

She released a small breath. "Alright."

"Have you started working on the other things we discussed?"

"Yes. I’ve been looking into the shareholders and board members, and I’m also going to speak with the family lawyers about the lawsuits."

"Good."

"I just wanted to make sure you knew about the one per cent before anything happened," she clarified. "Thank you very much."

"You don’t need to thank me."

"I still appreciate the help."

I glanced at my wristwatch and said to her. "We’re preparing to leave for L.A. We will speak later."

"Of course. Have a safe flight."

---

The flight to LA was uneventful.

By the time I reached my estate, the afternoon was already well underway. I spent the next few hours handling a few matters that required my attention before changing for the evening.

The emergency meeting would be held at the Exclusive Club, where we had access to a private section that could be secured without attracting attention from the humans.

When I arrived, Alaric was already waiting outside the private entrance. He looked at me and smiled.

"You look like you’ve had a long day."

"I have." I couldn’t deny that fact.

He chuckled. "Still thinking about the shapeshifters?"

"Of course," I replied as we walked inside together. I had already briefed him on my new findings yesterday.

"They were watching the Hugo family before the wedding," Alaric said. "Tonight, we need to make sure everyone understands what we are dealing with."

We entered the conference room together. Every person inside immediately rose to his or her feet.

"Alpha Lucien."

"Alpha Alaric."

I acknowledged the greetings with a nod before taking my seat. Alaric sat beside me, and everyone else settled down around the table.

I looked at the people gathered before me. "We have a problem that needs to be addressed before it becomes something much larger."

The room became quiet.

"The shapeshifters we’ve encountered recently are not behaving like the ones we dealt with several years ago. They are more organized, more intelligent and considerably stronger than we expected."

I paused briefly before continuing. "At first, we believed their interest in the Hugo family might have been centred on Emerald Hugo. What we’ve discovered since then suggests that the situation is bigger than that."

Several people exchanged looks.

"The shapeshifters were monitoring several members of the Hugo family before Vera Hugo’s wedding."

One of the men frowned. "Several members?"

"Yes." I continued, "But there was one place they never went. The Hugo family’s ancestral home in D.C., where Darius Hugo currently resides."

The room grew quieter.

"If their objective was simply Emerald, there would have been no reason to monitor other members of her family. Their pattern suggests that the family itself may be what interests them."

A younger werewolf leaned forward. "Alpha, what do you think they are looking for?"

"I believe they may be looking for suitable hosts within wealthy and influential families."

The words drew several sceptical expressions, but I continued before anyone could interrupt.

"Think about what they would gain by doing that. They wouldn’t have to build wealth or influence from the ground up. They would inherit everything belonging to the people they possess. Their businesses, their money, their connections and, eventually, their access to political influence."

An older werewolf shook his head. "That’s still an assumption."

"It’s a theory supported by the evidence we’ve collected," I stated.

He folded his arms. "And if you’re right, why should we interfere? If they weaken the humans by taking over their families, we could simply take advantage of the situation afterwards."

I stared directly at him. "No."

His expression tightened. "We could," he argued.

"Not if we want to maintain control." I leaned back in my chair.

"If these creatures begin replacing influential humans without any structure or limits, we won’t know who is actually controlling the institutions that affect our own plans. We could end up dealing with chaos that neither side can contain," I explained.

The older werewolf stayed silent, giving Alaric the opportunity to finally speak.

"The shapeshifters at Vera Hugo’s wedding already proved that they are willing to operate inside powerful social circles."

Everyone turned towards him.

"They weren’t hiding somewhere far from civilization. They were inside a private wedding attended by wealthy and influential people, and they had already taken over human bodies before they were discovered." He paused. "They have already started."

Alaric’s words carried more weight than his usual casual manner.

"If their next move is to infiltrate more powerful families, government officials could eventually become targets as well. Once they start possessing people inside government, they will have access to decisions that affect entire countries."

Several people around the table exchanged concerned looks.

I nodded. "That’s exactly why we cannot afford to ignore this." Then I looked around the room.

"The shapeshifters we are dealing with now have evolved. They are stronger, more calculated and much harder to identify. Removing them will be more difficult than dealing with ordinary humans."

I let the statement settle before continuing.

"If we underestimate them, we could spend years dealing with the consequences of a problem we had the opportunity to stop at its beginning."

Alaric nodded in agreement. "We need to identify which families they have already infiltrated."

"And we need to understand what they are looking for," I added.

The room fell silent. That was the question that mattered most.

Until we knew what the shapeshifters wanted from these families, we would only be reacting to their movements.

I had no intention of allowing that to continue.