Bella POV
Outside the council room Asher walked beside me without saying anything for a moment.
"You did well." He said eventually.
"I told them the truth." I replied, shrugging.
"Same thing in a room like that." He replied and I let out a breath I had been holding since we walked in.
"Bane is not going to stop." I said. I could tell that much from his calculated words from earlier. He seems hellbent on getting to me.
"No." Asher agreed. "But neither are we."
*************
Leon's birthday dinner was that evening.
Kiara had been planning it for days. The dining room looked different.
It was warmer, with people she had personally invited filling the space. Food covered the table and the kitchen had clearly been working since afternoon.
Kiara had changed her outfit three times b
