Chapter 46 The Alpha Council Comes Back
The Council didn't wait for an invitation.
Three days after the initial energy spike, a cavalcade of black SUVs rolled through the iron gates of the Blackwood estate. They bypassed the security checkpoints, flashing medallions that gave them jurisdiction over every pack in the hemisphere.
Fennigan stood on the front steps of the Pack House, his arms crossed, his face a mask of stone. Behind him stood Jax, Damon, and Elana.
Leela was inside, watching through the peephole. She felt calm—unnaturally so.
The frantic buzzing in her head was gone, replaced by the steady, heavy thrum of the earth beneath the foundation."Let them in," Leela whispered, her voice sounding older than her years. "They aren't here for me. They're here for Her."
The meeting took place in the Great Hall. The Council consisted of five Elders,from five different packs—three men and two women. They didn't look like politicians today; they looked like predators who had smelled a rival.
Elder Thorpe, the High Councilor, stepped forward. He was a man with steel-gray hair and eyes that had seen empires fall. He didn't look at Fennigan. He looked past him, straight at Leela, who was standing by the fireplace.
"We want to know what that was, it couldn't have been the moon goddess. This is but a mear child, are we to believe she wants us to listen to child?" Thorpe rasped, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and ancient fear. "How did you get that power signature? It’s the same frequency as the Great Severing."
"We demand to know if it is true," Elder Mara hissed, her hands clenching into fists. "Is the Jailer back?"
Leela stepped forward. Her movements were stiff, mechanical. She didn't blink.
"She is not a Jailer," Leela said, but it wasn't Leela’s voice.
It was a voice like grinding tectonic plates. It was the sound of a hurricane compressed into a whisper.
Leela’s head tilted back. Her eyes flooded with blinding white light, erasing her irises completely. The shadows in the room stretched and warped, bowing toward her.
"Hello, Thorpe," the Goddess spoke through Leela’s mouth. "It has been four hundred years. Do you still miss the fire I took from your hands?"
The Council members—ancient Alphas who had survived centuries by being ruthless—flinched violently. Thorpe actually took a step back, his face draining of all color.
"Goddess," Thorpe whispered, his knees hitting the floor with a heavy thud. The other Elders followed, forced down by the crushing weight of her presence.
"You remember me now,good," the Goddess said, using Leela’s body to walk slowly toward the kneeling Elder. "You are the ones who broke the world. You are the ones who tried to chain the storms. I stripped you of your gifts to save the earth, and yet... you learned nothing."
"We kept the order!" Mara cried out, head bowed.
"You kept the power!" the Goddess roared, the windows rattling in their frames. "You starved the packs to feed your greed. You poisoned the soil I gave you."
The Goddess stopped directly in front of Thorpe. She placed Leela’s small hand on his trembling head.
"I am giving you one last chance, Thorpe," the Goddess announced, her voice dropping to a lethal calm. "I have sent this Vessel—this girl—to be the Bridge. She carries the cure."
"What... what must we do?" Thorpe asked, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Obey," the Goddess commanded. "Make peace. No more border wars. No more hoarding. If you lay down your weapons and listen to the Earth, she will teach you. Your crops will grow in the snow. Your water will run pure. You will have plenty."
She leaned down, whispering into Thorpe’s ear, the sound amplifying through the room like thunder."But if you go against her... if you try to cage her or use her for war..."
The Goddess tightened Leela's grip on his hair, forcing his head back to look into the blinding white eyes.
"I will not just strip your magic this time, Thorpe. I will strip your breath. I will turn your bones to dust before you hit the floor. You will receive no help. The earth will swallow your cities, and there will be no second chances. Do you understand me?"
Thorpe gulped, nodding frantically. "I understand. We submit."
The Goddess straightened up, addressing the room.
"This is not about power. It is about respect. Respect for the Packs. Respect for the Elementals."
She paused, her glowing eyes drifting to Fennigan, then back to the terrified Elders.
"And absolute respect to the Alpha and Luna."
With that final decree, the white light snapped off like a switch.
Leela gasped, stumbling forward as her own consciousness slammed back into her body. Fennigan caught her instantly, steadying her against his chest.
The room was silent. The Elders were still kneeling, shaking.
Leela blinked, rubbing her temples. She replayed the last words in her head, frowning.
"Wait..." Leela murmured, looking confused. She turned to look at Damon and Elana. "I don't understand that last part."
The Elders looked up, wary of her sudden shift in tone.
"What part?" Fennigan asked softly, checking her for fever.
"She said 'Respect the Alpha and Luna,'" Tara whispered loudly. "But Elana was an Alpha before she married Damon. That’s how Damon became an Alpha. So technically, you're both Alphas. So shouldn't she have said 'Respect the Alphas'?"
She looked at Damon. "Or did she mean you and Elana specifically? Because you guys are technically retired, right? So does the respect transfer?"
Damon put a hand over his mouth to hide a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Elana smiled, shaking her head.
The Council members looked bewildered. The terrifying deity was gone, replaced by a teenager debating pack hierarchy semantics.
Fennigan turned Leela to face him. He looked down at her, his eyes shining with adoration and amusement."I don't think she meant my parents, Stormy," Fennigan said gently.
Leela blinked. "She didn't?"
"No," Fennigan said. "I think she meant the current Alpha. And his mate."
Leela stared at him. She pointed a finger at her own chest. "Me?"
"You," Fennigan confirmed. "You are the Luna she was talking about. You are the one they have to respect."
Leela looked at the terrifying Council of Elders—who were still on their knees—then back at Fennigan. "Oh."
Fennigan grinned. He looked at the Elders, his expression making it clear that the "Respect" clause was non-negotiable
.
"And since the Moon Goddess herself has just clarified our relationship status to the highest court in the land," Fennigan said, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, "I think we need to start planning."
"Planning what?" Leela asked.
Fennigan beamed, a possessive, triumphant smile.
"The Marking Ceremony. I want a big one. I want everyone to know exactly whose bite is on your neck."