Chapter 12: The Council’s Fire
983 Words
The council chamber fell into stunned silence.
Selene’s words still hung in the air like smoke, defiant and blazing.
“I choose him.”
Her voice had been steady, clear — but now her heart thundered so hard it felt like it might shake the floor.
Kael didn’t move. Didn’t speak. His storm-gray eyes locked on hers, and for a moment, the entire room seemed to narrow until there was nothing but the two of them.
Then Elder Malric rose from his seat, his ancient face a mixture of shock and disapproval.
“Girl,” he said, his voice cold, “you do not understand what you are declaring.”
“I understand perfectly,” Selene said. Her silver gaze glowed faintly, catching the firelight. “You gave me until dawn to choose. Well — dawn is here. And I choose Kael.”
Lucian moved then, his chair scraping sharply against the floor.
“This is madness,” he said, his voice low but dangerous. “She can’t choose him. He rejected her. He—”
“I said I choose him,” Selene cut him off, her voice cracking like a whip.
Lucian’s golden eyes flashed. “You don’t know what you’re doing. You’re putting every pack here at risk. Do you think the other Alphas will accept this? You’ve just sparked a war.”
Kael stepped forward at that, placing himself just slightly between Selene and Lucian. His voice was quiet, but it carried like distant thunder.
“Let them try,” he said.
A ripple went through the room — fear, excitement, outrage.
“Enough!” Elder Malric’s staff struck the floor, the sound echoing. “This is a council, not a brawl.” His cold gaze turned to Selene. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done? By naming Kael, you’ve denied the Bloodfang claim and the Silvermoon claim. The other Alphas will demand recompense.”
Selene swallowed hard, but lifted her chin. “Then I’ll face them. I won’t be traded like some bargaining chip because it’s convenient for you.”
Her power flared without warning, silver sparks dancing over her skin. The fire torches lining the walls burned brighter, then bent toward her like they were bowing.
The room went deadly still.
Even Lucian stopped breathing.
Kael glanced at her, pride and worry flickering in his eyes — but he didn’t stop her.
“You asked me to choose,” Selene said, her voice steady, her power humming through the room. “I have. If that starts a war, then maybe the war was always coming.”
The air was so heavy it felt like the walls themselves were listening.
Lucian was the first to break the silence. He stepped closer, his tone softer now, almost pleading.
“Selene,” he said. “If you do this, you don’t just bind yourself to Kael. You bind yourself to his pack. His future. His enemies. Do you understand what that means?”
“I do,” Selene said quietly.
“And you still choose him?”
“Yes.”
Kael’s jaw tightened, and for a second, Selene thought she saw relief flicker across Lucian’s face — relief, then something darker.
“Then so be it,” Lucian said at last. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He turned and left the chamber, his cloak trailing behind him like a shadow.
The elders began murmuring, their voices rising, arguing over territory, alliances, threats.
But Selene barely heard them. Her chest felt strangely light, as if a weight she had been carrying for years had finally slid off her shoulders.
Kael turned to her then, his expression unreadable.
“You’ve just made enemies,” he said softly.
Selene’s lips curved into the faintest smile. “Good,” she said. “Now they know I’m not afraid of them.”
For the first time that morning, Kael smiled — slow, sharp, and proud.
“You’ve just declared a war, Selene,” he said.
“Then let’s win it,” she replied.
---
They left the council chamber together, the whispers following them like smoke.
Outside, the first light of dawn painted the sky in gold and violet. Selene paused, closing her eyes for a moment and letting the cool air brush over her face.
She felt Kael’s hand graze hers — tentative, as though asking for permission.
She didn’t pull away.
---
That night, the packs gathered again, this time under the full moon. Selene stood with Kael at the edge of the ceremonial circle, the elders watching from their stone seats.
“This is your last chance,” Elder Malric warned. “Once he marks you, there will be no undoing it.”
Selene’s breath came slow and steady. “Then let it be done.”
Kael stepped forward, his hand resting lightly at the base of her throat, where her pulse thudded wildly. His eyes never left hers as he lowered his head toward her neck.
The moment his teeth grazed her skin, her power erupted — silver light spiraling skyward, wrapping them both in its glow.
The circle gasped, some stepping back, some falling to their knees.
Kael’s mark burned against her skin, but it wasn’t pain — it was fire and freedom all at once.
When it was over, Kael stepped back slightly, his breath ragged, his mark glowing faintly on her neck.
“She’s mine,” he said to the circle. “By choice. By bond. By moon.”
Selene raised her chin, her silver eyes blazing.
“And I am no one’s weapon,” she added. “From this night forward, I fight for my own fate.”
The moon above seemed to flare brighter, as if answering her vow.
And in that moment, every wolf in the circle felt it — the beginning of something they could not stop.
- Writer
