Chapter 47 The Start Of The War
Aurelia
Mace’s warning hadn’t been empty air after all.
Four hours later my father’s forces breached OnyxFang’s eastern border.
The war room was pure chaos, I'd never stepped inside before. Maps were unrolled across the table, scouts bursting in every few minutes with fresh reports, and shifter-warriors were shouting coordinates over the top of their lungs.
Zhayad stood at the head like a storm trapped in skin, arms braced on the table, his eyes flicking between markers and messengers.
Lance hovered at his shoulder, his face grim. Lance's expression told me something was off with him, something I needed to look into.
I stayed near the wall, my arms crossed tight over my chest, trying to breathe through the panic clawing up my throat.
Zhayad had dragged me down here the second the first horn sounded, without explanation. He'd simply clasped his fingers around my waist, and with one low, growled, ‘Stay close’, he led me into this place.
Now Mace’s voice cut through the noise again from the open doorway where guards held him in silver chains.
“You want me to spill his weakness?” he asked Zhayad, his lips curling despite the fresh bruise blooming under his eye.
“Is that how low you’re willing to bend, Alpha?”
Zhayad didn’t even glance at him.
His focus stayed on the map, but the air around him thickened. Even the mate bond between us jumped in anticipation.
Lance stepped forward instead.
“Why is he on our border?” he demanded gruffly. He was trying so damn hard to impress Zhayad, even though it was annoying.
I knew why my father had declared war. It wasn't just because he'd been wanting to do it for a long time.
I’d spent the last four hours turning Mace’s words over and over in my head, reading all the books on shifter politics and wars I could find until the pieces finally clicked.
“What do you think?” Mace said, his eyes sliding to me. “Ask the Luna.”
Lance snorted, rolling his eyes. “What can she possibly know other than—”
Zhayad’s head snapped up.
“Aurelia,” he said my name quietly, but the whole room went still. “What do you know?”
The cell suddenly felt smaller, suffocating. I even heard my brain whisper, ‘Bye, Aurelia, you're alone on this one.’
Every eye turned to me, Lance’s skeptical, the scouts’ curious stares, Zhayad’s forest green pair steady and waiting.
I took a breath that felt too thin. Why did I keep getting in awkward scenarios like this over and over?
“Someone sent false news to my father,” I said, tasting the tension on my tongue. “I’ve been turning it over since Mace whispered to me that we should prepare for war. I thought he was bluffing, initially, but after reading a few books on pack wars and politics, I learned the real plan was to make it look like you executed him. He really didn't plan to die.”
I heard Lance whisper ‘Bullshit’ under his breath but I said nothing.
Despite the hard looks everyone was shooting my way, I continued. Zhayad was the only one who would reason with me here, and that was enough.
“A public killing like killing my father's strongest warlock in front of the entire pack gives my father the perfect excuse to attack. A ‘reason’ that every neutral territory would accept. ‘OnyxFang murdered one of our own in cold blood.’ He’s been waiting for the justification.” I paused to catch my breath, surprised that I'd spoken that long without stammering.
The room stayed silent for a beat. Then Lance barked a short, disbelieving laugh.
“That’s an insane conspiracy theory. We’re already at war. This is what you come up with?”
Zhayad’s fist moved before anyone could blink, crashing into Lance’s nose with a sharp, wet crunch.
Blood sprayed. Lance staggered back, his hand flying to his face.
“Shut your fucking mouth, Lance,” Zhayad ground out, “or I’ll disfigure it for you.”
Lance wiped blood from his lip, his eyes wide with disbelief, but he stayed silent.
Mace chuckled in satisfaction. He liked the chaos he was causing, no doubt.
“Aurelia is right,” he said. “We’ve achieved the first part of the goal. Invading the border.”
He grinned, a malicious, triumphant twist of his lips, blood staining his teeth.
“They’re right in your territory, Alpha Zhayad.” Mace’s voice slithered out from the shadows of his cell, calm and almost bored. “They intentionally let themselves be spotted first, so they would be spotted. They’re disguised now, by magic, so you’ll never find them until they’re right under your nose.”
I expected Zhayad to be shocked by this twist, but he didn't show any visible reaction. But I felt the shift in him, the way his shoulders locked, the way the air around him suddenly tasted sharper, like ozone right before lightning strikes.
Lance stepped forward, his face flushed from the punch Zhayad had given him minutes ago.
“Why the hell would they do that?”
Mace’s bloody smile stretched wider. Ever heard of the Cheshire cat's grin? Mace nailed it quietly.
“Because your Alpha is predictable. He sees an invasion, and he charges. He charges, he leaves the heart of the territory exposed. Simple.”
Zhayad narrowed his eyes, insulated by the shade Mace had just thrown at him. “Where.”
Mace tilted his head, studying him like a cat with a cornered mouse.
“You think I’m going to tell you that for free?”
Zhayad moved like a shadow. He lifted him off the floor by his neck until Mace’s toes barely scraped stone.
“You will tell me,” Zhayad said, each word slow, measured, “or I will peel the skin from your body one strip at a time and make you watch while I feed it to the crows.”
Mace choked, laughing through it.
“You… you really think… killing me stops this?
Your mate already told you the plan. The fake execution didn't work, because Irina thought opening her legs for me meant I loved her. She thought she was saving me, without knowing there was a bigger plan. As for the invasion, it’s already working.”
Zhayad’s grip tightened, and Mace’s face turned purple.
Despite that, Mace kept talking.
“Your own people betrayed you, but you don't even see it. Pathetic.” He gasped.
I stepped forward, despite my ears tingling by what Mace had just said. He'd fooled Irina into thinking they could be an item. No wonder she'd run out to save him, thinking Ravina would truly set him ablaze.
She had no idea her mother and the warlock were hiding vital information from her.
“Zhayad.”
His eyes flicked to me, still wild and furious, but he loosened his hold just enough for Mace to drag in a ragged breath.
Mace coughed, then grinned again.
“Do you know what the real prize is?” He asked.
I held my breath, hoping another bomb wouldn't drop on top of the ones that he'd dropped already.
“He wants the two of you. Cassian is a genius with dark ambition, and nothing will stop him from getting his goals. He wants the onyx fang, Alpha. Ever wondered why he really killed your family? It was—”
Zhayad dropped him. Mace hit the floor hard, gasping, laughing.
I wished he'd let him finish his sentence, so he could explain why my father would want me and Zhayad. Wasn't he after Zhayad's onyx fang?
He'd thought he'd be successful in using me as a weapon to penetrate the pack without raising dust, but he'd used other means, and now it seemed he wanted more than just the onyx fang.
“We need to find the pack's matron and her daughter. They've been conspiring with my father, I assure you.” I told Zhayad, hoping to convince him.
“Irina would never do such a thing. We all know how devoted she's been—”
I snapped at Lance. “You defend her even after she slept with Mace?”
“Mace is full of shit, he's lying.” Lance shot back.
“Pull back our forces from the border. They're heading for the pack-house. We'll let them in.” Zhayad declared flatly.