Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Dante

The Council Hall loomed ahead, its stone facade austere and imposing. As we pulled up to the entrance, I saw the crowds gathered—pack members from across the territory, reporters from wolf news networks, curious onlookers drawn by scandal and drama.

Elena started fussing, picking up on the tension radiating from both Sera and me.

"She knows something's wrong," Sera said, trying to soothe her.

"She's fine. Just hungry or tired." I kept my eyes on the crowd, scanning for threats, for Garrett's face, for any sign of Vaughn.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Dismiss her feelings. She's connected to us through the bond—she can sense our emotions." Sera's voice had an edge I wasn't used to hearing. "You keep saying you understand true mate children are different, but then you treat her like any normal baby."

"I'm trying to keep us alive, Sera. Forgive me if I'm not focused on developmental psychology right now."

"Keeping us alive includes keeping her calm. A crying baby during the hearing makes us look unstable and unprepared."

She was right, but I didn't appreciate the tone. "Then maybe you should focus on keeping her calm instead of criticizing how I'm handling the security situation."

Sera's eyes flashed. "Maybe if you'd told me your plan beyond 'refuse to play by their rules,' I'd feel more confident about keeping her calm."

"My plan is to adapt to whatever happens. You can't script something like this."

"You can prepare. You can think through scenarios. You can actually communicate with your mate instead of making unilateral decisions and expecting me to just follow along." Sera shifted Elena to her other shoulder, her movements sharp with frustration. "I gave birth alone yesterday, Dante. Made decisions about the suppressant, about accelerating the pregnancy, about everything. You said you understood, said you supported me. But the moment we're in your element—pack politics and strategy—you shut me out completely."

"I'm not shutting you out. I'm trying to protect you."

"I don't need protection. I need partnership." Sera lowered her voice as Captain Morris approached the vehicle. "We'll discuss this later."

"There might not be a later if—"

"Then we'll die arguing, I guess." She turned away from me, focusing entirely on Elena.

The bond between us felt strained, pulled tight by stress and fear and the weight of everything at stake. I wanted to reach for her, apologize, explain that my gruff responses came from terror not dismissal. But Captain Morris was opening the door, and there was no time.

We entered the Council Hall through a side entrance, avoiding the main crowd. Adrian was waiting inside with twenty warriors positioned throughout the building. He nodded at me, and I nodded back, our earlier conversation still fresh.

"Bond-readers are already in the chamber," he said. "Elder Miriam is presiding, with the full Council present. Margaret Hayes arrived thirty minutes ago with her own advisors."

"Any sign of Garrett?" I asked.

"None. It's like he vanished." Adrian's expression was troubled. "I have wolves searching his known locations, but so far nothing."

Elder Thomas appeared from a doorway. "They're ready for you. The chamber is full—every seat taken, standing room only. This is the biggest hearing the Council's held in decades."

Sera took a breath, steadying herself. Elena had quieted in her arms, watching everything with those unnaturally alert eyes. For a moment, looking at my mate and daughter together, I felt the full weight of what I stood to lose.

"Sera," I said quietly. "I'm sorry. You're right—I've been shutting you out. Making decisions without consulting you because I'm terrified and that's how I've always handled fear. Alone."

She looked at me, some of the tension easing from her shoulders. "I'm terrified too. But we're stronger together than apart. That's what the true mate bond means."

"I know. And after this is over, I'll be better. I'll communicate, include you in everything, treat you like the partner you deserve to be treated as." I touched her face gently. "But right now, I need you to trust that I know how to navigate this room full of political predators. Can you do that?"

"Can you trust that I know how to protect our daughter while you're doing it?" she countered.

"Yes."

"Then we have a deal." She managed a small smile. "Let's go show them what a true mate family looks like when cornered."

The chamber doors opened, and we walked in together.

The room erupted in whispers and stares. Hundreds of wolves packed into tiered seating, all eyes fixed on us as we made our way to the center platform where petitioners stood during hearings. The Council sat in their elevated positions, twelve faces ranging from sympathetic to hostile.

Margaret Hayes sat in the front row, her eyes locked on Elena with that same hungry expression from yesterday. Beside her sat several wolves I recognized as Clearwater Pack elders, all wearing matching expressions of righteous certainty.

Elder Miriam called the chamber to order, her voice cutting through the noise. "We are here to address the petition brought by Margaret Hayes of Clearwater Pack regarding custody and parentage of the infant known as Elena. All parties will have opportunity to present evidence and testimony. We will conduct this proceeding with dignity and respect for pack law."

She outlined the format—opening statements, evidence presentation, witness testimony, closing arguments. Standard procedure that would take hours and give Garrett plenty of time to position his attack.

