Book 5: Chapter 53 – The Shifter Council Intervenes

Book 5: Chapter 53 – The Shifter Council Intervenes
Cerelia’s POV 

The door unlocked, and footsteps echoed inside my room. My eyes flew open and all the drowsiness left me instantly. I sat up and looked around to check. To my immense horror, it was my grandpa, followed by Alpha Alexios and the members of the Shifter Council. 

“There she is, safe and sound. Does she look tortured?” growled my grandpa. 

I sprang from the bed and rushed towards Alpha Alexios’s side. “Please take me away from here, Alpha. They’ve kept me imprisoned here, giving me food infused with drugs and herbs. I can’t live here without my mate.”

“Cerelia, go back to your place. The Shifter Council can’t intervene in our pack matters. I won’t allow it,” snarled my grandpa. 

“We won’t intervene in your pack matters, but we have every right to save our employee. Cerelia is our employee, and her welfare is our responsibility.” Alpha Alexios’s announcement surprised me more than it surprised my grandpa. When did I become an employee of the Shifter Council? 

“How? Cerelia is just eighteen. How can she be your employee? Are you out of your senses?” My grandpa glared at Alpha Alexios, waiting for an explanation. 

“In case you’re not aware, Cerelia is a core member of the Stellar Genius Society who fights against cybercrime. This month, the Shifter Council has taken over Stellar and all members of the society are our employees. The council will pay the members for their service against cybercrime. Stopping our employee from performing her job, causing physical and mental harm to her, or killing her are all punishable offenses. They can lead to your execution as well. So, it would be better to release her. Let her go where she wants to.” 

It fell on deaf ears as my grandpa gripped my arm and escorted me away from Alpha Alexios. “She might be your employee later. First, she’s my granddaughter. No force can take her away from here. This is her home and pack. We are her family. We know how to tame truant family members.” My grandpa glared at me as if I had done something wrong. 

“I’m not a truant family member. You forced me to come here and then threw my mate out, ordering your guards to kill him. You don’t have the right to take anyone’s life, Grandpa.” I glared back, wanting to get out of this place. 

“Be quiet, girl. Yes, I threw your mate out. There’s no place in our pack for ordinary shifter wolves.” He gave me a look of warning as if to rip me apart. Maybe he would have if Alpha Alexios wasn’t present here.

“There’s no rule to separate fated mates, Alpha Cassius. The times have changed and you will face the consequences for this one day.” Alpha Alexios looked grave and a sense of dread clutched at my heart. What if he left without rescuing me? This was my only chance to get out of here.

“Silver Wolves follow the rule and I will uphold it as long as I’m alive. Soon I will have her purified and she won’t remember her mate anymore.” My grandpa walked away towards the door, holding it open for the guests. It was a way to dismiss them, but Alpha Alexios ignored him.

“Whatever it is. You cannot force any therapy on her. It’s not a pack rule. It’s torture. I won’t have an employee of the council tortured against her will. When packs commit crimes in the name of pack rules, we will intervene. Don’t forget your punishment for the honor killing of your grandson, Spiros. You survived the death penalty, but this time, if any harm is caused to Cerelia, I’ll execute you, Alpha Cassius. Take this as my last warning to you.” 

My jaws dropped with fear. Who was Spiros? Had my grandpa killed him? But why would he kill his own grandson? Would he kill me, too? I would have to find out the answers to all my questions.

I panicked at the thought, my whole body trembling as I inched towards Alpha Alexios. “Please take me from here, Alpha. I don’t want to die. I’m a mated wolf. Please don’t separate me from my mate.” Helpless tears cascaded down my cheeks, but I gulped with fright to see my grandpa approaching me.

In two strides, he was there by my side, stopping me from escaping. “You’re not going anywhere, Cerelia.” His thunderous voice echoed around the room. My uncle Alpha Alarik entered the room, and he surveyed the situation. 

“Then I’m afraid I’ll have to arrest you, Alpha Cassius, for defying the law,” barked Alpha Alexios in the same tone. 

“I apologize on behalf of my father. Please don’t take any legal action against him. I assure you Cerelia is safe at our house,” said Alpha Alarik. 

Alpha Alexios fumed, still glaring at my grandpa. “Are you saving him, Alpha Alarik? Don’t you remember how he had executed your son, Spiros? He would have been thirty today if he were alive.” 

I gasped, realizing who Spiros was. He was Nikos’ and Alekos’ older siblings. No wonder they were helping me. 

Alpha Alarik’s face paled at the memory, and tears of remorse pooled in his eyes. “How can I forget that, Alpha? I couldn’t save my son that night. But I promise you, I’ll save Cerelia this time. No harm will come upon her. This is my promise to you.” 

“Fine. Stop the therapy right away. I’ll check on her every fifteen days. If I find anything amiss, I’ll rescue her from here. Is that clear? And if she is harmed, I’ll execute your father in front of the pack members as a lesson for all to learn.” 

“Yes, Alpha.” My uncle hung his head, agreeing to their condition while my heart sank at what it entailed. Alpha Alexios wouldn’t rescue me from here. He was planning to leave me here to die. I wished I was an ordinary shifter. I hated being a silver wolf. It seemed like a curse to be one. 

Alpha Alexios turned to leave, and I cried in desperation. “Please don’t leave me here. They’ll kill me.” 

“No one will kill you, Cerelia. You’re a Silver Wolf and you shall live here. This is your only pack,” said my uncle. 

I wanted to defy him.

“I don’t want to be in your pack. I’d rather be a rogue. Please Alpha Alexios, don’t go without me.” I sprang from the bed to rush out with them, but my grandpa blocked my way. I hurled myself against him, but he didn’t budge an inch. 

“I’ll be back in fifteen days, Cerelia. I hope to see you in a better condition then.”

I howled like a broken wolf as Alpha Alexios left. My grandpa stormed out and so did my uncle, not even looking in my direction. However, they didn’t forget to lock me up before they left. So I was back at square one with no improvement in my condition. 

I sobbed on my pillow, hating my life, my family, and my pack. I didn’t belong here. Then why was I forced to stay here? Now I understood why my dad never mentioned my grandpa to me. He might have hated him too.

My body felt exceptionally weak, and I had no idea why. I had taken care not to have any of the food Aunt Elena had sent. Yet my head swam and I felt drained.

It was evening when I woke up, and hunger pangs made me double up. The door opened and Aunt Elena arrived with a tray of food. The solemn look on her face said it all. They hadn’t stopped the therapy and never would. Why was Aunt Elena following Grandpa’s orders so diligently? Didn’t she lose her son because of Grandpa? 

“Here, eat it up. You’ll feel better.” She set the tray down on the side table while I gave her a look of disinterest. 

“I’m not hungry. You can take it away. Anyway, it has more drugs than any food.” 

She straightened and sighed. “Stop behaving like we’re your enemies, Cerelia.” 

“You are my enemy, Aunt Elena. After losing your son for no fault of his, how can you see the injustice being done to me? By helping Grandpa in his crime, aren’t you a criminal too? Do you want to see me dead, too? What have I ever done to you, Aunt Elena?” 

She gasped and ran out of my room with tears in her eyes. I rose and hurled the tray of food at the door. They should know I would die of hunger but not tolerate shit from them. After fifteen days, Alpha Alexios would arrive and arrest all of them. It would serve them right for messing with me. I would stand up for my own rights from now on. I had fifteen days to stay here. If I were alive, I would escape with Alpha Alexios by all means.

My head swooned and I fell onto the bed. Everything blacked out and I lost consciousness.