Chapter 87

Chapter 87
Jade POV

I had not slept. I remained awake with Sera pressed against me, listening to every breath she took as if at any moment it might vanish.

When the guards knocked on my chamber doors, I already knew something was wrong. They would not disturb me otherwise.

“My lord,” one of them said, head bowed, “the council requests your presence. Urgent matters.”

Urgent.

It always meant trouble.

It always meant someone thought they could question me.

I untangled myself from Sera slowly, watching her stir, the soft rise and fall of her chest. The mark on her neck gleamed faintly in the early light, my claim branded into her skin. My wolf surged at the sight, possessive and protective in equal measure.

I brushed a strand of hair from her cheek before I stood.

I did not wake her.

The council hall was already full when I arrived. Every elder. Every advisor. Their faces were filled with caution and fear. They bowed when I entered, but the air was charged.

“Speak,” I said, taking my seat.

It was Elder Marrek who stepped forward, always too bold, always standing too close to insolence.

“My Alpha,” he began, “we come with concern. The girl has become a point of division. A danger.”

My jaw tensed. “My mate is not up for discussion.”

He did not flinch, and that was the first mistake.

“The pack fears her. They speak of omens. Unnatural storms of emotion around the bond. Some believe she is the reason for the unrest.”

I stared at him in silence, long enough for several in the room to shift uneasily.

He continued anyway.

“We are advising strongly that you send her away before this escalates. If not, we risk rebellion. Wolves are whispering of choosing a new Alpha. One not… ruled by a witch.”

A hush fell. The words hung in the air like poison.

I felt the shift in me before I realised it had happened.

My vision sharpened, my wolf uncoiled, slow and lethal.

“Say that again,” I said quietly.

Marrek swallowed, but he held his ground, foolish to the last.

“A Luna who inspires fear weakens the pack. Send her away before she tears everything apart.”

The table splintered under my hand before I understood I had struck it, wood cracking, shards flying.

“You speak of sending away my mate,” I said, voice low, deadly calm. “The one chosen by the moon. Chosen by me.”

“She will be the pack’s undoing,” another elder muttered.

“No,” I said. “The only ones who will break this pack are the ones who dare speak against her.”

Silence fell heavy.

They understood.

This was not negotiation, but it was a warning.

I could already taste revolt forming in the dark corners of the territory.

The man who had dared to speak lifted his chin again, a final, foolish stand. “Alpha… if you truly care for the pack, you would get rid of that witch!”

He didn’t finish; I moved before he could draw his next breath.

My hand closed around his throat, claws extending without thought, without control, without hesitation. His eyes widened, fear flooding them too late. I slammed him back against the stone wall, the sound echoing deeply into the room.

“You think you know what I care for?” I whispered, voice low, dark, and shaking with restraint I didn’t feel. “You think you understand what holds this pack together?”

His nails clawed weakly at my wrist. I didn’t loosen my hold.

“You believe she is the danger?” I hissed. “No. I am the danger. I always have been.”

He tried to speak, but there was no air left in him. I didn’t need words anyway. I could see in his eyes fear, regret, and the realisation that he had stepped on a blade and expected it to be soft.

I drove my claws through his throat in one smooth motion.

His body fell before his mind could even accept the death. Blood hit the floor in a slow, deliberate spatter.

The silence that followed was absolute.

I turned toward the remaining members. Their faces had gone pale with clarity and shock. They bowed immediately, deeply, their foreheads to the stone.

“Alpha,” they murmured in unison.

The word was 'reverent' and 'terrified'.

But fear is not loyalty. Fear is merely obedience waiting to fracture.

I could feel the shift and the crack.

The beginning of something ugly and inevitable.

I walked past them without another word.

Their stares followed me as I left, calculating, uncertain, and desperate.

The scent of blood followed me like a shadow trailing smoke.

When I stepped into the corridor, I exhaled slowly, pressing a hand to my chest. The hall was empty and quiet, but I could still hear echoes of my rage.

She was probably still sleeping. Still unaware that a man had died for the simple crime of suggesting her removal.

And yet I would do it again without hesitation.

Without remorse. Even if the whole pack turned against me. Even if the world burnt down around us. Even if fate itself demanded I let her go.

She was mine, and I would rather break the world than release her.

They believed Sera was the threat.

They had no idea how dangerous I could become if they tried to take her from me.