Chapter 145 THE LETTER FROM THE COUNCIL OF WOLVES
Chapter 145 THE LETTER FROM THE COUNCIL OF WOLF
CHAPTER 145
THE LETTER FROM THE COUNCIL OF WOLF
DORIAN
The formal message arrived just after dawn. A runner from the Pack Council of Wolf stood in the outer hall, sealed parchment in hand, and waited until I took it myself. The wax bore the Council’s crest. I broke it open in the quiet of my study, the paper stiff under my fingers.
Alpha Dorian of Ironveil,
The Pack Council has received verified notice of a pregnancy within your pack. The female in question is known to us. Under wartime protocol and the continuity statutes, the Council hereby issues an immediate mateship mandate. You will formally mate with the female wolf carrying the child and install her as Luna of Ironveil within ten days of this notice. Failure to comply will result in a leadership review. Under current wartime conditions, such a review may transfer Alpha authority to a Council-appointed regent until stability is restored. Confirm receipt and intent within forty-eight hours.
By order of the Pack Council of Wolf.
My hands stayed steady on the paper, but my jaw locked hard enough that the muscle jumped. Heat climbed the back of my neck.
The words sat there like a blade already pressed to the throat of the pack. I could not open a second front against the Council while Lockwood still sat on our border.
Alliance packs would not commit troops or supply lines to an Alpha whose leadership hung in question. Neutrality from the Council was the best I could hope for, and even that required compliance.
I folded the letter once, set it on the desk, and sent it for a private council meeting. No delay.
The throne room held the usual cold stone and the low burn of the wall torches. Zade stood near the steps, arms crossed. Elder Cass sat in her usual place, spine straight. Elder Harkin took the seat opposite her. Kale, Holland, and Maren filled the remaining chairs. Ryler closed the doors behind the last of them and took his position at my right.
I remained standing. The letter lay open on the arm of the throne.
“The Pack Council knows about the pregnancy,” I said. My voice stayed even, but my shoulders sat tight under the weight of the formal coat. “They have issued a mateship mandate. Ten days to mate with Selina and install her as Luna, or they convene a leadership review. In wartime that review can strip me and put a regent in my place.”
Zade’s jaw flexed. Kale shifted his weight. Holland kept still.
I kept going. “Stonemack still watches the borders. Lockwood has not withdrawn. Alliance packs will not bind themselves to Ironveil unless the leadership structure is stable and recognized. Without the Council’s neutrality we fight alone. That is the situation.”
Elder Cass’s fingers tightened on the edge of her chair. She looked at me directly, her voice low but clear.
“There are other options, Alpha. The paternity is not verified. We should not build the future of this pack on an unverified claim and a forced mateship. Other females of standing exist. The Council can be answered with process, not surrender.”
Elder Harkin’s hand came down on the table once, hard enough that the sound carried.
“The process will not hold the borders. The mandate is issued. Delay invites the review. I will call for a pack vote on acceptance of the mandate and formal recognition of Selina as Luna candidate.”
The room went quiet. I felt the decision settle in my chest like a stone. Every part of me rejected it.
Selina’s face rose in my mind—the calculated smile, the way she had already begun to move through the pack as if the title were already hers. Canceling the alliance talks with Alpha Caleb would close one door and open another that stank of long-term damage.
Yet the alternative was worse. A regent appointed by the Council in the middle of a border threat would fracture command, slow every decision, and give Lockwood the opening it needed.
I despised the words before I spoke them.
“The vote is accepted,” I said. “I will formally recognize Selina as a pack-acknowledged Luna candidate. The alliance discussions with Alpha Caleb are canceled. I will proceed with the mateship within the thirty-day window.”
Elder Cass’s shoulders dropped. She did not raise her voice, but the disappointment cut clean. “You are choosing the short path over the right one. The pack will pay for that choice for more than ten days."
Maren leaned forward, her hands flat on the table. Color sat high on her cheeks.
“This is a mistake, Alpha. You know it. We all know it. Selina does not hold the loyalty of this pack. Installing her under Council pressure will not create stability. It will only move the fracture inside the walls.”
I raised one hand. The motion was sharp.
“The decision stands. The meeting has ended.”
Chairs scraped back. Elder Cass rose without another word. Maren followed, her steps tight. The others filed out.
“I agree with the decision,” Ryler said. There was no argument, no hesitation. “It keeps the Council from moving against us while the borders stay hot.”
The throne room emptied. I stayed where I was, the letter still open beside me. The torches hissed softly. Cold air moved across the floor from the high windows.
This is temporary, I told myself. The mateship, the title, the public recognition—all of it can be managed. I am protecting the pack. Without a recognized Luna the Council will act. Without the Council’s neutrality the alliance packs stay out. Without the alliances Lockwood has the numbers.
The pregnancy exists whether I acknowledge it or not. Verifying paternity later is still possible. Removing Selina later is still possible. Right now the only path that keeps Ironveil intact is compliance.
My hands closed into fists at my sides. The muscle in my jaw ached from how hard I held it. I could still smell the wax from the Council seal on the letter. The decision sat in my gut like spoiled meat.
I needed to see Charlotte. I have not spoken to her since yesterday afternoon. She is still in the cell.
I stood up and left.