Chapter 35 Violation of council law
Damien’s POV
The gates of my pack opened the moment my presence was sensed. They always did.
But tonight somehow the sound felt wrong.
Steel scraped against stone, like even the land knew I was bringing something back with me that could not be undone. Torches flared higher as I drove through, guards straightening instinctively, fists striking their chests in salute. I didn’t acknowledge them. My hands were still shaking, though I kept them tight around the wheel.
Blood had dried beneath my nails. I hadn’t washed it off just yet.
“Alpha King,” someone called behind me, cautious. I kept walking regardless.
The chamber doors were already open, light spilling out into the corridor. My father stood at the center of the room.
His hands braced against the stone table, with his shoulders tense, head bowed like he was staring down something invisible. Elders lined the walls, their expressions tight, it made me feel uneasy.
He lifted his head when I stepped inside.
“Damien.” He didn't address me with my title like he normally does in front of the elders. He called me by my name.
I closed the doors behind me myself. The echo rang too loud in the chamber.
“Father,” I said.
Then he straightened slowly, and I saw it, a barely contained fury, layered beneath discipline and years of control.
“Do you have any idea,” he asked quietly, “what you have done tonight?”
I met his gaze. “I couldn't let them continue to torture her.”
A murmur rippled through the elders.
“You fool, you slaughtered council enforcers,” one of them snapped.
“They were poisoning her.”
“You crossed into rival territory,” another added. “You violated council law.”
“They violated her first.”
My father’s hand slammed against the table.
The sound cracked through the room like a whip.
“Enough.” the room filled with Instant silence.
He stepped around the table, stopping a few feet in front of me. Close enough that I could see the strain in his eyes now, the fine cracks in the armor he wore so well.
“You went into a rival pack’s holding facility,” he said slowly, each word weighed and deliberate. “You tore through enforcement officers sworn to neutrality.” his voice dropped, dangerous now, “because of a girl.”
“She is not just a girl,” I said, my voice tight.
“She is not your mate,” he shot back. “Not yet at least, none of you have claimed her.”
Something ugly twisted in my chest. “You don’t know anything about our bond,”
“I do,” he replied sharply, “when your actions threaten everything we’ve built.”
I took a step closer. “They tortured her.”
“They restrained her, if she is truly what they say she is, she needs to be kept under supervision.”
“With wolfsbane?” I growled. “Enough to kill a normal wolf. Enough to kill even an alpha.”
I felt it ripple through the room, the elders shifting, exchanging uneasy looks. My father’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t interrupt.
“You should have come to me,” he said after a moment.
“What could you have done if you asked you to stay away?” I asked quietly. “While they fed her more poison and she eventually dies.”
“You don’t know if she would have died.”
“I know the council, and you know Rowan very well,” I said.
My father exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair. For just a moment, the Alpha King slipped. I saw a tired man instead.
“You’ve forced my hand,” he said.
I let out a short, humorless laugh. “That’s exactly what Rowan told her.”
His eyes snapped back to mine. “You spoke to her.”
“Yes.”
“You broke through council barriers.”
“Yes.”
“You linked her mind.”
“Yes, father.”
An elder stepped forward, voice tight. “This is unprecedented. You’ve made yourself complicit.”
“I made myself her protector,” I replied.
My father circled the table, stopping directly in front of me. His voice dropped. “Do you understand what happens now?”
“They will surely retaliate, like they always do,”
“They will call this an act of war.”
I nodded once. “Then they should remember who struck first.”
“I had to end their cruelty.”I felt no regret. “If they wanted peace,they wouldn’t have touched her.”
One of the elders scoffed. “You’d burn centuries of balance for one person?”
I turned slowly, meeting his gaze. “Balance that relies on fear is a sham.”
My father straightened. “This girl has destabilized three power structures in less than a month.”
“She exposed the rot holding them together, that's how I see it.” I said.
His eyes opened again, and something proud flickered there. “I raised you to see the entire board.”
“I learned perfectly well, and I also learned that some pieces are worth breaking the board for.”
Then my father laughed loudly, shocking the council members that were seated.
“You sound like your mother.”
“She once told me, that if the world demands blood for doing the right thing, then the world deserves to be challenged.”
An elder hissed. “That thinking started the last great war.”
“Yes,” my father said. “And it ended one too.”
He turned back to me. “You’ve narrowed our path.”
“I know.”
He stepped closer and placed a hand briefly on my shoulder.
“If you do this, there is no retreat.”
“I won’t retreat.”
“I know you won't, but are you sure you're ready for what is coming?”
“Always ready, father.”
My father’s voice softened, almost weary.
“Tell me, Damien,” he asked, “what is so special about this girl? Why does she leave ruins in her wake wherever she goes?”
I stayed silent.
“She divides councils, fractures packs, pulls two Alphas into her side,” he continued. “That bond alone is unnatural. Why is she tied to the two of you?”
I finally looked at him. “The moon goddess doesn't make mistakes.”
“And that is exactly why everyone is afraid of her.”
He studied me for a long moment, then nodded once. “
The council will summon you within forty-eight hours. They will demand you renounce her.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Let's just say, the consequences will be severe.”