Chapter 27 Chapter 27

Chapter 27 Chapter 27
Chapter 27: The Crowd Snaps, He Snaps

~ Ignas’s POV
They didn't listen.
Standing beside Lykon, I could feel the anger starting to rise from his body like steam. His fists were clenched at his sides, the veins in his arms looking like they could tear through his skin any second. But still, he said nothing. Not yet.
The crowd of pack members gathered in front of us, mumbling, shooting us hateful glances when they thought I wasn't looking. They thought I was blind to their bitterness. I wasn't.
"You too have to go!" the elder snarled again, spitting his words like poison.
Lykon didn’t flinch. He stood there silently, watching all of them like a wolf sizing up its prey. But I saw it. I knew him, not completely, but enough to notice the way his jaw was tight, the way his hands curled into fists at his sides. He was close to snapping. Too damn close.
"You think you're something because the Alpha looks at you?" another man said, stepping out from the crowd. His voice was thick with jealousy and hatred.
I recognized him. Brant. A nobody. Always whining about promotions, always sulking when he didn't get what he wanted. Now he saw a chance to punch down.
"You think you can strut around, throwing your weight?" Brant barked, moving closer. "You’re not even whole. You’re just a broken weak Alpha. You are like a lost dog clinging to the Alpha's skirts."
Lykon's head tilted slightly, like he couldn’t believe what he just heard. The golden in his eyes sharpened.
"Back off, Brant," Roy warned, stepping foward,it didn’t seem like his voice went through. The crowd was too wild now. They were being too stupid and damn if I didn't hate stupidity.
Another pack member laughed, a harsh broken sound. "He can't even remember his own name half the time. He should be locked up, not advising us!"
"He's a burden!" someone shouted from the back.
"A weakling!"
Weak.
That word. That word earned a warning growl from Lykon but they didn't notice it. They were too caught up in their hate and the need to hurt him.
"Maybe the Alpha's lonely." Brant sneered. A cold laugh followed. "Maybe she needs someone to keep her bed warm. And who better than a lost, brainless mutt?"
Brent. I was livid. His words wasn't just to disrespect Lykon, but to disrespect me.
Lykon moved so fast even I barely caught it. One second he was standing there, the next he lunged forward, grabbing Brant by the front of his shirt.
The whole courtyard gasped.
The thing about Lykon, was that he could endure any other forms of insult or that, but any disrespect directed at me, any person that hurt me, I've noticed he hunted them without mercy. He was usually unhinged and it was overwhelming.
Brant tried to speak as he was pinned to the ground. He tried to fight, but Lykon didn’t give him a chance or a space to. He slammed him down onto the stone floor so hard the sound cracked through the air. Then he punched him. Once. Twice. Over and over and over again. He gave hard, brutal punches with his fists.
The kind of punches that made bone snap under skin. That was the sound that filled the air at that particular moment. It seemed time had stopped for every other person in the pack and only Lykon and Brant were the only ones living in the moment. Every punch Lykon landed on on Brant’s face was met with pained grunts and the snapping of bones.
Then, just like a remote was pressed to play, people screamed. Someone tried to move forward, but they stopped halfway when Lykon raised his head with a growl, his eyes glowing golden. No one wanted to get close.
"Lykon!" I shouted, but it was like he didn’t hear me. Or maybe he did and just didn’t care.
He kept hitting and hitting Blood sprayed from Brant’s nose and mouth. Brant was barely making noise now, just little choking sounds. His arms flailed weakly at first, then dropped.
Lykon grabbed Brant’s collar again, lifted him like he weighed nothing, and threw him a few feet across the courtyard. Brant hit the ground with a sick thud.
"Don't ever. Ever, disrespect her like that again!" He growled, looking around, pacing, his fists covered in blood. "Anybody else got something to say?"
No one moved.
Not even me. I was frozen to the ground, my heart thudding.
Lykon stood there, breathing hard, blood dripping from his knuckles. His chest heaved with rage. His golden eyes were wild and burning.
He looked… terrifying.
I wasn’t scared for Brant. No. I couldn’t even find pity in me for him. He asked for it. He poked the wrong wolf. Even me. He disrespected me without even thinking of the consequences. Without thinking of the sacrifices I had made for this pack. Without thinking about the fact that they wouldn't even cross Lykon if he was with his memories.
Lykon was the Alpha of one of the most powerful packs in the land for crying out loud! They were basically just asking for it, now look where it had landed them. Look what it caused.
Lykon scared me.
For the first time… he truly scared hell out of me.
This wasn’t just a hurt man defending himself. This was something else. Something primal and ancient and deadly. I had seen warriors break before. I had seen rage. But this? This was violence without a leash.
The crowd had shrunk back without even meaning to. They made a wide circle around Lykon now, like their bodies knew something their mouths hadn’t admitted yet.
He wasn't weak.
Not even close.
He was death wrapped in flesh, and for a moment, he forgot himself. He might have forgotten what he could do. He might have forgotten his memories, but his body never forgot. It never forgot the battles it fought. It never forgot how to put traitors or disrespect in their place.
It never forgot about violence.

