Eighty Eight: Alpha of Alphas

Eighty Eight: Alpha of Alphas
Ronald's POV

The chamber reeked of blood, smoke, and fear. Half the Elders were on their knees, the other half clutching their broken staffs like they could still control what just happened.

Mara stood in the center of it all, glowing, alive, untouchable. Her eyes weren’t human anymore. Silver burned in them like fire caught in moonlight.

No one dared move. Not even me.

Then one of the Elders, the thin one with the scarred cheek, whispered hoarsely, “The Silverfang… it’s true.”

Another spat on the ground. “Blasphemy. That power was buried for a reason.”

Mara’s gaze lifted, cold and calm. “Then maybe it shouldn’t have been.”

Her voice carried, not loud, but strong enough that every man in the room felt it settle deep in their bones.

Even my wolf bowed his head inside me.

I took a step closer, still catching my breath. The power coming off her was overwhelming,  a mix of wild magic and wolf instinct that made my skin hum.

“Ronald,” Lucas muttered beside me, eyes darting between us and the Elders. “You can’t just stand there. They’ll..”

“I’m not standing,” I said quietly. “I’m watching.”

Because in that moment, I saw her, not as the girl they tried to break, not even as the woman who defied them all…

But as something greater. Something the world hadn’t seen in centuries.

And she was mine.

One Elder gathered enough courage to point a shaking finger at her. “You’ve cursed us all! That mark, it’s the Blood Moon’s omen!”

Mara’s jaw clenched, but before she could speak, I stepped forward.

“Watch your mouth.”

My voice dropped, low and steady, the kind that made men think twice before speaking again.

The Elder sneered. “You defend her? You, Alpha of the Redfangs, dare stand for a witch?”

I smiled, slow, dangerous. “No. I stand for my mate.”

A murmur spread through the room like a wildfire.

The words hung heavy, cutting through the air sharper than any blade.

Mara turned to me, eyes wide, chest rising fast. “Ronald…” she whispered.

I reached for her hand, not caring who saw. “I’m done hiding what we are.”

Her fingers trembled in mine. “They’ll come for you too.”

“Then let them.”

I faced the Elders, shoulders squared. “You wanted an Alpha to obey your council. You got one who doesn’t kneel.” I paused, my voice rough with truth. “She is my mate. My equal. My Alpha.”

The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.

Then came the uproar, shouting, snapping, snarling.

Some Elders fell back in shock; others stepped forward, furious, their robes sweeping the blood-soaked floor.

“She cannot lead!” one barked.

“She is an abomination!” another yelled.

“She carries death in her veins!”

Mara didn’t flinch. “Then maybe death should start with those who earned it.”

Her words cut through the chaos, calm but sharp as silver.

The glow in her eyes flared again, and the torches flickered, bending toward her like the flames themselves bowed.

Lucas muttered, “Mother of moons…” under his breath.

One of the loyalists, a tall Alpha from the southern clans, stepped forward, his voice uncertain. “If the Silverfang has returned… then the old laws apply.”

“The old laws are gone!” the Head Elder snapped, his eyes wild. He slammed his staff into the ground, and the crack echoed through the hall. “This is not rebirth. This is the beginning of ruin.”

Mara met his stare. “You fear what you can’t control.”

He bared his teeth. “I fear what destroys everything it touches.”

Ronald’s wolf snapped in my chest. I took a step closer to him, every muscle tight. “Say that again.”

“Your mate is the Blood Moon’s curse,” the Elder hissed. “She carries the prophecy in her blood, the one that ends us all.”

My hands curled into fists. “You think the end’s coming because of her?” I tilted my head, my voice dropping. “Then maybe the wrong ones have been in charge.”

He sneered. “You protect her because she bewitched you.”

I laughed, cold. “No spell can make me love her. That’s all for me.”

Mara’s breath hitched beside me. Her hand tightened around mine, and that tiny motion steadied everything in me.

She looked at the room, her voice steady but full of quiet fire. “You speak of curses and fate, but what if the Blood Moon didn’t come to end the world?”

She took a slow step forward. “What if it came to fix it?”

Her words made the chamber go still. Even the crackling torches seemed to pause.

The Head Elder shook his head, trembling with rage. “You dare twist prophecy to your favor?”

“I dare to live it,” she said softly.

He raised his staff again, dark runes burning across its surface. “Then you leave us no choice.”

Ronald’s wolf howled inside him. I moved before I thought, my hand shooting out to block him. “Touch her again, and I’ll end you myself.”

“You think you can fight the Council alone?” he spat.

“Not alone.” I glanced around, eyes sweeping over the guards and Alphas lining the hall, men who had followed orders all their lives. “Look around. Half of them already know the truth. They’ve seen what she is.”

One of the younger warriors,  a man from the Nightclaw pack, stepped forward slowly. “I saw her heal a dying wolf with her hands,” he said quietly. “That’s not a curse.”

Another followed, kneeling. “She freed us from the rune circle. The Council would’ve let us burn.”

And then another. And another. One by one, warriors from different packs dropped to one knee, heads bowed to Mara.

The sight made my throat tighten.

The Head Elder’s face twisted in fury. “Fools! She will bring the Blood Moon War! You kneel to your own doom!”

I turned to him, eyes burning. “No,” I said, voice low but carrying. “They kneel to their Alpha.”

Mara’s breath shook. “Ronald…”

I looked at her. “They see you now. The way I always did.”

Her lips parted, her voice barely a whisper. “You’ll make enemies doing this.”

I smiled faintly. “Then we’ll make them regret it.”

The Head Elder let out a sound between a growl and a scream. “You don’t understand what you’ve done, boy! The Blood Moon Prophecy speaks of the Silverfang reborn under the crimson sky, a wolf whose power will break the balance and drown the world in fire!”

His words thundered through the chamber.

Mara’s glow dimmed slightly, her expression hardening. “So that’s why you hunted my family.”

“Yes,” he spat. “Because your blood is the prophecy. And your death..” his staff flared with light.. “is the only way to stop it.”

Ronald’s wolf tore through his chest, rage snapping loose. I stepped forward, teeth bared, voice a snarl.

“Then you’ll have to go through me.”

The floor shook. The moonlight above turned red. The prophecy’s words hung in the air like a curse come alive.

And somewhere in that silence, I felt it, the bond between us pulsing, fierce and unbreakable.

If this was the prophecy… then maybe we were never meant to stop it.

Maybe we were meant to be it.