Chapter 28 The Council's Gambit
Kian's POV
The scout arrived at dusk, covered in dust and bearing the marks of hard riding. His horse was nearly dead on its feet, foam flecking its mouth as he dismounted in the courtyard. Alexander caught him as his legs gave out.
"Water," the scout gasped. "Need water."
We got him to the infirmary, where one of the healers immediately began checking him for injuries. I stood nearby, waiting, my patience worn thin by days of managing the alliance and preparing for the inevitable second assault.
"Report," I said when he'd drunk his fill.
"The Council is gathering," he said, his voice hoarse. "A second force. Much larger than the first. They're calling in debts from territories across the region. Packs that owe them favors, warriors they've trained, mercenaries they've paid."
"We are aware. It's numbers we need to know. How large?" Alexander asked from beside me.
"Estimates suggest triple the size of the first army," the scout said. "Maybe more. They're not just assembling a military force. They're assembling a statement. They want this to be decisive."
The words landed like a hammer blow. Triple the size. That meant they had more warriors than we could possibly field, even with all our allies committed. That meant our defensive advantage would only delay the inevitable.
"When?" I asked.
"Weeks," the scout said. "Maybe less. They're moving quickly. They want to strike while they still have the numerical advantage."
I looked at Alexander. "Get everyone together. Full meeting in one hour."
As I turned to leave the infirmary, my mind was already spinning through the implications. Two weeks wasn't much time, but it was something. We could use it to strengthen fortifications, to coordinate with allies, to prepare for a siege that would test everything we'd built.
The council meeting was grim. Sera was pale but composed. The other allied alphas listened with growing dread as I outlined what the scout had reported.
"We can't match their numbers," one of the visiting alphas said flatly. "We don't have enough warriors."
"Then we don't fight a numbers game," I said. "We fight from a position of strength. The castle is defensible. Our mages are strong. We have supplies. We can withstand a siege."
"For how long?" another alpha asked.
"As long as necessary," I said, though I didn't know if that was true. "What we need to do is make them regret coming here. We need to make this so costly that they decide the Eclipse Wolf isn't worth the price."
"And if they don't decide that?" Sera asked quietly.
I didn't answer, because I didn't have an answer that would comfort her.
It was after the meeting, as people were dispersing, that Alexander pulled me aside.
"There's more," he said quietly. "Something the scout didn't want to share in front of the full council."
My stomach tightened. "What?"
"Alpha Marcus," Alexander said. "He's joined the Council's forces."
The name meant something, though it took me a moment to place it. Marcus. The new alpha of Lana's former pack. The brother of Luca, the alpha I'd killed for offering Lana to rogues. The uncle of Jace, the boy I'd executed for beating her.
"He's using this as vengeance," Alexander continued. "Not just against you for killing his brother and nephew, but against Lana for leaving the pack with you. He's telling the Council that he'll help them. He's using this as an opportunity to reclaim what he sees as lost honor."
"How many warriors is he bringing?"
"A significant number," Alexander said. "His pack isn't one of the largest, but they're well-trained. And more importantly, he's spreading word among the other packs that you're the one who killed an alpha without cause. He's painting himself as the wronged party, and it's gaining sympathy among some of the neutral territories."
The information just kept getting worse. Not only did we face a larger force, but Marcus was actively working to undermine our alliances and shake our position.
"Where is Marcus now?" I asked.
"Still traveling with the Council's main force. But he'll be here with them when they arrive."
I needed to tell Lana. I needed to tell her that the pack from her past had sided with the people hunting her, that the man whose brother and nephew I'd killed wanted her dead. But I also knew how she'd react to that news. I knew the weight it would add to the burden she was already carrying.
I found her in the training grounds, working with one of the warrior instructors. She moved through combat forms with focus and determination, her body learning to translate her power into physical action. It was important work; she needed to be able to defend herself if the castle's walls fell and the fighting came down to hand-to-hand combat.
But I needed to pull her away from that work with bad news, which meant I was about to destroy the progress she'd made.
"Lana," I called, and she immediately stopped her training.
She came to me, reading my expression instantly. "What happened?"
"Walk with me," I said, and I led her away from the training grounds, toward the quieter parts of the castle.
I told her about the Council's second force. I told her about Marcus and his alliance with the Council. And I watched her face shift from shock to understanding to something harder.
"Marcus," she said quietly. "Luca's brother."
"Yes."
"He wants revenge," she said, and it wasn't a question.
"The Council is using him," I said. "He's angry about his brother and nephew. He sees this as an opportunity to…"
"To what?" Lana interrupted. "To hurt me? I was never his family, Kian. I was the servant they beat. The girl they abused. He owes me nothing, and I owe him nothing."
Her voice was steady, but I could feel the tension in her through our bond. This wasn't about betrayal or loss. This was about the past coming back to haunt her.
"He knows nothing about this castle," I said carefully. "He has no advantage here except numbers and his desire for revenge. And desire for revenge makes people careless."
Lana nodded slowly, and when she looked at me, her eyes were clear. "Then we make sure he regrets coming here," she said. "We make sure that everyone who sided with the Council learns what it costs to hunt an Eclipse Wolf."
"I need you to train harder," I said. "Not just in combat, but in everything. We need you as strong as you can possibly be."
"Every day until the Council arrives," she said. "And then we show them what happens when you hunt someone who has nothing left to lose."
There was no fear in her voice. Only determination. And I realized in that moment that Lana had already accepted what was coming. She'd accepted it the moment she decided to stay, the moment she cho
se to fight instead of run.
She wasn't afraid of facing her past. She was ready to burn it down.