Chapter 102 What Holds the Pack Together
Kier’s POV
I didn’t remember leaving the council chamber. One second I was standing there, staring at the space where Sable had been and the next I was outside, the doors slamming shut behind me like the sound of something final.
My chest still felt like it had been hollowed out, like something had been ripped free and left me standing there with nothing but the echo of it.
I dragged a hand through my hair, pacing across the stone courtyard, boots grinding against gravel.
“This doesn’t make sense,” I muttered.
It wasn’t just the rejection. It wasn’t just the trial. It was everything.
Behind me, I heard the doors open.
“You’re going to wear a hole in the ground,” My father said calmly.
“Good,” I snapped. “Maybe I’ll dig my way back in there.”
“Kier,” he said, quieter now. “You need to think.”
“I am thinking,” I shot back. “I’m thinking about how the council just overstepped every line we have and somehow expects me to just stand there and accept it.”
“They didn’t overstep,” he said.
That made me turn. “What?”
“They acted within their authority.”
I stared at him. “You cannot actually believe that.”
“I don’t have to believe it,” he replied. “It’s the truth.”
My jaw clenched. “No,” I said. “That wasn’t authority. That was control.”
He held my gaze. “They are the same thing when it comes to the council.”
I exhaled sharply, turning away again. “That doesn’t explain how they blocked the bond,” I said. “Or how they got her to, ” My voice caught for a second before I forced it out. “do that.”
My wolf stirred at the memory. Not with rage this time but with pain and that was worse.
“She didn’t want to,” I said quietly. “I saw it.”
My father didn’t answer right away.
When he did, his voice was slower. “The council chamber is older than any Alpha line,” he said. “Older than the current pack structure. It was built when the Moon Goddess first divided power among wolves.”
I frowned slightly. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Everything,” he said.
I turned back to him.
“The Moon Goddess didn’t create Alphas to rule unchecked,” he continued. “She created balance.”
I crossed my arms, tension coiling tighter. “Balance between what?”
“Instinct… and order,” he said. “Power… and restraint.”
He gestured back toward the building.
“The council represents that restraint. That structure. They exist to check the Alpha when instinct becomes too dangerous.”
My lip curled slightly. “So they can override me whenever they feel like it?”
“No,” he said. “Only under specific circumstances.”
“Like what?” I challenged.
“Like when the future of the pack is at risk,” he replied.
The words landed heavy.
“And they think Sable is a risk?” I asked, disbelief threading through my tone.
“They think instability is a risk,” he corrected.
My laugh was sharp. “Instability? That’s what they’re calling this?”
“You rejected tradition,” he said. “You built something new. Something the council doesn’t fully control.”
I stilled.
“And now they’re pushing back,” he finished.
“They used her,” I said slowly.
“Yes.”
The word hit like a punch.
“They blocked the bond,” I continued, piecing it together. “They isolated her. Pressured her.”
“They didn’t have to pressure much,” my father said.
That made me snap my head toward him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He held my gaze. “She was already conflicted.”
My chest tightened and I looked away. Because that was true. She had been conflicted before all of this. Before the council. Before...
“Liora,” I said suddenly.
My father’s expression shifted slightly.
“What about her?”
“She’s lying.”
The certainty came out before I could stop it.
He studied me. “You seem very sure of that.”
“I am,” I said.
“Why?”
I hesitated, because I didn’t have proof. I didn't have anything concrete. Just a feeling deep in my gut.
“She’s lying,” I repeated. “I just… know it.”
My wolf stirred faintly in agreement.
My father exhaled slowly. “Kier..,”
“She’s manipulating this,” I cut in. “All of it. The timing. The council. The trial.”
“And the pregnancy?” he asked.
I clenched my jaw. “That too.”
“That’s a serious accusation.”
“I don’t care,” I snapped. “It’s the truth.”
He watched me carefully.
“You’re basing this on instinct.”
“I’m basing this on knowing her,” I shot back.
“Is that why you think Sable rejected you?” he asked.
The question hit harder than I expected. My chest tightened. Because I hadn’t let myself think that far yet. Hadn’t wanted to. But now I had to.
“She wouldn’t just…” I trailed off, running a hand through my hair. “Not like that. Not without—”
Without a reason, a push. Without something forcing her hand.
“She thinks it’s true,” I said quietly.
My father didn’t respond. He didn't need to, because that was it. That was the only explanation that made sense.
“She thinks I—” I stopped, jaw tightening. “She thinks I would choose Liora.”
“And the child,” he added.
My chest tightened again.
“She wouldn’t stay,” I said. “Not if she believed that.”
No, Sable wouldn’t stay in something that cost her herself. That wasn’t who she was. That had never been who she was. And I had known that from the beginning.
I exhaled slowly, forcing my thoughts into something sharper.
“This is all connected,” I said. “The council. Liora. The timing.”
“It could be,” my father admitted.
“Then we fix it,” I said.
His brows lifted slightly.
“Fix it?”
“I’m not taking Liora as a mate,” I said firmly. “I don’t care what the council says.”
“And if they force it?”
“They won’t.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is for me.”
I turned away from him again, staring out over the pack lands. Everything looked the same. But it wasn’t. Nothing was.
“I’m getting her out,” I said quietly.
“That's going to be hard to do,” he warned.
“Watch me.”
“Kier—”
I turned just as Jaxon came into view. His expression was tight. And something about that set my instincts on edge immediately.
“Kier,” he said.
My shoulders squared slightly.
“What?”
He stopped a few feet away, glancing briefly at our father before looking back at me.
“I need to talk to you.”
“Then talk.”
His jaw tightened. “Not here.”
I frowned. “What is it?”
He hesitated.
“What, Jaxon?” I pressed.
His eyes locked onto mine. And when he spoke everything shifted again.
“It’s Liora.”
“What about her?”
“She’s my mate.”
Silence hit like a shockwave. And just like that everything I thought I understood shattered again.