Chapter 42 PUNISHMENT
RAGNAR'S POV
Everyone in the council chambers is tense.
The other elders shift nervously with their eyes darting between us.
They know I do not respect their seat or position since it's hereditary.
Torin doesn’t flinch either. He leans back slightly with his voice steady as stone.
“I did what was necessary, Ragnar. The pack is fracturing. You schedule an assembly to explain but never show up, rogues at the border press harder everyday and the Alphas of other packs are changing without a warning.”
“Then you should have scheduled a meeting with me!”
“You are never around to even meet!” He flips out.
The other elders shift in their seats at approval.
“You’ve been otherwise… occupied. I only did what I did in preservation of this pack. I acted to protect Mooncrest.”
“Protect?” I laugh out loud.
The loud laugh echoes harsh and sharper by bouncing off the stone walls.
“By committing treason you mean? By undermining my authority in front of every pack in the territory by doing something so rash and stupid?!”
I walk closer and closer with every accusation.
“No one has made sacrifices like I have for this pack. I’ve bled for this pack, I’ve killed for this pack. I was the one that held the borders when the Rogues tested us and you all,” I point at all of them.
“You all were pretty content in hiding in the shelters with the women and children.”
They actually had the decency to look embarrassed as this. “And you think you can play games with my seal because you’re ‘protecting’ the pack? And who are you to disapprove of where I spend my nights?”
Torin’s jaw tightens. “It’s not disapproval. It’s the truth. You’re unmated Ragnar and your true mate died years ago.”
He sighs before continuing. “Now this boy, Sebastian? I really don't care what goes on between you both but it's getting a little too serious. And with the way you're only showing him favoritism after all these years of being alone, he cannot be allowed to be our next Luna.”
“Yes Alpha,” Mara interjects. “Although I do not condone what Torin did, I cannot help but think of the benefits of what he did. Think about it, when was the last time you addressed the Alphas under you? This would be for the greater good for the pack–”
“The greater good,” I interrupt, slowly stepping closer until I loom over the entire table until they're all seated and looking away like the cowards they are.
“That’s the exact excuse traitors use when they stab their Alpha in the back. You forget who I am Torin, you all do.”
Now addressing each of them, I continue, “I’m not some elder’s puppet who's every whim has to be dictated by you all. I’m your Alpha. I am the one who has crushed so much rogue uprising I can't be bothered to count any longer, I’m the one who kept this pack whole when everything else crumbled and you all fled.”
I point to Mara and Torin now. “And now you and you both dare question my focus or the protection of the pack because of an Omega? Well you want an explanation and this is all you'll get: Sebastian is under my protection, the end.”
Mara interjects with a calm but edgier tone. “We all just deserve a little transparency from you. You called an assembly then disappeared for two days.”
I turn my glare on her and then right back to Torin. “Transparency?! Do you want transparency? Then here it is. You forged my seal and that is treason. Give me one good reason your throat should still remain on your body.”
Torin stands up slowly to meet my height. “Because without us Ragnar, this pack will fall apart faster than you can handle. Punish me if you must, but you will attend the summit and show strength. You will foster and gain new alliances or all what you’ve built crumbles to dust.”
I hold his gaze for a long scathing moment.
Yurik wants blood.
His blood to be precise.
He wants to tear into the old wolf until there’s nothing left but a sack of blood and bones but I hold him back.
Loathe as I admit it, I've been neglecting pack duties and alliances because of the amount of time spent everyday suppressing the mate bond.
And the summit is inevitable since Alphas like Lance are already here and others are probably on their way.
“Fine,” I snarl. “But this isn’t over. Cross me again and there won’t be elders left to summon. And for this, all the elders are forbidden from accessing and entering the Alpha's office within an invitation firing now on.”
They all want to protest but a simple glance from me shuts them up.
This was the best punishment for power hungry wolves.
I turn and storm out the whole argument and treachery leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
I expected betrayal from outside but from my own pack?
Especially in someone with a high ranking and position?
What if next time he doesn't like any law I pass?
Or if he decides something else on my behalf?
It's good they're all now banned from my office.
And this betrayal burns more since it was Elder Torin the head elder.
The rest of the elders were like his lackeys so usually what he says goes.
The meeting is held at dusk under the splash of the sunset.
Torches carrying fire marked from the entrance to the sacred clearing where we usually hold our ceremonies.
There are five other Alphas excluding Lance in attendance.
Three I can actually tolerate whilst the other two I actively dislike.
Then there's Lance. A person I loathe.
I nod back in greeting Alpha Kael from Riverbend nods at me in quiet greeting. While Mira from Stoneclaw watches with me with open hostility. She was still salty about me becoming Alpha of Alphas years ago.
The others are either greeting in silence with nods or staring in disinterest or open hostility.
And then there's Lance.
He strides in last flanked behind him by four Shadow Pack enforcers having red hair.
I guess they dyed it to match their new Alpha.
Kinda quick though.
The other Alphas stiffen or look at me in confusion. Alpha Mira even looks at me in mockery. Everyone knows about the history between the both of us, the two Alphas that defied traditional views and had to separate when one found their moon given mate.
It's been years but they all remember how it nearly cost a bloody war when I chose my true mate over Lance.