Chapter 73

Basil walked towards the room, but there were no ministers inside. Chasel was there and several generals he had never bothered to learn the names of were there. The minister of justice was absent, and Adolph sat at the top of the table.

Basil sat next to Adolph and looked around the room nervously. He'd never been in a war council meeting while his father was away. It was something that he and Laura had argued about at length. He had no martial training and no interest in following in his father's footsteps, leading men into battle. That was what lowborn men who joined the army, like the generals, and men of valor and power like his father were meant to do for the kingdom. Not a single man of the Mirabelle line had ever seen battle as their strength lay in the management of the upper class and the people within the kingdom.

So, why was he here?

"Now that everyone is here we can begin," Adolph motioned for two general. "General Atkins, what news comes from the border?"

The older man lifted his head, "Your Majesty, the vampires have been on the move according to the scouts. They hijacked what looked to be a human cartel and laid siege on Sapphire Lake and a few other smaller packs in the area."

Adolph narrowed his eyes. Sapphire Lake was near enough to the border that it wasn't surprising, but knowing they're able to disguise themselves so well was a problem.

"How many dead?"

"Under a hundred," he said, stiffly. "The werewolves who lived there put up a good fight and were burned with honor."

Adolph nodded, "We'll organize relief supplies and have them escorted by military caravan within the week."

The scribe nearby took note.

"General Wallace? Any further news from the scouts?"

The scouts had mostly come back intact. There was some news about werewolves who were living within the vampire's territory as little more than slaves were but also as soldiers in their army.

"What self-respecting werewolf would align with the vampire queen?" The minister of commerce asked. "Surely, that report is incorrect?"

"I would ask that a minister who has never seen the glint of a vampire's eyes not question my ability to gather intel," General Wallace glared at him before looking back at Adolph. "The scouts report at least fifty werewolves near the borders. The slaves are treated much like captured vampires are treated within our kingdom."

That wasn't a concern of his. What he was concerned about were the werewolves loyal to the vampire queen. He had a feeling that the person who poisoned his soup was one of those agents.

"Do we have an accurate count of the vampire forces there that might be ready to move against us?"

"No, but knowing the losses they suffered during the war by whipping no more than a battalion's worth."

A battalion of vampires used properly could do enough damage to the kingdom that it would take years to recover. Vampires lived longer than werewolves did generally but they were slower to reproduce. If the vampire queen was smart, as he knew she was, she was likely to want to try to use that to her advantage. If she could manage to weaken the werewolf kingdom enough, her remaining forces will be enough to destroy them all.

"We'll increase the number of soldiers at the border." Adolph took note, "If she intends to make another move, we should be ready."

"I'll start moving forces starting this week," General Wallace said. "We'll have the number doubled before next week."

"Call the men from further inland; the smaller packs along the border need their warriors in case of an attack. Chasel, coordinate with the surrounding packs to increase the defenses of the Imperial City. There are vampire forces already within the kingdom, likely for a while if they're using human merchant cartels."

Chasel nodded, "As you wish."

Adolph sighed, looking across the room. He chose the members carefully, excluding some and including others for several reasons. The people in the room were trustworthy by themselves, but if there were spies inside the castle, he needed to be able to control the flow of information and trace the paths of information easily. Of everyone in the room, the ministers and Basil were the only people who would directly disobey his orders either because they were arrogant and did not respect him or because they were too stupid to think of the gravity of the situation.

Either way, he couldn't afford to allow people too stupid or treacherous to remain in proximity to Laurel and the other people she cared for.

"What I say next, does not leave this room," Adolph said, looking across the room. "The poisoning attempt against Laurel was a cover. While Tina did attempt to kill Laurel, there was a second poison in the bowl Laurel ingested meant for me."

The gasp of shock went around the room quickly. The two generals looked furious.

"It is by the grace of the moon goddess she survived as wolfsbane is lethal at any dose as is oleander. To ingest both should have killed her within the hour."

"Are you certain, Your Majesty?" One of the ministers said. "Perhaps Tina was simply trying to be thorough in her attempt."

Adolph looked at the man, "The ministers have no room to question anyone's ability to do their jobs efficiently."

The man shut his mouth and ducked his head.

"On that note, the ministries have been found derelict in their duties. Let this meeting serve as the last warning to all of you: I will not tolerate being undermined or disobeyed. Watch yourselves." Gavin shuddered, "Wolfsbane was the same poison used to taint food in the incident that resulted in Jack Miller's death."

Basil swallowed, refusing to look at Adolph as he heard Laura's voice in the back of his head.

*Of course, it's important. Soldiers need to be sure their food supply is safe!*

How was he supposed to know the humans wouldn't be able to do their jobs? If they had guarded their caravans more carefully, everything would have been fine.

"To that effect, I am instituting a restriction on trade into the imperial city and across the borders. Only merchant cartels certified by the crown will be able to cross the borders into the kingdom to trade, and only caravans escorted by the military will be used to deliver to the front lines."

Gavin felt his heart clenched in grief. Most if not all of the human caravans he dealt with would never subject themselves to a werewolf escort. It would be a huge loss of revenue for him. He looked at the minister of commerce with a pointed stare.

The man stammered, "Your Majesty, while it is important to guard the safety of the military and the werewolf who defend our borders, we must also think of the people."

"Are you accusing me of not considering the people?"

"No, Your Majesty," he said quickly. "It's just that locking down the borders will slow the economy a great deal. The farms within the kingdom supply a lot of food but not enough to feed the citizens and the army long term."

"The capital's food stores should feed the entire city throughout winter," Adolph said and looked at the minister of general affairs. "There shouldn't be a problem putting the city on rations to allow the farms nearby to supply the other cities of the kingdom instead of imports."

Gavin held back from grimacing. The minister of general affairs hadn't been maintaining the stores as they'd been using it to send to the front lines or to feed the castle throughout the war, little by little, under Laura's nose and using the money allocated to relief supplies for their ends. Gavin took a cut of that money to increase the Mirabelle family's wealth and to have something to keep the man in check in case he started to get any ideas.

The man looked nervous as he nodded and shuffled his pages, scribbling some sort of note.

"Wouldn't it be more effective for you to return to the front lines?" Another minister, the minister of agriculture, asked, "They fear you more than anyone in the kingdom."

Adolph looked at the man as if he was a child, "Minister, you're making me question your intelligence."

He flushed.

"More than usual that is," Adolph said. "If the vampire queen sent forces to poison me within the imperial city, she would expect me to react directly. She went through the trouble to strike during my wedding, after all, meaning not only are there vampire forces inside the kingdom, but they have already infiltrated the castle."

Basil gasped in fear as the room went quiet.

"To leave now would just be to tell her network to attack me in transit," Adolph glared at him and stood. "The defenses of the city will be fully erected by the end of the week and all roads will remain watched until I deem it unnecessary. This meeting is adjourned."