Chapter 44 The Beta's Challenge
KAEL POV
Day two of Lira's punishment, and I was dying.
Not metaphorically. The mate bond was literally killing me—every burn of silver on her skin replicated in my veins, every spike of pain echoing through my nervous system until I couldn't tell where she ended and I began.
"Alpha." Thomas's voice cut through the haze. "You need to feed."
I stared at the plate he'd brought—roasted meat that smelled disgusting in my nostrils. Everything tasted terrible now.
"Leave it." My voice came out rougher than intended.
Thomas set the plate on the arm of my throne. We were alone in the council chambers, just him and me and Lira hanging in her silver chains twenty feet away.
She'd stopped making sounds hours ago. Just hung there, breathing shallowly, her skin marked with angry red welts where metal hissed against her flesh.
Beautiful even now, Fenris whimpered. Ours. We're killing what's ours.
"Shut up," I muttered.
"I didn't say anything." Thomas frowned.
"Not you." I rubbed my face, feeling several days' worth of stubble. "Fenris won't stop whining."
"Because you're torturing your mate." Thomas's tone held no judgment, just stating facts. "Your wolf knows it. Your body knows it. How much longer can you sit here pretending you're fine?"
"As long as it takes." I forced myself to pick up a piece of meat, chewing.
The door opened. I looked up expecting Aria with more healing supplies, but instead, Eldric Stonefang walked in.
The elder warrior was one of Magnus's old guard—a massive wolf with gray streaking through his dark hair and scars that told stories of battles won through brutality. He'd served my father loyally until the exile, then transferred that loyalty to the council.
I'd never trusted him, still didn't.
"Alpha Kael." He inclined his head, the gesture just respectful enough not to be insulting. "A word?"
"Say it." I leaned back, projecting calmness I didn't feel.
Eldric's gaze moved to Lira, lingered, then returned to me. "In private."
"Thomas stays." I kept my voice level. "Whatever you have to say, my Beta can hear."
A flicker of annoyance crossed Eldric's face. "As you wish. I came to discuss concerns some pack members have raised."
"What concerns?" Thomas asked before I could.
"About the Alpha's... fitness to lead." Eldric chose his words carefully. "Given recent events."
I felt Fenris surge forward, barely restrained. "Explain."
"The mate bond." Eldric gestured toward Lira. "You've been sitting here for two days, slowly destroying yourself over a traitor. Some wolves are beginning to question whether the bond has compromised your judgment."
"She received a letter." I kept my tone cold. "She didn't commit treason."
"Yet you punished her anyway." Eldric's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Which suggests you know she's guilty but can't bring yourself to execute her properly."
"I punished her according to pack law." My knuckles turned white on the throne's armrest. "The council recommended silver chains. I approved it."
"After she broke confinement, destroyed evidence, and conspired with rogues." Eldric moved closer, his posture aggressive. "Your father would have killed her."
The comparison landed like a punch. "My father was many things, but a wise leader wasn't one of them."
"He was strong." Eldric's voice dropped. "He never let attachment cloud his judgment. Never showed weakness over a female."
"Is there a point to this?" Thomas stepped between us, protective instinct showing. "Or are you just reminiscing about the good old days?"
Eldric ignored him, keeping focus on me. "The point is that half the pack thinks you've gone soft. They see you suffering alongside her and wonder if the great Alpha Kael has been neutered by a mate bond."
"Let them wonder." I forced myself to stand, ignoring how my legs shook. "My methods are my own."
"Your methods are killing you." Eldric gestured to my obvious weakness. "And when you fall, what happens to the pack? Who leads?"
"The Beta." I nodded to Thomas. "As tradition demands."
"Thomas is compromised too." Eldric's gaze turned calculating. "He helped the Luna escape. Showed sympathy for a traitor. Some might say he's unfit as well."
Understanding dawned on me coldly. "You want the position."
"I want the pack protected." Eldric spread his hands, in all false sincerity. "If that means stepping up when our leaders falter, then yes. I'll do what's necessary."
"Over my dead body." The words came out as a growl.
"That can be arranged." Eldric's mask dropped completely. "Challenge law is clear, Alpha. Any wolf can challenge for leadership if the current alpha is deemed unfit."
"I'm not unfit." But even as I said it, I felt another wave of pain through the bond—Lira's suffering becoming mine.
I swayed as Thomas caught my arm, steadying me.
