Under the silver moon

Chapter 5: Into the wolves den

The council chamber was nothing like the dining hall.

It was circular, the stone walls were very high enough to echo every word spoken. A great round table sat in the center, carved from a single slab of blackened oak, its surface marked with deep scratches that looked too deliberate to be accidents. Twelve high-backed chairs surrounded it each occupied by someone whose posture radiated the quiet presence of influence.

Kael entered first, his steps steady, unhurried. Serena followed, the soft sweep of her gown against the stone floor the only sound she made. Every head turned to her, and though no one bared their teeth, she felt the weight of each stare like a blade pressing against her skin.

He didn’t introduce her right away. Instead, Kael took his place at the head of the table, resting one hand on the back of his chair. “Council,” he said, his voice reaching every corner of the room, “you know why we’re here.”

A tall woman with iron-gray hair and eyes the color of winter ice leaned forward. “We know there was an attack in the human city against one of our own. We know you returned with a human bride .” Her gaze slid to Serena like a challenge. “What we don’t know is why you’ve brought her here, into our seat of power.”

Kael’s jaw flexed. “Because our treaty depends on it.”

A murmur started around the table.

A younger man, sharp-faced and restless, scoffed openly. “Or perhaps the treaty is already broken, and you’ve brought her here as a trophy of the last war.”

Serena’s pulse raced, but she kept her face neutral. She had learned, in human politics, that silence was sometimes more dangerous than words and sometimes far more effective.

“She’s not a trophy,” Kael said, his voice filled with warning. “She is your Luna.”

That word Luna landed in the room like a thrown spear. Some shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Others stiffened in visible disapproval.

The man with the sharp face leaned back, his lips curling faintly. “A Luna should be of the pack. Not prey we bring to our table.”

Serena had planned to let Kael fight this battle. But at that, her control slipped.

She stepped forward, the hem of her gown brushing his chair. “If I’m prey, then it says more about your pack’s weakness than my worth,” she said, her tone cool as winter glass. “And if you truly believe I don’t belong here, then you’re welcome to say it to my face, instead of hiding it behind pretty speeches.”

The silence that followed was brittle. The sharp-faced man’s smirk faltered.

At Kael’s right, his beta leaned back, one brow arched in faint amusement, clearly enjoying the show.

Kael didn’t move for a moment. Then, slowly, he sat, his eyes locked on hers for a bit before shifting to the rest of the council. “You’ve heard her. And now you’ll hear me. She stays.”

No one challenged him outright, but Serena caught the look the iron-haired woman gave one of the elders small, but not nothing.

The meeting shifted after that to practical matters: security patrols, territory disputes, hunting quotas. But the air in the room remained charged. When it finally adjourned, and the council members filed out, some gave her hostile nods . Others didn’t acknowledge her at all.

Only the beta lingered as he passed her. “Careful,” he murmured, low enough that Kael couldn’t quite catch it. “You keep talking like that, they’ll either start to respect you… or decide you’re a bigger threat than they thought.”

And then he was gone.

Kael was the last to stand. “You’re making friends already,” he said dryly.

Serena lifted her chin. “I’m making it clear I’m not going to be walked over.”

He stepped closer, the space between them shrinking until she could feel the heat radiating from him. His voice was low, rough-edged. “Good. Just remember wolves don’t walk over prey. They tear it apart and eat it .”

The words should have been a warning. Instead, they felt like something else entirely something that made her heart beat harder in her chest and her stomach rumble.