Roy was the first to move.

"Everyone back to your houses!" he shouted, his voice was hard and sharp, but that tremble of shock still remained. "Now!"

No one argued. Not a single soul. They all just stared at Lykon one last time. Their eyes darted from the sharp glow his eyes down at the blood on his fists, then they rushed to scatter like frightened mice.

I stood there, frozen for a second longer. My heart was still racing hard inside my chest. I felt cold and hot at the same time.

I forced myself to move. I forced myself to breathe.

I was the Alpha. I couldn’t stand here like a stunned child.

I stepped forward, my voice calm but loud enough to cover the whole courtyard.

I cleared my throat.

"I’ll deal with the poisoned well," I said. "And Garith, too. Personally."

A few people shifted uncomfortably, but no one said anything.

"I understand," I continued, "that you are scared. That you feel betrayed. I understand your pain, I really do. I feel it too. You're like family to me and i have your best interest at heart. But know this—"

I looked around, catching as many eyes as I could.

"I have protected you before. I will continue to protect you. No matter what it costs me. You have seen that. You all know that. But I'm still reminding you. I will remind you, and you'll also see that.

The crowd was silent now. Completely silent.

"I’m sorry about the loss we suffered," I said, my voice thick. "I carry that weight. I do. And I promise you that this will never happen again."

"This is done. Go inside your houses. Lock your doors. Stay in your homes until you are told otherwise. Nobody should drink from that well. We would hold a ceremony for those that died from that water."

They moved faster at my voice.

I turned, catching a glimpse of Lykon. He was still standing there, blood dripping slowly from his knuckles, his chest heaving. His golden eyes had dulled a little, but they were still dangerous.

I looked away quickly. I couldn’t stare too long. I needed to steady myself first.

Satisfied enough, I finally turned to the elders standing stiffly at the back.

"Meeting office," I ordered. "Now."

They looked uneasy, but they obeyed. They always did when I used that tone.

I turned one last time to Lykon. Just a glance.

He stood there like a statue, broken and dangerous all at once. My chest squeezed painfully, but I forced my eyes away and walked toward the meeting building. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him storm away.



The meeting room was cold. The fire wasn’t lit yet, and the stone walls made the cold worse.

The elders sat around the long table, grumbling to each other under their breaths. I could hear pieces of their words.

I didn’t sit.

I stayed standing at the head of the table, my arms crossed over my chest.

They waited for me to speak. They always did.

"We’re going with Lykon’s idea," I said simply.

The reaction was instant. Murmurs. Loud and ugly ones.

One elder, Caldon, banged his fist on the table. "We cannot! He has no memory! He doesn’t even know what day it is!"

Another elder, Mara, shook her head, voice rising. "We can’t trust a broken mind with something so important!"

A third elder whose name was, Gannis, sneered, sitting up from his seat. "He’s just a stray wolf now. His instincts can’t be trusted. Even if we trust him, what if he has ill intentions for this pack? You can never tell!"

I let them talk. I waited until their voices tangled into one ugly mess. It messed with my brain.

Then I slammed my hand down on the table, hard enough to make the wood creak.

Silence.

"I didn’t ask for your approval," I said, my voice calm but sharper than steel. "I’m telling you. We’re doing it."

They glared at me. Some looked like they wanted to argue again. Some just looked scared.

I took a breath. And then I said what needed to be said.

"You think because he lost his memories, he is useless," I said. "You think because he doesn’t remember names or dates, he can’t think for himself. You’re wrong."

They shifted in their seats, their posture uneasy, their eyes darting around everywhere but mine.

"He might have forgotten his past," I continued, "but he hasn’t forgotten who he is."

Caldon scowled. "And who exactly is he, Alpha?"

I looked around the room, meeting every pair of eyes of every elder here.

"If you’ve forgotten," I said, voice low, "he was the Alpha-to-be of the Sun Pack. One of the most powerful packs to ever exist."

Some elders frowned. Some gasped quietly. They knew that. I didn’t need to tell them. They know everything. Yet they all decide to be antagonistic to Lykon, every single time.

"And if you must know," I added, my heart pounding, "he is my second mate."

Dead silence fell upon the room and cold air from nowhere bl
ew, giving even me the chills.

You could have heard a feather fall.

Their eyes widened, some of them were leaning forward like they didn’t believe what they heard.

Then the words broke out of someone’s mouth, full of disbelief and fear.

"He is your mate?”