Chapter Sixty-Four: The Alpha’s Choice

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Alpha’s Choice
The war council gathered before the sun had fully risen. The firepit in the center of the chamber burned low, throwing shadows across grim faces. Warriors, elders, and scouts lined the circle. The air was heavy with the scent of smoke, sweat, and fear they didn’t want to admit.

Daniel’s absence pressed on every wolf in the room like a stone too large to carry.

David stood at the head of the circle, his arms folded, his body strung tight like a bow ready to snap. Faith sat just behind him, close enough to catch the tremors in his hands when he clenched his fists, close enough to hear the sharp edge of his breath.

“We go now,” one of the younger warriors said, his voice hot with emotion. “We take our fastest wolves, cut through the foothills, and rip him from their claws before the Blood Moon fades.”

Murmurs of agreement rose. Half the room nodded.

“And leave our gates wide open?” Elder Nareen countered sharply, slamming her cane against the floor. “That is exactly what Divine wants. If we strip our defenses to save one wolf, she’ll pour her army through the breach and burn us all before dawn.”

The council broke into arguments, voices climbing over each other. Rescue. Fortify. Attack. Wait.

David’s silence held heavier than any of them. His wolf prowled beneath his skin, restless, torn between blood and duty.

Finally, he raised a hand. The voices died at once.

His eyes, bright and burning, swept the circle. “You all know what I want.” His voice was low, dangerous. “Daniel is my brother. My blood. Every part of me wants to tear through the forest and take him back with my own claws.”

He paused, his chest rising and falling hard. “But I will not do it.”

The silence that followed was absolute.

Elder Nareen’s eyes softened, just slightly. The young warriors looked as though he had struck them across the face.

David continued, his jaw tight. “This pack comes first. If I run to her trap, I give her Rainfall’s Alpha. If I take half our strength to chase after him, I give her our walls. Either way, she wins. And we lose everything.”

A growl rippled through the chamber, anger not at him but at the truth of his words.

“She’s using Daniel as bait,” Faith said quietly into the silence. “Not because he matters to her. Because he matters to you.”

David looked back at her. For a moment, just a moment, the fire in his eyes cracked, showing something raw beneath.

He turned back to the council. “So we hold. We fortify. We make her come to us. And when she does, we bury her army in the dirt she thinks she’ll conquer.”

The council shifted uneasily, but slowly, one by one, heads began to nod. Even those who burned for immediate vengeance couldn’t deny the strategy was sound.

It was the unthinkable choice — a brother abandoned, for now. But the Alpha had spoken.

When the council dismissed, the warriors filed out with grim faces, some glancing at Faith with something between respect and pity. The elders murmured to each other, the scent of old fear trailing after them.

The hall emptied until it was only the two of them, the fire crackling low.

David didn’t move for a long time. His hands braced against the table, his head bowed, his breath sharp and uneven.

Faith approached quietly, placing a hand against his back. His muscles trembled beneath her palm, taut with rage and grief.

“You did what you had to do,” she whispered.

His head lifted, his eyes catching hers. They weren’t the blazing gold of command anymore. They were the eyes of a man breaking under the weight of his own decision.

“I just left him to her,” he said hoarsely. “My brother. My only brother.”

Faith stepped closer, forcing him to meet her gaze. “No. You kept your pack alive. Divine thinks she’s already won, but you just made her wait. And waiting is weakness.”

He let out a breath that was half growl, half sigh. His hand rose, cupping her face with a desperation he didn’t try to hide. “Every time I look at you, it gets harder to choose the pack over blood. Because if it were you out there…” His voice broke, rough and low. “I would tear the world apart.”

Faith pressed her forehead to his, her wolf humming beneath her skin. “And that’s why she wants me. Because she knows what I mean to you. But you’re not giving her me. Or Rainfall. We’ll take Daniel back, David. On our terms. Not hers.”

For a long moment, he simply breathed against her, his body shaking with the effort of restraint.

Finally, he nodded once, sharp and reluctant. “On our terms.”

Outside, the Blood Moon was sinking lower in the sky, its red light staining the earth like a wound.

Inside, an Alpha carried the unbearable weight of choice.

Faith saw the cost of it in his eyes. And she knew Divine had won nothing yet — but the battle was already carving scars none of them could escape.