The Alpha's Midnight Moon

Chapter 28: The Council’s Terror

The journey back to the Moonlight Manor was a blur of silver and shadow. Kaelen refused to let me walk, carrying me in his arms as if I were a fragile glass statue, despite the fact that I felt stronger than ever. Mark followed behind on a stretcher, guarded by four warriors who looked at him with newfound suspicion.

As we crossed the threshold of the pack territory, the atmosphere shifted. It wasn't just the wind that whispered my name; it was the trees themselves. I could feel the forest bowing to me.

But the welcome at the manor was far from warm. The Council of Elders was waiting on the grand stone steps, led by Elder Silas—not the traitor Silas, but an old wolf named Elder Vance, whose heart was as cold as the mountain snow.

"Alpha Kaelen!" Vance barked, his eyes narrowing as we approached. "You were sent to eliminate a threat, not to bring a human and a... a monster back to our sanctuary!"

Kaelen stopped, his grip on me tightening. A low, dangerous growl erupted from his chest. "Watch your tongue, Vance. You are speaking to your Luna."

"Luna?" Vance stepped forward, pointing a trembling finger at my face. "Look at her eyes! Those aren't the eyes of a Luna. Those are the eyes of the Silver Cataclysm mentioned in the forbidden texts. She is a harbinger of death, Kaelen! By bonding with her, you have cursed us all!"

I asked Kaelen to set me down. My feet touched the cold gravel, but I didn't feel the chill. I walked toward Vance, my silver eyes glowing with a soft, hypnotic light that seemed to pulse with the rhythm of the moon.

"You speak of curses, Elder," I said, my voice echoing with a power that made the younger wolves flinch. "But it was your 'pure' pack that was nearly destroyed by Silas's shadows. My power didn't bring death; it brought life. It saved your Alpha. It saved the ancient scrolls."

I reached out and touched the stone railing of the steps. Wherever my fingers brushed, the grey stone began to shimmer with silver frost. The council members scrambled back in terror.

"She is a witch!" one of them shrieked.

"She is your Queen," Kaelen roared, stepping beside me, his golden eyes clashing with my silver ones in a beautiful, terrifying display of power. "And if any of you challenge her again, you challenge me. The old laws are dead. The era of the Silver Moon has begun."

Vance’s face turned a pale shade of grey. He knew he couldn't win a physical fight, but I could see the wheels turning in his head. The Council wouldn't fight us with claws; they would use politics, betrayal, and the ancient laws to try and strip me of my title.