CHAPTER7
1203 Words
Chapter Seven: The Council’s Eyes
The sun had not yet risen, but the horizon was bruised with lavender and ash as Aria rode beside Darius through the dense pine forest. The journey to the Council’s compound was a blur of silence and tension, interrupted only by the rhythmic thud of hooves and the occasional rustling of hidden creatures.
She hadn’t spoken to Kael since she walked away.
She hadn't dared to think of Keira's mocking smile, either. If she let herself spiral now, she’d never recover.
Darius rode beside her without crowding her, his presence steady, almost grounding. He didn't fill the silence with useless words, and somehow, that was the most comforting part of all.
Still, her thoughts screamed.
I’m not ready for this.
But she had to be.
The Council Compound appeared like a monolith carved from the earth itself fortified with ancient stone, high arches, and guarded by twin statues of two wolves snarling at the gates. It was a symbol of unity and terror alike, where laws were laid and lives were shattered.
As Aria dismounted, the air felt heavier. There was a faint crackling like static lingering in the mist. Her Omega instincts stirred uneasily. Something wasn’t right.
“Stay close,” Darius murmured. “They’ll try to intimidate you. Don’t let them see weakness.”
“I’m not weak,” she said, too quickly.
He gave a slow nod. “Good. Then don’t look back.”
They passed under the massive stone arch, flanked by silent guards whose eyes flicked to her with something between curiosity and suspicion. Most hadn’t seen her in over a decade. If they even knew who she was, they probably thought she was dead.
To them, she was a ghost in the flesh.
A council handler, a thin woman with white streaks in her black braid, stepped forward with a scroll in hand.
“Aria Moonridge,” she said sharply. “Omega. Born of Alpha Moonridge. Formerly of the Riverclaw Pack. You’ve been summoned.”
Her tone was cold, clipped.
Aria straightened her back. “Then I’m here to answer.”
The handler’s eyes narrowed just slightly before she nodded and turned on her heel. “You’ll be presented in the Tribunal Hall after sunrise. You may rest in the observation wing until summoned.”
As they were led through winding stone corridors, Aria turned to Darius.
“Is it always this cold?” she whispered.
“No,” he said. “They’re just making it colder for you.”
Hours Later Tribunal Hall
The Tribunal Hall was cavernous, hollow as if it were carved to swallow voices whole. Aria stood in the center of the crescent stone floor beneath the eyes of the Seven Elders five Alphas, one Beta, and one Elder Omega with silver skin and pale golden eyes that didn’t blink.
Kael was already there.
So was Keria and Dominic.
Dressed in an opulent gown of deep crimson with golden embroidery tracing her curves, keria stood confidently at Kael’s side unmarked, but clearly favored.
The head Elder spoke.
“We are gathered to assess the claims to the Luna title of the Riverclaw and Bloodthorn territories, disrupted by the return of Aria Moonridge, believed to be deceased, and the surfacing of keria Moonridge, who holds no legal union but resides in Alpha Dominic park.”
Aria stepped forward, every inch of her skin burning under the weight of their judgment.
“I did not come to make a claim,” she said clearly. “I came to speak the truth.”
A murmur rose among the Elders.
Kael stepped forward, his tone tight. “Aria was marked by me ten years ago. She vanished of her own will. She refused her place. And when she returned, she rejected it.”
“I never had a choice!”
Aria’s voice echoed against the stone.
“I was blamed for Keria's death. I was cast out, abandoned. And when I came back, I was told to leave again.”
Keria’s soft laughter rang out. “Poor Aria. Always so dramatic.”
Darius, standing behind Aria, cut in. “Aria was promised by blood pact to the Riven line. That promise was broken. She was buried by false declarations. She was stripped of identity and protection. And she still lives. She is owed a voice.”
The Elder Omega leaned forward.
“Aria Moonridge,” the ancient woman rasped, voice airy and strange.
“Do you seek to reclaim your role as Luna?”
Aria’s heart hammered.
This is it.
But just as she opened her mouth to speak, Keria interrupted.
“Maybe this will help her decide.”
With a wicked smile, Kiera pulled a tiny vial from her sleeve.
She held it up for all to see glass filled with a swirling amber liquid.
“Do you know what this is?” she said sweetly. “It’s a binding serum. Taken by Omegas who wish to sever one bond... and form another.”
Dominic's body went rigid. “Kiera, what have you done?”
Kiera turned to Aria. “I took this ten years ago. The day after I watched you drown. And the day after that, I was reborn with your mark, your power, and your future.”
Aria staggered back.
“No... you couldn’t have...”
Kiera's smile was cold. “I did. The mark Dominic gave you? It didn’t fade. It was transferred. I took it. Willingly.”
The entire hall gasped.
Dominic Blackthorn stepped forward, eyes wide with horror. “That’s impossible.”
“Is it?” Kiera purred. “Do you remember how you never sensed when Aria left the territory? Or why did her scent fade so completely?”
Dominic's mouth parted. “You… were scent cloaking her?”
“Among other things.”
The Omega Elder sat back, eyes gleaming.
“Then the question remains,” she whispered. “Whose mark is real?”
Kiera looked down at Aria, venom in her gaze.
“Even if you were first… I finished what you couldn’t. I took what you couldn’t keep.”
Aria’s lungs burned.
Everything was unraveling.
Her identity. Her bond. Her history.
And now her very blood right.
“I…” she began, but the words cracked.
Then Darius stepped beside her.
And did the unthinkable.
He bared his wrist.
And bit it.
Blood spilled thick and dark and with his other hand, he raised it to Aria’s lips.
“Form a new bond,” he said. “No one can question. One no one can steal. You have the right, Aria. Choose it.”
The Elders fell deathly still.
Even kiera flinched.
Dominic stepped forward, agony in his face. “Don’t.”
Aria stood between two men, one who abandoned her, one who offered power, protection, and a way forward.
And suddenly, the silence wasn’t so heavy.
It was expectant.
Waiting.
Everything came down to this
Reclaim her identity?
Form a new bond?
Or reject them all?
Aria opened her mouth.
She reached for Darius’s bleeding hand.
Then...
A messenger arrived.
“They’re coming,” he said. “The Eastern packs. They’ve declared war... and they’re heading for the Council.”
- Writer
