Chapter 24 Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Fight Between Elders
~ Ignas’s POV
I wiped my face with the sleeve of my coat, pulling myself together as the wind blew through the garden, brushing my cheeks with a chill. My hands were cold. My chest still ached. But I stood anyway, my spine straightening like it remembered how to hold my body and my head raised. I had led through worse. And though my heart felt like a crumbling ruin, I still had a pack. I still had duties.
By the time I left the garden, my fingers were numb and my face was dry. Whatever storm had passed inside me had calmed, but the pain still lingered like wounds on my skin. I wasn’t whole or complete. I hadn’t been for a long time, but I was standing, and sometimes that had to be enough.
My boots echoed on the ground as I walked slowly, but my legs felt heavy. I adjusted my coat, brushed the grass off my skirt, and straightened my spine.
I was Alpha. I couldn’t afford to look like a ghost. I couldn’t afford to look weak.
The Pack Witch had called a gathering yesterday, but I was still so sick to leave the bed, so it was postponed till today. I didn’t ask why she had called for the meeting, I just made my way toward the hut tucked at the edge of the grounds. Smoke curled from the chimney, fragrant with herbs and something stronger filled the air.
When I stepped inside, the heat of the steam hit me first. It was warm, thick, with a sharpness of mint and rosemary in the air. The Pack Witch stood with her hands soaked in a basin of glowing water, her lips moving silently. The elders were already seated around the long wooden table. I nodded once and took my place at the head. All of them stood when I entered. Not out of habit, but respect.
I caught the tension in the room immediately.
Beta Renna’s face was taut with displeasure, and her arms were crossed tightly. Elder Marlo’s jaw ticked, and the rest of the circle exchanged uneasy glances. Something had happened.
“What’s the issue?” I asked, voice even.
Renna scoffed. “They’re arguing about the storage.”
I blinked. “The storage?”
Elder Marlo huffed. “Because someone thought it wise to reorganize the entire food supply without consulting the council.”
Renna turned sharply. “Because it was rotting, Marlo! We lost half the dried meat from the winter prep because you wanted to ‘preserve traditions’ instead of preserving food.”
“I was following protocol—”
“No, you were being stubborn.”
“And you’re being disrespectful!”
Their voices rose, and then others joined, with some defending Renna, others standing by Marlo. The Pack Witch sighed, withdrawing her glowing hands. “This is not what the spirits meant when they said we must realign.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
They were fighting over food storage. Territory leaders who had once commanded armies were now red in the face because dried venison had been moved into a different building.
But I understood. It wasn’t really about food. Not entirely.
Winter had been harsh. The rogue attacks hadn’t stopped. We had injuries, unrest, and Lykon in recovery. People were cracking at the seams, and this? This was just the crack that let everything pour out.
“Enough,” I said, voice low, but carrying. It was loud enough for them to hear.
But they didn’t hear me, it seemed.
Renna stood up so fast her chair clattered back. “You let your pride rot our stores, and now you want to scold me for acting!”
“You went behind the council—”
“And you let pups go hungry last week!”
Elder Marlo surged to his feet. His hand struck the table. “Say that again.”
“Pups went hungry because of you.”
And that was it. The breaking point.
He lunged. Renna met him halfway. The table tipped as they collided, their limbs tangling and snarled insults spilled the air. Someone shouted. Chairs crashed to the ground. The Pack Witch flung her arms wide, trying to calm the magic in the air before it lashed out.
I didn’t move.
I watched.
Because in that moment, I saw what I needed to see.
This wasn’t just about food.
This was grief. This was fear. This was the heaviness of holding on too long, of refusing to bend with the wind, and finally snapping.
Marlo pinned Renna to the ground, but she twisted, flipping him over with practiced ease. She bared her teeth. He growled like he was young again.
And then I moved.
I stepped forward, catching Renna by the back of her collar and yanking her up with more strength than finesse. Marlo struggled to rise, and I placed my boot on his chest, not hard, but just firm.
“Stop!” I growl, my Alpha voice surfacing without me intending to.
They froze for a moment.
The silence after was deafening. Someone coughed. The Pack Witch muttered a quiet blessing.
I looked between them.
“I know you're tired,” I said quietly. “We all are. But don’t tear each other apart because it’s easier than admitting that.”
Renna’s breath still heaved. Her lip bled where it had split against the floor. Marlo’s hair had come undone, and his pride looked more bruised than his ribs.
“Do we need a new system?” I asked. “Fine. Let’s make one. Together.”
No one spoke.
“Everyone’s doing what they can. That includes you, Renna. And you, Marlo. But if you throw punches at each other when you should be lifting this pack, then you become the problem.”
I released my boot from Marlo’s chest and offered him a hand.
He hesitated.
Then he took it.
Renna didn’t apologize, but she nodded her head to him. That was enough for now.
I turned to the Pack Witch. “Burn the old schedule. We’ll start fresh. From the ground up.”
Her smile was small, but real. “As it should be.”
I stepped outside into the colder air again. The sky was still clouded, and the garden beyond the hut stood quiet. The ghosts didn’t speak. But I felt lighter.
That was until I heard distant screams
coming from the pack house.
My heart skipped and I bolted through the air, shifting into my wolf mid stride.