Chapter 9
Fidelis's POV
The question hung in the air like a blade.
Mom's purple eyes went wide, her hand flying to the now-dark pendant at her throat. For a moment, I thought she might actually answer.
Instead, she straightened her spine and lifted her chin with the practiced arrogance I remembered from childhood.
"You're overwrought," she said, her voice regaining some of its authority. "Grief and worry are making you imagine conspiracies where none exist."
"Am I?" I stepped closer, letting my Alpha presence press against her. "Then explain why your pendant went dark the moment I mentioned Nephele's blood."
She opened her mouth to respond when the ground shook.
The massive oak doors of the hall exploded inward with a crash that sent splinters flying across stone floors.
Magnus entered like a conquering army.
Six of his most brutal enforcers flanked him—twice the number he'd brought during his marriage proposal. Despite his commanding presence, I caught the subtle signs of weakness he tried to hide: too-rigid posture, the faint scent of silver poisoning beneath his cologne.
But what turned my blood to ice was Mom's reaction.
She rose from her chair with unusual stiffness, face draining of all color as she stared at the figure emerging from behind Magnus.
Vex. Magnus's Gamma stepped forward, his scarred face twisted into a cold smile.
"Alpha Fidelis," Magnus said, his voice dripping false courtesy. "I hope you'll forgive the... urgency of my visit. Recent developments demand immediate attention."
Every wolf in my hall tensed. Hands moved toward weapons. My Beta stepped protectively closer, her body coiled for violence.
"Magnus." I kept my voice level despite the rage building in my chest. "This is the second uninvited intrusion into Northwind territory. State your business."
His smile was pure predator. "My business is the return of stolen property."
"Stolen?" The word came out as a growl. "You mean my sister who escaped your abuse?"
"Escaped." Magnus laughed, the sound like bones breaking. "Is that what you call it when someone aids and abets the theft of a lawfully bonded Luna?"
Vex moved forward, producing a scroll sealed with Sovereign Pack's crimson wax. As he approached, I caught a fleeting glance between him and my mother—so brief I almost missed it. "We have evidence of Northwind Pack's direct involvement in harboring a fugitive mate."
My wolf clawed at my ribs. A formal accusation.
"What evidence?" I demanded.
"Witness accounts," Vex said smoothly, "of Northwind warriors in Shadow Forest. Scent trails leading directly back to your territory."
My blood turned to ice. They'd been tracking our movements.
"And then," Magnus continued, his red eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction, "there's the matter of your sudden alliance with Stormfang Pack. Quite convenient timing, wouldn't you say?"
The elder who'd questioned the alliance earlier stood slowly, his voice carrying the weight of pack law. "Alpha Magnus, are you formally accusing Northwind Pack of treaty violation?"
"I am." Magnus's declaration sent shock through the assembled wolves. "The theft of a bonded mate constitutes an act of war under the Ancient Codes."
Mom's pendant was flashing so erratically now it cast dancing shadows on the walls.
"Furthermore," Vex continued, unrolling the scroll, "we demand the immediate return of Luna Nephele and full reparations for the insult to Sovereign Pack's honor."
"And if we refuse?" My voice carried deadly calm.
Magnus stepped closer, his massive frame radiating menace. "Then we invoke the Right of Reclamation. Trial by combat. Winner takes all—including your precious sister."
Gasps echoed through the hall. The Right of Reclamation was ancient law, rarely invoked, but binding under pack treaties.
"You can't be serious," Mom whispered, her composure finally cracking completely.
"Oh, but I am." Magnus's smile widened. "Unless, of course, Alpha Fidelis prefers to simply hand over what belongs to me."
My warriors shifted restlessly behind me, hands moving to weapons. The air grew thick with the promise of violence.
"Belongs to you?" I let my presence roll out in waves that made even Magnus's enforcers step back. "She's not property, you bastard."
"Isn't she?" Magnus tilted his head mockingly. "Tell me, Alpha—what do you really know about your sister's bloodline? About why her star-shaped mark reacts to certain... stimuli?"
Ice shot through my veins. "What are you talking about?"
"Ask your mother." Magnus's gaze fixed on Mom, who looked ready to collapse. "Ask her about the monthly blood draws. The way Nephele's blood glows silver under moonlight."
Mom's pendant suddenly went completely dark, as if all the light had been drained from it.
"I suspected something was wrong, but HARVESTING her blood?!" The words tore from my throat as the final pieces crashed into place. "Those 'health examinations' were never about her wellbeing."
Gasps echoed through the hall. Pack members exchanged horrified glances. "Harvesting blood?" someone whispered. "From our own?"
"Is that surprising?" Vex produced a small vial from his jacket—dark glass containing liquid that pulsed with the same silver luminescence I'd seen in that cave. "Monthly samples, carefully preserved for two years."
The implications hit me like a physical blow. The star-shaped mark, the strange symptoms, the "treatments" she'd endured for years—they hadn't just been abusing Nephele—they'd been systematically harvesting her.
"You sick—" I started forward, claws extending.
"Ah ah ah." Magnus wagged a finger. "Violence now would only prove my accusations. Unless you prefer to settle this in the Challenge Circle?"
The trap was perfect. Fight him here, and I'd be branded an aggressor. Accept his challenge, and I'd be risking everything on single combat against one of the most vicious Alphas in the territories.
But before I could respond, a familiar voice cut through the tension via pack link—one of my border guards stationed with Stormfang forces:
"Alpha Fidelis, urgent update. Your sister is awake. And she's asking questions only family can answer."
The message hit like lightning. Nephele was conscious. Safe.
And ready for answers.
I looked at Magnus, at his demands and threats, at Mom's terrified face and that dead pendant around her throat.
Then I smiled.
"Tell me, Magnus," I said, my voice carrying to every corner of the hall. "What happens to your Right of Reclamation if the supposed 'property' in question turns out to be someone you never had the right to claim in the first place?"
His confident expression flickered, then crumbled completely. "What are you talking about?"
"What if my sister isn't who any of us thought she was?"