Chapter 61: The Fall of Midnight Moon

Jared’s POV

Tension permeated the atmosphere of the Midnight Moon stronghold. There were warriors and council members all around me, but none of them looked at me as I stood in the middle of the war chamber. They exchanged cautious looks and spoke in low tones, as though I was not even there.

There was a problem.

Our victory and last blow were to have come in the battle against Redwater. Instead, we had lost Lila and our best fighters, and now that I was standing here with my people, I could feel it vanishing.

Command.

Power.

Devotion.

Everything.

My second-in-command, Marcus, strode in with a grim expression as the doors swung open. The murmuring abruptly stopped.

I looked over at him. "I heard that you have good news for me."

Marcus took a while to respond. His fingers curled into fists at his sides as he stood motionless.

I tightened my jaw. "Talk."

He let out a slow exhale. "The fighters are not going to fight."

My temple muscle twitched. "What?"

"They are finished, Jared," he said in a steady but potentially dangerous tone. "They do not want to continue fighting after that final battle and Lila's passing. They no longer have faith in this war.

My blood froze. I had anticipated some setbacks and hesitancy, but not this.

I looked at the faces of my ostensibly devoted council members as I scanned the room. Unlike before, they were no longer standing at attention. Some refused to even look at me.

Traitors.

The room flinched as I slammed my fist against the heavy wooden table. "Are all of you cowards? Our army is still here! We are still strong! Do you believe we can ignore this?

Nobody responded.

The quiet was oppressive.

My spine tingled with a slow realization.

There was no hesitation here.

This was not fatigue.

It was mutiny.

With a low growl in my voice, I stepped forward. "You pledged allegiance to me."

Marcus looked directly into my eyes. We pledged allegiance to Midnight Moon. To a leader who is going insane, no.

The room stiffened.

I forced myself to remain calm and exhaled slowly. "I constructed this pack. I gave us strength. Do you believe you can turn on me at this point and still live?

"You constructed this pack," Marcus concurred. "But it is you who is tearing it apart."

At that moment, I sensed a change in the room.

It was done.

They were no longer mine.

Something twisted in my stomach, something dark and poisonous. Lila had died. Claire had lied to me. And now I had my warriors betraying me?

No.

They could not take everything away from me.

I needed to make one final move.

I straightened up and slowly nodded, my face unreadable. "Excellent," I replied. "You are not interested in fighting? Alright.

Marcus's face briefly flashed with uncertainty. "Jared—"

I swivelled toward the doors of the chamber. Call forth the best fighters. Right now.

Nobody made a move.

I tightened my jaw. "I did not ask for that."

For a long time, I believed they would say no. That they would bring me down in my hallway. After a moment of hesitation, however, one of the guards turned and slipped from the room.

There was a long pause.

I had to hurry.

I would assemble the elite. Those who remained faithful. Allow the others to leave if they so choose. However, I refused to allow them to take my pack with them.

I refused to cede my authority to them.

Minutes went by.

The doors then opened once more.

However, the elite warriors did not enter.

They were the ones.

Ruth, Elias, and Garren.

The previous council. The wolves who came before me to lead Midnight Moon.

The ones I would push into the background when I asserted my authority.

My heart thumped inside my skull. "What is this?"

With his silver hair shining in the torchlight, Elias took a step forward. "Jared, it is over."

I chuckled. I was unable to resist. A sharp, brief sound of incredulity. "You believe that you can simply enter here and take my pack away from me?"

"First, you took it from us," Garren said calmly.

"And you allowed me to," I retorted.

Elias's eyes grew serious. "And we are taking it back now."

Marcus looked directly at me. “We made our decision, Jared. Give up. Or go.

Go?

For years, I had been in charge of this pack. I had guided them to victory in the war. And now they believed they could simply remove me?

I showed my teeth. "You believe you can get by without me?"

We can, we know," Elias remarked.

The space moved. More fighters entered, crowding the room. Not the elite that I had demanded. Only them. The people who had already decided.

My hand was being forced.

I could engage in combat. Before they overtook me, I could eliminate a handful of them. Then what?

They were already victorious.

Claire.

Lila.

And now, my own pack.

They had turned against me, one by one.

Never had the walls of Midnight Moon felt so confining.

They had already decided on my pack. And there would be a knife in it the next time I turned my back if I stayed.

I let out a slow breath.

Then, pretending to be indifferent, I rolled my shoulders back and moved away from the war table.

"All right," I replied. "You wish for me to leave? You will receive what you desire.

Marcus's face flashed with relief, and I saw it. He had expected me to fight, to make this bloody. However, I refused to provide them with the satisfaction.

I made my way to the door.

Nobody attempted to stop me.

The last betrayal was that.

When I got to the threshold, I turned and let my eyes pass over them one last time. "You are going to regret this."

Elias held my stare. "No. We won't.

After clenching my teeth, I turned and ventured out into the darkness.

The icy air struck my face with a savage abrasion. I did not turn around, even though my muscles tensed with anger and my heart raced.

Not until I was far enough away from the trees to see the stronghold.

They were on the move. Gate guards. Warriors changing up the leadership.

This was their plan.

And I did not anticipate it.

I had nothing for the first time in my life.

Something else, though, shifted in my chest as I stood in the darkness, watching my pack slide through my fingers.

Not anger alone.

Not merely treachery.

A seed of something deeper, dark and festering.

I was not done yet.

They believed they had stolen my Midnight Moon.

They had only taken the pack, though.

A pack without its real Alpha, too?

It was merely a kingdom on the verge of collapse.