I caught Adrian's eye and gestured subtly. He nodded and repositioned his warriors, tightening the perimeter.

Margaret stood for her opening statement, and I felt Sera tense beside me. Through the bond, I sent calm and strength, trying to shore up her confidence.

"Council members, pack leaders, witnesses gathered here today," Margaret began, her voice trembling with emotion. "I stand before you as a grieving mother who has lost her only son. Marcus Hayes was a good man, a strong Alpha, taken from us too soon. But he left behind one precious gift—his child, his heir, his legacy."

She gestured toward Elena. "That baby represents everything my son worked for, everything he hoped to achieve. And she is being kept from me by wolves who have manipulated pack law and sacred bonds for their own gain."

"That's not true," Sera said, her voice clear and firm.

Elder Miriam raised a hand. "You'll have your turn, Sera. Let Mrs. Hayes finish."

Margaret continued, painting a picture of Marcus as a devoted husband betrayed by a manipulative wife who seduced his uncle for status and security. She presented the altered medical records as evidence, brought forward the witness who claimed to have administered fertility treatments.

With each word, I felt the room's sympathy shifting toward her. She was good at this—playing the victim, appealing to emotion, creating a narrative that made her seem noble and us seem calculating.

When she finished, it was our turn. Sera started to stand, but I touched her arm.

"Let me," I said quietly.

"Dante, we agreed—"

"I know. But trust me on this." I stood before she could argue further, immediately aware that I'd just broken the promise I'd made five minutes ago about partnership.

Through the bond, I felt her flash of anger and hurt. But there was no time to address it. I had to control this narrative before Margaret's version became truth in the minds of everyone watching.

"Council members," I began, my voice carrying authority that came from twenty-five years of leadership. "You've heard an emotional appeal based on grief and loss. Now let me present you with facts."

I laid out the timeline—meeting Sera during my rut, the immediate true mate bond, the accelerated pregnancy characteristic of true mate pairings. I presented Maya's evidence of altered medical records, explained the discrepancies between Sarah's original report and the amended version.

"Margaret Hayes claims to be protecting her grandchild," I said. "But the child she's trying to claim isn't her grandchild at all. We have bond-readers prepared to testify that Elena carries both my bond signature and Sera's, woven together in a pattern that only occurs in true mate offspring."

"Bond signatures can be manipulated," one of the Council members interrupted. "Especially by powerful Alphas with resources and motivation."

"Not by me. I've never studied bond manipulation, never had reason to learn it." I looked directly at the Council member who'd spoken. "But I'll submit to examination by your bond-readers right now if you question my integrity."

The challenge hung in the air. Questioning an Alpha's integrity was serious, and calling for immediate examination put pressure on them to either back down or commit to scrutiny.

Elder Miriam intervened. "That won't be necessary. We trust Alpha Blackwood's word. However, the question of paternity cannot be resolved by bond-reading alone. We require genetic testing, which is still pending."

"Then we wait for the testing," I said. "But in the meantime, Elena stays with her actual parents, not with someone claiming grandparent rights based on falsified evidence."

Margaret stood, her face red with anger. "Those records aren't falsified! How dare you accuse me of—"

An explosion rocked the building.

The force threw me sideways, my ears ringing from the blast. Through the chaos and screaming, my first thought was Sera and Elena.

I found them on the ground, Sera curled protectively around our daughter. Elena was crying—a good sign, meant she was alive and breathing.

Smoke filled the chamber. Wolves were running, shouting, trying to find exits. The warriors Adrian had positioned were moving toward us, forming a protective barrier.

Another explosion, this one closer. The wall behind the Council seats crumbled, and through the opening stepped a figure I recognized.

Garrett. Older, frailer than I remembered, but his eyes burned with fanatic certainty.

And behind him, Vaughn. Professional, cold, carrying weapons designed to kill wolves quickly and efficiently.

"Dante Blackwood," Garrett called out, his voice carrying over the chaos. "You've ruled long enough. Time to make way for a better future."

He raised his hand, and more wolves poured through the broken wall. Not pack warriors—mercenaries, rogues, wolves loyal only to money.

Adrian and our warriors engaged them immediately, the chamber transforming into a battlefield in seconds.

I shifted, my wolf form surging forward to put myself between the attackers and my family. Through the bond, I felt Sera's terror and determination as she clutched Elena and searched for cover.

This was it. The attack Garrett had planned, the moment of maximum vulnerability.

But he'd made one crucial mistake.

He'd threatened my family.

And there was nothing—no law, no protocol, no force in this world—that would stop me from destroying anyone who tried to harm them.

I launched myself at Garrett, ready to end this once and for all.