Chapter 154: A Lesson To One Us A Lesson To All

E L E A N O R

I walked into the town hall and immediately felt the tension shift. The council chiefs were gathered in small clusters, laughing too loudly and passing around bottles of rum like they were at a celebration rather than a meeting. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol and arrogance.

“What is the meaning of this?” Severus growled, his voice thundering through the spacious hall. The men flinched, their laughter dying instantly as all eyes turned toward us.

One of the elders, a man with a slick smile and cold eyes, stepped forward. “It’s a pleasure you could finally join us, Luna.” He nodded slightly in my direction before turning back to Severus. “Beta, please, have a seat.”

“He’s the instigator,” Eira purred within me, her presence sharp and alert.

I swallowed hard, my gaze fixed on the man. My hands clenched at my sides. Engagement ceremony? It hadn't even been a full month since Perseus disappeared. Already they were thirsty for the throne, scheming and drafting ways to replace him.

“We’re not going to sit here until you explain what that rubbish outside means,” Severus hissed, his eyes narrowing as he turned toward a short, older man with more gray hairs than I could count. “Care to explain that, Bacchus?”

The instigator, Bacchus cleared his throat, straightening his tunic with false confidence. “The Alpha is dead. It’s high time we accept that. We’ve all cast our votes and decided that I will rule next. To respect the late Alpha, I am to marry the Luna and ensure stability.”

“Have you lost your mind?” I spat, my voice trembling with rage.

“Says the mad Luna,” another councilman jeered from the back. “Perseus is gone. Dead. It’s time you accept that!”

Severus’s frown deepened. “A vote? Even if the Alpha were dead, which is highly unlikely—the Beta is supposed to handle his duties until a true successor is named.”

“You’re unfit to take over,” a man named Thomas cut in sharply. “We already know about the witch you married. The wife of Raphael Black. It’s insane, especially since you share the same last name. For all we know, you could be their ally, waiting to devour us from within.”

I gasped, but Severus spoke before I could.

“Shut your bloody tongue, Thomas. You’re in no position to make such accusations. Your generation has been alive long before my conception. My father proved his loyalty to this pack as Beta before his passing. I won’t let you throw dirt on my name now.”

I stared at Thomas, rage surging through me until my hands trembled. It hadn’t even been a month since Perseus went missing, and already they were planning another wedding? It made me sick to look at Bacchus, this delusional man who believed he was doing me some great favor by offering himself. The council was disgusting. Every last one of them.

“Well, you’re not the one who really matters, are you?” Bacchus smirked, taking a few confident strides until he stood right in front of me. “What’s it going to be, Eleanor? The engagement has been finalized. We can give you more time to come to terms with it, if you wish.”

I let out a shaky sigh, blinking back hot tears as I scrambled for a rational solution. They could easily use their influence to have Severus and me locked away if I reacted too strongly. But then the man leaned in closer, his breath smelling of cheap rum as he whispered, “It should be easy for you. You barely mourned your first husband before marrying Perseus.”

Something in me snapped.

A feral, dominant mix of anger and disgust flooded my senses, hot and immediate. It was no longer just my own rage—it was something deeper, something older. Eira surged forward from within, a wave of primal instinct that seized control before my mind could even form a thought. My vision sharpened, the world narrowing to the man standing before me.

My hands shot out, no longer entirely my own. Claws tore through my fingertips, sharp and deadly. I grabbed Bacchus by the throat, my grip iron-tight.

"W—what is this?" he gasped, his eyes widening in pure shock. He struggled weakly, but it was too late. There was no mercy in my grasp, no hesitation left in my blood.

My fingers dug deep into the soft flesh of his neck. I felt the brittle give of bone and cartilage beneath my touch. With one brutal, twisting motion, I wrenched his head from his body.

The sound was sickening—a wet, final crunch followed by a heavy thud as his head hit the stone floor. Blood sprayed across my face and splattered against Severus’s shirt. The metallic scent filled the air, sharp and suffocating. For a moment, everything was still, frozen in the aftermath of what I’d done.

Silence.

Dead, stunned silence.

I wiped the blood from my cheek with the back of my hand, my voice cold and steady. “Who’s next?”

The councilmen stared, frozen in horror. No one spoke. No one moved.

“Guards!” Severus shouted, his voice cutting through the tension. The doors burst open, and armed guards rushed in, weapons drawn. “Seize them. No one leaves this hall.”

“Yes, sire!”

I didn’t wait around to hear the rest. I turned and rushed outside, my stomach churning. The metallic smell of blood clung to my skin. I barely made it to the courtyard before I threw up, heaving until my throat burned. A maid hurried over with a towel, her hands shaking as she offered it to me. Another brought a bottle of water.

Severus stepped out moments later, his expression dark. “These men are psychotic.”

I took a shaky breath, wiping my mouth. “War is never really over, is it? Victory is merely a truce, preparing you for the next one. Life itself is a battlefield.” I tossed the blood-stained towel onto the ground. “And I’m not going to lose anything more to death.”