**Chapter Five** *The Council of Alphas*
1088 Words
“You can’t go,” Kael growled.
Aria stood by the window, clutching the locket as though it might anchor her to reality. Morning light poured through the glass, painting golden streaks on the floor, but it did nothing to chase away the cold dread in her chest.
“They have my mother’s locket,” she said quietly. “She’s supposed to be dead, Kael. How did they get this?”
“They want to manipulate you. They’re digging up whatever they can to get in your head.”
She turned to face him. “What if they’re not just digging? What if they *know* something I don’t? I need to find out.”
Kael crossed the room in two strides, towering over her, every inch the Alpha. “You walk into their hands, and you might not come back.”
Aria didn’t flinch. “Then come with me.”
His jaw tightened. “You know I can’t. Not until we secure the alliance.”
“The council—”
“—is full of alphas who hate each other more than they fear the Nightfangs,” Kael snapped. “I need to keep them in one room long enough to convince them we’re all screwed unless we stand together. If I leave now, this whole thing falls apart.”
Aria stepped back, her voice trembling. “So what am I supposed to do? Wait while they hunt me down one by one?”
Kael's eyes softened, but only slightly. “I’ll keep you safe.”
“No,” she said, louder now. “You’ll protect me. But I want answers.”
Kael didn’t respond.
Because he knew she was right.
The Council of Alphas was held in the stone keep at the center of Bloodfang’s stronghold. Aria walked beside Kael through heavy doors into a room filled with sharp eyes and colder silence.
Seven alphas sat in a semicircle—each with a distinct scent, presence, and reputation. Packs from the north, east, and far south. Rivals. Enemies, even. And now—uneasy allies.
“Let’s get this over with,” rumbled Alpha Merrik of Ironclaw, the largest of the group, arms like tree trunks crossed over his chest.
“We came for answers,” said Alpha Nyla of Starshadow, eyes narrow beneath a silver circlet. “Not another lecture.”
Kael’s voice was even, commanding. “The Nightfangs are not just stories anymore. They’ve returned. They’ve allied with something darker—creatures of shadow and blood. And they’re targeting my Luna.”
All eyes turned to Aria.
The weight of their stares pressed against her, but she held her chin high. She wouldn’t cower—not now.
“Why her?” Alpha Dorian asked from the far end, youthful but sharp. “What makes her so important?”
“I don’t know,” Aria admitted. “But I think I carry something… ancient. I think they believe I belong to them.”
Murmurs rippled through the room.
Alpha Nyla stood. “If what she says is true, then we cannot leave her unguarded. She could be a weapon—or a key.”
Aria stiffened. “I’m not a weapon.”
“No,” Nyla said. “But someone *will* try to use you like one.”
The meeting lasted hours, filled with debates, warnings, and half-buried threats. By the end, an uneasy agreement had been forged: the packs would watch the borders, send scouts, and remain on alert. It was a start.
But not enough.
Later, Aria sat alone in the old war room, the locket open in her palm. Inside was a tiny etched symbol beneath the picture of her mother—a half-moon surrounded by vines.
She’d seen that mark once before.
On a scroll in the old healer’s archive. A forgotten lineage.
A royal bloodline.
Her mother had been hiding it all along.
*What else had she kept buried?*
Footsteps echoed behind her. She turned, expecting Kael.
It wasn’t.
It was Nora.
“The council’s disbanding,” Nora said, her voice low. “Some are already doubting the threat.”
Aria closed the locket. “They’ll believe it when it’s at their door.”
Nora approached, hesitating before speaking. “I overheard something. One of the Starshadow scouts intercepted a message near the eastern ridge.”
Aria’s breath caught. “What kind of message?”
Nora handed her a scroll. The wax seal was unfamiliar—no sigil, just a burn mark.
Aria unrolled it carefully.
**“The Moon’s Heir walks among traitors. The Queen demands her return before the eclipse.”**
Below the message was a map.
A location.
A time.
Tonight.
Aria waited until dusk.
She didn’t tell Kael.
She knew he’d never let her go.
But she *had* to.
She dressed in dark clothing, tied the locket around her neck, and slipped from the stronghold under the cover of twilight. The forest air was sharp with pine and the distant scent of ash.
She followed the map until the path disappeared, climbing a ridge that overlooked the valley. And there, in a clearing beneath the rising moon, stood a cloaked figure.
Not a shadowborn.
Not a rogue.
A woman.
Her presence was magnetic—powerful and terrifying all at once. Silver hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her eyes glowed like starlight.
Aria stopped several feet away. “Are you the Queen?”
The woman smiled. “No. But I speak for her.”
“Then speak.”
The woman studied her. “You carry the blood of the first line. Your mother was the last of the Moonborn. But she ran. Hid you among lesser wolves. Watered down your birthright.”
“I’m not anyone’s heir,” Aria said through clenched teeth.
“But you are,” the woman said, stepping closer. “You were *chosen* long before you met your Alpha. Before you fell into the illusion of belonging. The Queen has waited years for this moment. You will come to us, Aria. By choice… or by fate.”
“No,” Aria said, backing away. “You don’t control my path.”
The woman’s smile widened.
“Perhaps not.”
She raised her hand.
From the trees, shadows leapt—creatures of twisted fur and red eyes. Not wolves. Not men.
Aria turned to run—
Only to be yanked backward by a clawed hand.
The last thing she saw before the world went black was the moon, half-covered by cloud.
**To be continued...**
- Writer
