Chapter 90: Pack Rebellion

Lia

The morning after Seraphina's visit, I heard them coming.

Heavy boots. Multiple sets. The deliberate cadence of wolves who'd made a decision and weren't interested in discussion.

The observation window didn't open this time. Instead, the entire door swung wide, flooding my cell with harsh fluorescent light that made me squint after hours in dimness.

Councilor Vera stood at the threshold, flanked by six warriors I'd trained with. Wolves who'd once called me Luna. Now they wouldn't meet my eyes.

"On your feet." Vera's voice was cold, efficient. "The Council has made its decision."

My chains rattled as I stood, silver burning fresh against my wrists. "And that is?"

"You're to be presented to the pack. They deserve to see what their Luna has become before we proceed with sentencing."

Sentencing. Not trial. Not deliberation.

They'd already decided I was guilty.

Two warriors entered my cell, unlocking my wrist restraints but immediately replacing them with ones connected by a shorter chain. My hands were bound in front of me now, close enough together that I couldn't fight back effectively. The silver concentration was higher too, I could feel my wolf retreating deeper, becoming nothing more than a whisper in the back of my mind.

"Where's Kai?" My voice came out hoarser than I'd intended.

Vera's smile was sharp. "The Alpha has... recused himself from these proceedings. Given his compromised judgment regarding you, the Council felt it best he not be present."

They'd sidelined him. Stripped him of authority over my fate.

Because of course they had.

The walk through the pack house was a gauntlet of stares and whispers. Wolves pressed against the walls to let us pass, some with pity in their eyes, others with fear, still others with something that looked like vindication.

This is what happens when you try to rise above your station, their expressions said. This is what happens when a treaty bride forgets her place.

We emerged into bright afternoon sunlight. The central courtyard had been transformed into something between a trial venue and an execution ground. The entire pack was gathered, hundreds of wolves forming a tight circle around a raised platform where Vera led me.

My bare feet hit the wooden planks, splinters digging into my soles. The restraints forced me to keep my arms close to my body, defensive, small. Exactly the image they wanted.

Broken. Contained. No longer a threat.

"Members of Ferilis Pack!" Vera's voice carried across the silent crowd. "We gather today to address a crisis that threatens our very survival. Our Luna…" she gestured to me with barely concealed disgust “…attacked our Alpha three nights ago with clear intent to kill. She went feral, lost all control, proving what many of us have suspected: her hybrid nature makes her fundamentally unstable."

Murmurs rippled through the assembled wolves. I searched desperately for friendly faces. Found Viktor near the back, his expression thunderous but unable to intervene. Found several warriors I'd fought beside, uncertainty warring with duty in their eyes.

Didn't find Kai.

Where was he? Had they locked him up too? Or had he finally accepted what everyone kept telling him, that I was more trouble than I was worth?

"The Eastern Pack arrives tomorrow," Vera continued. "They come not just for territory or resources, but for her." She pointed at me like I was a disease vector. "They want to study her bloodline, weaponize it, and use it against us. As long as she remains here, we're all targets."

"Then exile her!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"Execute her!" another voice called. "It's the only way to be sure we're safe!"

The calls multiplied, overlapping, building into a crescendo of condemnation. I stood there and took it, each word a lash against already raw skin.

"SILENCE!" The roar came from the edge of the courtyard.

The crowd parted like water, and Damien, Marcus's son and one of Kai's most vocal critics, strode through. He was my age but carried himself like someone much older, hardened by loss. His father had died in the Blood Eclipse, and he blamed Kai's leadership for it.

Blamed me, specifically, for the instability that had led to so much death.

Damien climbed onto the platform with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what he was doing. His dark eyes swept the crowd before landing on me.

"Execution is too quick," he said, his voice carrying. "Exile is too uncertain. She could return, bring allies, and start a war. No, if we're going to deal with the Luna problem, we need to be thorough."

My stomach turned to ice. "What are you suggesting?"

He smiled, and it was nothing like friendly. "A trial by combat. Ancient pack law. If you're truly strong enough to be Luna, prove it. Fight for your right to stay. And if you lose..." He shrugged. "Well. Problem solved either way."

Vera's eyes gleamed with approval. "The Council seconds this motion. Luna Lia will face a champion chosen by the pack. If she wins, her position is secure. If she loses…"

"She dies." Damien finished. "Cleanly. Honorably. And we move forward without the constant threat of her instability."

"This is insane." My chains rattled as I tried to step forward. "I'll fight anyone you want, but at least let me shift. Let me use my full strength…"

"You'll fight in human form only," Vera cut me off. "With your hands bound. After all, we wouldn't want another incident where you lose control and slaughter innocent wolves, would we?"

The crowd murmured agreement. They were scared of me, I realized. Genuinely terrified that if I shifted, I'd become the monster they'd convinced themselves I was.

"And who's my opponent?" I looked at Damien. "You?"

"Me?" He laughed. "I'm not suicidal, Luna. No, your opponent will be someone who knows your fighting style. Someone who's trained with you, studied your weaknesses." He turned to the crowd. "Viktor. Step forward."

My heart stopped.

Viktor pushed through the crowd, his face a mask of fury. "I refuse."

"You don't get to refuse," Vera said smoothly. "Unless you want to join her in questioning the pack's authority."

"This is murder." Viktor's hands clenched into fists at his sides. "She's bound, unable to shift, exhausted from days in that cell. This isn't combat, it's execution dressed up to look legal."

"Then perhaps Luna should have thought of that before attacking her Alpha." Vera's smile was ice. "You have one minute to decide, Viktor. Fight her, or be branded a traitor alongside her."

I watched emotions war across Viktor's face. Loyalty to Kai. Friendship with me. Duty to the pack. The impossible position they'd put him in.

"Don't." My voice cut through his internal struggle. "Viktor, don't. They'll use this to destroy you too. I'm already lost, don't let them take you down with me."

"Lia…"

"Please." I met his eyes across the platform. "If you care about Kai, about this pack, don't give them another weapon to use. I can... I can do this. I can fight."

It was a lie and we both knew it. But what choice did either of us have?

"Thirty seconds," Vera announced.