Chapter7
811 Words
Kael’s Pov
I had asked Kaida to summon all the pack members into the council chamber.
I had decided
I had no choice at this point, she was my enemy but I brought her here. I carried her with my arms into my territory. I can't kill her anymore. I would have done that a while back if I wanted to but it was too late
I can't kill her nor can I make her a prisoner forever so I was left with one choice.
I made my way into the chamber with my mind made up. As I opened the door and made my way towards the head of the long dark stone table. The council chamber was cold, its air stuffy.
I stood at the head of the table, looking down at my pack. My warriors, strategists, those loyal to me and those who needed reminding.
Axel was the last to arrive, his jaw already tight with suspicion. Kaida entered behind him, silent, composed, the perfect contrast to the storm brewing inside her mate.
I waited until the door closed. Then I spoke.
“She’s alive.”
The room stilled.
“She is in this stronghold. Under my protection. And I’ve made a decision regarding her future.”
“Alpha…” muttered Elijah, one of my senior warriors. “You’re speaking of the witch princess?”
I nodded once. “Willow of Verneville.”
The air grew heavier.
“Why?” came from one corner. Rhea, a sharp-tongued werewolf. “She is the daughter of Lilith. She was their future.”
“She is a threat,” said Axel, stepping forward. Already prepared to counter me
I met his gaze. “Yes she might be but I’m keeping her alive.”
A low murmur rippled through the room.
“What happens when she wakes up and destroys this place?” Rhea pressed. “She burned one of our best warriors without blinking.”
“I’m aware,” I said evenly. “Which is why the decision has been made. Her memory, of Verneville, of the attack, of who she is, will be wiped out.”
The silence that followed this time was different Dense. Sharp.
Axel’s voice cut through it. “You can't seriously be considering that.”
“I am.”
“You’re going to erase her?” he asked, disgust clear in his tone. “Do you know what that makes us? What that makes you?”
Kaida’s voice was calm. “It makes us safe. It buys time. It gives her a chance to survive.”
Axel turned on her sharply. “You agree with this?” Hurt flashed in his eyes. “You, of all people?”
“I do,” she replied softly. “Because I’ve seen what memory does to people. It either anchors them or burns them alive. And she’s already drowning.”
“We’re not gods, Kaida,” Axel snapped. “We don’t get to rewrite people.”
“No,” she said. “But we do get to save them.”
His hands curled into fists at his sides. The bond between them pulsed like a heartbeat in the air tense, intimate, strained. I could feel it.
“She’s our enemy and You’re asking me to stand by while we turn her into something she’s not?,” Axel said, still looking at Kaida.
“No,” I said firmly. “I’m telling you that you will. You’re my Beta, Axel, and you follow my command.”
His eyes flicked to me. “Even when it compromises who we are?”
I stepped forward, voice like ice. “This is not a discussion. It is a declaration. I will protect this pack, even if it means walking through fire with a blade at my back. And if you cannot stand beside me in that, then step aside.”
The room fell into a tense silence.
Rhea looked between us all. “And what if the spell fails? What if she remembers?”
“Then we face her as one,” I said. “But we will have prepared. Trained. Watched her grow. On our terms.”
Kaida stepped closer to Axel, brushing her fingers lightly against his. A silent gesture, mate to mate. Reassurance. But he didn’t take her hand.
Not yet.
I looked around the room.
“Anyone else want to question my decision?”
Silence.
Reluctant, but solid.
“Good. Prepare the shrine. The spell will be done by sunset.”
As the pack dispersed, Kaida remained. Axel didn’t follow her. He stood at the edge of the table, staring down, breathing hard.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said quietly, not looking at me.
“So do I,” I replied.
And the truth was, I didn’t.
Not fully.
But I’d made my choice.
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