Chapter 22 Meeting With The Elders
CHAPTER 22: Meeting With The Elders
Seraphine's POV
The bells kept screaming sharply, loudly and angry.
My heart dropped straight to my stomach. Those weren’t celebration bells. Those were war bells.
“Damn it,” Darius muttered. “Not again.”
He was already moving, climbing the stone steps to the lookout tower. I followed without thinking, my skirts forgotten, my pulse pounding in my ears.
When I reached the high ground, my breath caught. The forest edge was in chaos. Seven. I counted again to be sure.
Seven massive shapes burst out from the trees, dark and twisted, moving too fast, too wrong. Their eyes glowed like dying embers. Their claws tore through the ground as if the earth itself feared them.
Grimhowls. The same beasts. The same monsters that had nearly killed me and Maya by the stream.
My fingers curled into fists.
“So they’re back,” I whispered.
Below us, the packhouse exploded into motion.
Lycans poured into the courtyard, shouting orders, grabbing weapons, shifting partially as they ran. The air buzzed with panic and fury.
Then I saw him.
Aric stood at the center of it all, calm and deadly, his voice cutting through the chaos.
“You... east flank!”
“You... form a line, now!”
“I want our strongest hunters with me. No heroes. No stupidity.”
Typical.
Even in war, he sounded like an angry king scolding children.
I took a step forward.
“I’m going,” I said.
Darius grabbed my arm.
“You’re not.”
“I can fight,” I snapped.
“And that’s exactly why you’re not going,” he said. “Aric will tear the place apart if anything happens to you.”
I clenched my jaw. He wasn’t wrong.
Aric already suspected too much. One wrong move and my cover would be ash.
The guards assigned to me appeared instantly, like shadows.
“My lady,” one said firmly, “this way.”
I hated it. I hated standing still. But I nodded.
“Fine,” I muttered. “Let’s go.”
They rushed me into the packhouse, straight through the halls, past startled servants and elders, until we reached Aric’s quarters.
The door slammed shut behind me. Locked. Two guards stood outside.
I stared at the door like I might burn a hole through it.
“So this is how I die,” I muttered. “Locked in a room while monsters eat everyone.”
I paced. Back and forth. Back and forth. Minutes dragged like hours. Every distant roar made my heart jump. Every shout sent chills down my spine.
I imagined Aric out there... bloodied, furious, fighting like the monster everyone thought he was. And for reasons I hated, I prayed. Just a little.
When the door finally opened, I spun around so fast I nearly tripped.
Aric stepped inside. He looked like war.
Blood splattered his armor. Dirt streaked his face. His hair was loose, wild. His chest rose and fell steadily... not hurt, but clearly tested.
My breath rushed out of me.
“You’re alive,” I said.
He raised a brow.
“Disappointed?”
“No,” I snapped. “Relieved. Don’t get ideas.”
He shut the door behind him.
“You saw them,” he said quietly. “Didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I answered. “Seven of them.”
His jaw tightened.
“That’s the most we’ve seen at once.”
“So now you believe me,” I said. “Or do you still think I imagined them?”
“I never said that,” he replied.
I scoffed.
“You implied it.”
He stepped closer.
“Now you’ve seen what my kingdom faces.”
I crossed my arms.
“And now you know humans aren’t lying about monsters.”
“And yet,” he said, voice sharp, “your people still blame us for every attack.”
I hesitated.
“For once,” I admitted, “I believe you.”
That got his attention.
“If humans knew the truth,” I said carefully, “maybe we could stop the war before it starts again.”
“You want to go back?” he asked slowly.
“Yes,” I said. “Let me carry the message. Let me tell them the Grimhowls are real.”
He laughed. It wasn’t warm. It wasn’t kind. It was sharp and bitter.
“You think I’m a fool?” he said. “You were sent here to kill me.”
My stomach sank.
“And now,” he continued, “you expect me to let you walk back home with information that could be used against us?”
“So I’m your prisoner,” I said flatly.
He met my eyes.
“Consider yourself one.”
I swallowed my anger. Fine.
Later that evening, they dragged me into the council chamber.
Elders filled the room. Old, scarred, sharp-eyed. Beta Caspian stood near the table, arms crossed, looking exhausted.
Darius stood off to the side.
Silent.
Aric took his seat at the head. The room buzzed with voices.
“They’re breaking through the forest wards.”
“Our patrol routes are compromised.”
“This isn’t random.”
“Someone knows our defenses.”
Caspian rubbed his temples slowly, like the headache had been building for hours.
“The Grimhowls shouldn’t even know where we are,” he said, his voice tight with frustration.
“Yet they do,” one of the elders snapped back, slamming his palm lightly on the arm of his chair. “And they keep coming.”
I leaned back in my seat, folding my arms, letting them talk. And talk. And talk.
Voices overlapped. Accusations flew. No answers came.
Five long minutes dragged by. Then ten. Nothing useful was said.
I sighed loudly and rolled my eyes. I couldn’t help it anymore.
“Are you all serious right now?” I blurted out.
The room went dead silent. Every single head turned toward me at once.
Aric’s gaze sharpened, his jaw tightening.
“Watch your tone,” he warned.
I met his eyes without flinching.
“No,” I said flatly. “You’re all missing the obvious.”
Caspian frowned, confusion flickering across his face.
“And what exactly would that be?”
I pushed my chair back and stood, the scrape echoing in the quiet room.
“Someone is helping them.”
The air seemed to freeze. For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Then an elder scoffed.
“That’s ridiculous.”
I turned toward him slowly.
“Is it?” I shot back. “These creatures aren’t smart enough to break wards on their own. They don’t plan. They don’t coordinate.”
I gestured around the room.
“Yet they show up at the right places. At the right times. They avoid traps. They hit weak points.”
A murmur spread through the council.
“They’re being led,” I continued, my voice steady now. “Someone is opening paths for them. Someone on the inside…”