Chapter 21: The Traitor's Counsel.
1137 Words
The Prisoner
The deepest cell beneath the Blackwood Hall was reserved for those who had committed the unforgivable sin: treason against the Alpha. It was perpetually cold, the stone walls weeping condensation, and the scent was a suffocating blend of stale musk, metal, and profound despair.
Victor sat chained to the wall, his powerful Beta body weakened by deprivation but his eyes still sharp with defiance. He had been waiting for the executioner, having failed his mission to kidnap Seraphina, who had instead delivered the Golden Heir. He considered himself a martyr for the true Pack traditions.
The heavy, iron door clanged open, and the scent of the Elders preceded them. But the person who walked into the cell was not an executioner.
Seraphina entered, flanked by Elder Kaelen and two guards. She wore her new Luna robes—rich, dark velvet—a perfect contrast to the filth of the prison. The scent of the newborn heir, Cassian, still clung to her, a constant, sickening reminder of Victor’s failure and her unexpected success.
Victor looked up, a raw, bitter smile stretching his lips. “Ah. The Mother of the Golden Eyes comes to gloat. A shame, Seraphina. Had you followed the plan, you’d be free, not trapped in the political cage the Elders just built for you.”
Seraphina dismissed the guards and turned to Elder Kaelen. “Elder, you may stand guard at the entrance. The purpose of this counsel is to ensure the security of the Pack against further hidden threats. Victor must speak freely.”
Kaelen, though uneasy, nodded, respecting the Luna’s new authority and the tactical necessity of gathering intelligence. He stood just inside the door, his presence a flimsy pretense of legal oversight.
The Proposal
Seraphina knelt on the freezing stone floor, bringing her face close to Victor’s. The intimacy of the gesture was purely manipulative.
“I didn’t come to gloat, Victor,” Seraphina whispered, her voice low and laced with poisonous sincerity. “I came to thank you. You failed the kidnapping, yes. But your action triggered the birth, giving the Elders the evidence they needed to install me as Luna and eliminate the human threat.”
Victor scoffed. “You are not a Luna, Seraphina. You are a puppet. Rhys has recognized the human as a sovereign. She built an army in three months and now controls the only source of external wealth. She is more powerful now than she ever was in the Hall. You won a title; she won a kingdom.”
Seraphina’s eyes narrowed. The pain of Lila’s ascent was raw. “And that is why I am here. Alpha Rhys is broken by the Mate Bond. He is protecting the human. The Elders are weak and only care about titles. I am the only one who cares about survival, and I need a strategist who is not blinded by sentiment.”
She leaned in closer, dropping the Luna façade. “I told the Elders that you are the key to exposing the rest of the traitors—Rhys’s loyalists who would still follow the human. They have agreed to delay your execution indefinitely, pending your cooperation.”
Victor’s eyes widened, a flicker of desperate hope igniting the despair. “A reprieve?”
“A permanent alliance,” Seraphina corrected, her gaze cold and demanding. “You tell me everything. Every wolf you convinced to turn on Rhys. Every weakness in his defense structure. Every piece of gossip and dissent that I can use to turn the Elders against his command.”
“And in return?” Victor asked, his voice hoarse.
Seraphina smiled, a cruel, beautiful gesture. “In return, you will not be executed. You will be kept here as the Luna’s War Strategist—a prisoner with purpose. When I have solidified my rule, I will give you a new identity and let you leave the Pack forever. You will be free, Victor, something Rhys would never allow.”
The Terms of Treason
Victor analyzed her offer. Execution was certain under Rhys. Imprisonment with purpose, followed by freedom, was the only escape route. And the idea of helping Seraphina dethrone the Alpha who had scorned him was intoxicating.
“You want me to help you take the throne from Rhys, but you want to do it without touching the golden heir,” Victor clarified, his mind already spinning with tactical moves.
“The heir is my shield,” Seraphina confirmed. “The Alpha’s weakness is the Mate Bond. You must show the Elders that Rhys’s decisions—his refusal to use the resources, his protection of the Meridian Pack, his obvious agony over the human’s absence—are all proof that the Mate Bond has made him unfit to lead. You give me the evidence; I give you your life.”
Victor finally laughed, a dry, rasping sound that echoed through the stone cell. “The human, Lila, was right. You are a ruthless survivor. She should have killed you months ago.”
“But she didn’t,” Seraphina said simply. “And now she is too far away, building a mountain of rubies. She thinks she has secured her power, but she has left her Mate undefended in the most critical position.”
Victor nodded, the chains rattling against the stone. “Very well, Luna. I accept your terms. Where shall we begin? We must start with the Mate Bond itself. Rhys is using his grief to control the Hall, but his pain is his greatest weakness.”
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “The Mate Bond is physical. The separation causes intense pain. The only way to stop that pain is to either kill the Mate or replace the Bond. Rhys will never kill Lila. But we can use the Pack’s own traditions against him.”
Seraphina’s eyes lit up with a dangerous understanding. “You mean… the Rite of Replacement.”
“Precisely,” Victor confirmed. “But first, we must remove his most loyal support. We must show the Pack that his Beta, Zara, and his Captain, Evelyn, are secret loyalists to the Meridian Pack. They are the human’s inner circle, and they must be exposed as traitors before they can warn the Alpha.”
Seraphina smiled again, truly satisfied this time. She had a new agenda, a powerful secret ally, and a plan to destroy the Mate Bond forever.
“Elder Kaelen,” Seraphina called out, standing up. “The prisoner is cooperating. The execution is indefinitely suspended. Have Victor provided with ink and parchment. We have much work to do.”
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