Eldric watched with satisfaction. "Aren't you? You can barely stand. Can't eat, can't sleep, can't focus on anything beyond that female hanging in chains. How is that strength?"
"It's endurance." I pulled away from Thomas, standing on my own. "Something you clearly don't understand."
"I understand that the pack needs a leader who puts them first." Eldric's voice rose, performing for whoever might be listening beyond the door. "Not a lovesick alpha who'd burn himself alive to spare his mate discomfort."
"Careful." Fenris pushed forward, making my voice drop to something inhuman. "You're very close to insubordination."
"Am I?" Eldric moved closer still, invading my space. "Or am I the only one brave enough to say what everyone's thinking?"
"Which is?" Thomas demanded.
"That the mate bond has made our alpha weak." Eldric addressed Thomas now, trying to find an ally. "And weak alphas don't survive. They get challenged, defeated, replaced. It's the natural order."
"Natural order?" I laughed, harsh and bitter. "You mean the order my father established? Where strength was measured by cruelty and loyalty was maintained through fear?"
"It worked." Eldric's eyes gleamed. "Under Magnus, this pack was feared. Respected. But now? We're the laughingstock of the territory. The alpha who can't control his traitorous mate."
Behind us, I heard Lira's breathing change—shallow to deeper, like she was listening despite her pain.
"Get out." I kept my voice level through sheer will. "Before I forget pack law prevents me from killing you without cause."
"I'm leaving." Eldric headed for the door, then paused. "But think about what I said, Alpha. The pack's patience won't last forever. Neither will your strength."
He left as the door closed with echoing finality.
Silence stretched. Thomas moved to stand beside my throne, his presence solid and reassuring.
"He's building support," Thomas said quietly. "Testing the waters for a challenge."
"I know." I sank back onto my throne, exhausted. "How many would follow him?"
"Maybe a third of the pack." Thomas's expression turned grim. "Magnus's old guard, mostly. Wolves who think strength and cruelty are the same thing."
"A third is enough." I rubbed my eyes. "If he challenges me now, weakened like this..."
"You'd lose." Thomas finished the thought. "And then Lira would have no protection at all."
We both looked at her hanging in her chains. Her eyes were open now, watching us with an expression I couldn't read.
"She heard everything," I said.
"Probably." Thomas sighed. "Kael, you need to end this. Let her down before you both die."
"Can't." The admission hurt. "If I show mercy now, Eldric will use it as proof I'm compromised. The challenge will come immediately."
"And if you don't?" Thomas's voice held quiet fury. "If you sit here and slowly kill yourself and your mate to prove some point about strength? That's better?"
I didn't have an answer.
The door opened again. Aria rushed in, her healer's bag bouncing against her hip.
"Kael, thank the Goddess." She hurried to Lira, examining her without touching the silver. "Her fever's spiking. If we don't get her down soon"
"No."
Aria spun on me. "She could die!"
"Then she dies." I said. "According to pack law, the punishment must be completed."
"You're insane." Aria's eyes filled with tears. "Both of you, just sitting here, destroying each other over pride and politics."
"Leave, Aria." I couldn't look at her. "There's nothing you can do."
She stared at me for a long moment. Then she turned to Lira.
"I'm sorry," Aria whispered. "I'm so sorry."
She fled the chamber, her sobs echoing down the hallway.
Another hour passed. The sun set through high windows, plunging the chamber into shadows. I didn't bother with lights—darkness felt appropriate for what we'd become.
"Kael." Lira's voice startled me. She'd been silent so long I thought she'd passed out.
"Don't talk." My throat tightened. "Save your strength."
"For what?" She laughed, the sound cracked and raw. "My execution?"
"You're not going to be executed." I stood, moving closer despite knowing I shouldn't. "You'll win your trial and prove your innocence."
"Will I?" Her eyes found mine in the darkness. "Or will Eldric challenge you first? Kill you and take the pack?"
"He won't"
"He will." She pulled against her chains, gasping at the pain. "Because you're dying, Kael. We both are. And if you fall, I fall with you."
"Then we fall together." I reached up, my hand hovering near her face. "But I won't let them kill you without a fight."
"Such devotion." Her smile was mischievous. "Almost makes me forget you put me in these chains."
The words hit their mark as I dropped my hand, stepping back.
"One more day," I said quietly. "Then you're free. Then we face whatever comes."
"And if Eldric challenges you before then?" She pressed.
I met her eyes, letting her see the truth. "Then you'd better pray I win."