Chapter 12

The Council’s Wrath

POV: Darius

The stone doors slammed shut behind me with a finality that echoed down the marble corridor. I didn’t flinch, but the weight of what was coming pressed against my chest like a fist.

My shoulder still ached from the fight, but I kept my spine straight, jaw locked. I was refused to appear weak to them.The council chamber was colder than usual. Not just in temperature, but in tension. All twelve elders were seated in their crescent formation—robes like dark as shadows, eyes like daggers.

“Alpha Darius,” Elder Maleic said, voice sharp, unforgiving. “You’ve been summoned to account for your failures.”

I didn’t bow. Didn’t show weakness. “Then let’s begin.”

Elder Yvonne raised a thin brow. “Where is the girl?”

My jaw ticked. “She’s not a girl. She’s Alice. And she’s more than any of us understand.”

That earned a ripple of disapproval. Elder Bram leaned forward, grey beard twitching with irritation. “You lost her. And you let Kael—the rogue immortal Alpha—take her.”

Hearing this accusation made me grit my teeth in annoyance. What's with them making up assumptions when they weren't even there?

“I didn’t let him do anything,” I snapped. “We were ambushed. I fought to protect her—”

“And you failed,” Elder Maleic cut in.

The accusation landed like a slap. I stepped forward, ignoring the warning growls that rumbled around me.“She has power,” I said. “Real power. I saw it. She held off Astrid. She survived things no wolf should. If we could just bring her in peacefully—”

“Peacefully?” Elder Yvonne barked a humorless laugh. “She’s bonded to Kael. She’s a threat. And you… you’re compromised.”

I didn't know why they're adamant about seeing beyond their noses. Our pack was in trouble yet they act like we have all the time in the world.“She’s not our enemy,” I said, louder now. “She is the key our salvation.”

“To what? Chaos?” Maleic stood, his voice rising. “You were entrusted with her. And now she’s roaming the wilds with a psychopath.”

I rolled my eyes at the thought that Kael could pose a problem. Immortal wolf or not I was sure I could take him.

“Kael’s not the threat Astrid is,” I growled. “And if you’d stop clinging to your fear long enough to open your eyes, maybe you’d see it.”

Yvonne stood too. “You dare speak against this council?”

“I dare speak the truth.”

Silence fell, thick and heavy. The kind of silence that came before war or exile. I could feel it in my bones—they were done listening.“Then hear this,” Bram said quietly. “By order of the council, Alice is to be captured… or eliminated.”

“No,” I said instantly.

She’s dangerous.”

She’s my soul mate.”

“She’s corrupted.”

“She’s our salvation.”

Malric’s face twisted. “Enough!”

The chamber shook with his voice, ancient power pulsing in the air. I held my ground.

“She’s bonded to him,” Yvonne hissed. “She’s has been compromised.”“You think I don’t know that?” I snapped. “You think I don’t feel the bond slipping between us every damn second she’s away? But that doesn’t mean she’s beyond saving.”

“Saving?” Bram shook his head. “She isn’t some lost pup, Darius. She’s already chosen her path.”

“Then I’ll walk it with her,” I muttered. “Even if it leads through fire.”

More silence. Then Malric’s gaze narrowed. “You’re too close to this. Too emotional. This is bigger than your heart.”

I know exactly how big this is,” I said, voice low. “That’s why I’m telling you—if you force this, if you try to hunt her like prey, you’ll turn her into the very monster you fear.”

Yvonne spat, “And what will you do? Hide her? Protect her like a traitor?”“If I must.”A gasp rose from one of the lower elders. The others froze.“You’d defy your own council?”“If they order her death? Yes.”

Bram rose slowly, like a storm cloud building. “Then you're on the edge of treason.”

Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe I’m the only one who still remembers what we swore to protect. Not just territory. Not just laws. But our people. Our future.”

Yvonne’s hands clenched at her sides. “And you think she is that future?”

I hesitated.

“She could be.”

There it was. The line drawn.

The council murmured, debating among themselves. I tuned it out. My focus shifted inward, to the memory of our meeting. The way she’d looked at me, uncertain but curious.

The way my wolf stirred when she was near. And the way it all slipped further out of reach every moment Kael kept her from me.

I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t.

Elder Maleic turned back to me. “You’re dismissed.”

I didn’t thank them. I just turned and walked out, steps echoing like a countdown.Outside, the night air hit me in the face like ice. I barely noticed. My fists curled at my sides as I stalked toward the edge of the compound.

“Darius.”

I turned. Caleb—my beta—stood waiting in the shadows. His expression was tight, uncertain.“You heard?”

“They want her dead,” he said. “You going to follow that order?”

“No.”“Then what now?”

I glanced past him, toward the forest. The same woods where I’d tried to protect her. Where I’d promised she was safe. A promise I’d broken.

“We find her,” I said. “Before they do.”

He didn’t argue. “And Kael?”

My jaw clenched. “We deal with him if we must. But Alice comes first.”

Caleb gave a sharp nod. “I’ll rally the scouts. Quietly.”“Thank you.”As he turned, I stopped him. “And Caleb?”He looked back.

“No word of this reaches the council. Not until I say so.”

“Understood.”

I watched him disappear into the dark. The wind whispered through the trees, carrying with it the scent I missed more than I’d ever admit aloud—lavender and storm.

Alice

I closed my eyes, inhaled deep.

“I’m coming for you,” I murmured. “And this time, I won’t let go.”

But even as I said the words, doubt twisted inside me like a knife.

Because I wasn’t just defying the council.

I was defying fate.

And I wasn’t sure I could win. But I damn well plan on trying. For myself and for my pack.