Chapter 46 Prepare For War
Aurelia
“What do you think you’re doing?” The pack matron hissed furiously as Irina threw herself at her mother, grabbing both of her arms to stop the keg from tipping over Mace’s head.
“You can’t kill him, Mother. He’s…” Irina’s words stumbled out, breathless, almost frantic. “Just… don’t kill him yet.”
The crowd sucked in a collective gasp. Murmurs exploded outward like spilled oil catching fire, shock, confusion, and outrage rippling through hundreds of throats at once.
“Stop!” Zhayad’s roar cut through everything.
He rose from the throne in one fluid motion and descended the steps, boots striking stone with deliberate weight.
Ravina’s knuckles were white around the keg handle as she tried to wrench herself free from her daughter's tight embrace.
She wanted Mace dead before he could open his mouth again. Before the pack heard the rest of the truth.
But Irina was trying to save him. She'd run out of the pack-house like a madwoman just to stop her mother from setting him ablaze.
Zhayad stopped a few paces away, towering over the two women, radiating that quiet, lethal calm that made even the loudest wolves fall silent.
“What is this madness?” he asked in a voice so thick and stern that there was no space for excuses from either of the two women.
“You interrupted a sacred execution, Irina. You of all people should know better. Hand over the keg, Ravina. We gathered here to set an example.
Cassian Varkis needs to be reminded of his place.”
Irina snatched the keg from her mother’s grip and dropped to her knees with it, cradling it against her chest like a shield.
She was weeping now, her face growing redder and redder. Were the tears necessary?
“Alpha, we can’t kill him yet,” she gasped, bending over the keg, her shoulders shaking.
“While I was with them… I overheard the Luna’s father. He said you’d fall for his trap. That you’d kill one of his warlocks so he’d have a reason to attack us. I don't want you to make a mistake that will damn us all. I love the pack so much!” She sobbed harder, shaking her head vigorously.
She was lying. I knew it in my bones.
My father valued Mace, his strength, his loyalty, and his magic. He would never, I mean, never waste someone that powerful as bait.
“She’s lying!” The words burst out of me before I could stop them.
Every head snapped toward me.
“She says what now?” someone muttered from the crowd.
I ignored them. I was used to their whispers and side-eyes by now.
My gut was screaming, pulling me forward step by step.
“Mace would never be used as bait,” I said, my voice louder than I expected.
“He’s one of the strongest warlocks my father has. Irina is trying to protect something. And the pack matron is trying to bury it. If Irina was truly kidnapped, why is she fighting so hard to save her captor’s life? How did she get those injuries?”
“You will not speak—” Ravina started.
“You will not interrupt the Luna,” Zhayad cut in sharply.
Ravina’s mouth snapped shut.
“My apologies, Alpha,” she muttered, her eyes dropping to the ground.
I stepped closer to the dais, my heart slamming against my ribs. I tried to steady my breaths, but I was panting from talking so fast in front of the whole pack.
“Ask the pack matron why she wanted to kill Mace without a trial,” I continued. “I may not know every shifter law, but I know everyone deserves a fair hearing before execution. So where’s the jury? Or is this just convenient for her?” I asked, pointing at Ravina who raised her head to shoot me the fiercest glare in her book of looks.
The whole place went still. Even the wind seemed to pause.
Zhayad’s eyes found mine, like he couldn't believe I'd actually spoken that bravely and loudly.
For one long second he said nothing. Then he turned to Ravina.
“Speak,” he said. “Explain why you were so eager to end this man’s life before he could utter another word.”
Ravina’s hands trembled around nothing. She didn't see this part coming.
She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
“I… I only wanted justice for my daughter,” she said in a thin voice. “For what he did to her.”
A soft wave of sympathetic sighs rolled through the crowd.
I felt my stomach turn. They were eating it all up, every tear, every quiver in her lip, like she was the victim here.
Mace, meanwhile, was drilling holes into the side of my head with those hard, hateful eyes.
I’d ruined his moment. He’d wanted to go out with a bang, dropping bombshells that would shatter everything.
Instead I’d interrupted, and now he looked like he wanted to strangle me with the ropes and chains biting into his wrists.
“But your daughter is trying to save him,” I pointed out. “What exactly are you not telling us, Ravina?”
Ravina lifted her brows, no doubt surprised by my new audacity.
Zhayad didn't give her room to answer.
“Here is my judgement,” he said, loud enough for every single shifter in the crowd to hear.
“Mace is to be taken back to the holding cells.
The pack matron is barred from performing her duties until we sniff out the truth.”.
He turned to me then, his eyes locking on mine, softening in that way that always made my chest ache before they darkened, as if he was trying to hide the pull between us.
“You may do the honour of untying him from the stake, Luna.”
My stomach flipped. He wanted me to untie Mace? In front of everyone?
I searched his face for a second, looking for a trick, a test, anything.
But all I saw was quiet certainty. He wasn’t mocking me. He was actually making a point.
I nodded and stepped forward. Mace watched every move I made, that bloody smirk tugging at his split lip.
I reached the stake. He was tied high, his wrists bound above his head with thick rope that had already rubbed his skin raw.
I had to rise onto my toes to reach the knots. The moment my fingers brushed the rope, Mace leaned down just enough that his mouth was near my ear.
“You ruined my plans,” even whispering couldn't hide the venom in his voice. “I’m sure you must be giddy with excitement.”
I said nothing. I focused on the knots, pulling, loosening, ignoring the way my hands shook.
“Your womb is barren, Aurelia,” he continued, his breath hot against my skin and making me cringe.
“He’ll toss you aside once he tires of you.
And don’t forget, one way or another, we will strike. The war is coming whether your Alpha is prepared or not.”
My fingers stilled for half a second. Then I yanked the last knot free. His arms dropped, the chains clanking.
The guards moved in instantly, grabbing his elbows, hauling him backward.
I stepped away, lifting my chin so I could meet his eyes one last time.
“You talk a lot for a man who’s about to spend the rest of his life in chains,” I said quietly.
He leaned forward, his lips moving slowly.
“Prepare for war. You have only a few hours to prepare. Don't say I didn't warn you.”
And then he was dragged away, leaving me to think about his strange warning.