Claimed By The Alpha’s Curse

The Trial

LENNOX'S POV

"You're not going down there," Davian said, blocking the door.

I looked at him and felt something shift inside me, something powerful that didn't like being told what to do.

"Move," I said, my voice coming out with an edge I'd never had before.

"Lennox, you just completed the transformation, you don't know what you're capable of yet."

"Then I guess we're about to find out."

I stood up and the chains snapped like paper. Silver cuffs that had been burning my skin minutes ago now fell to the floor in pieces.

Thea gasped. "That's impossible."

"She's not just an Alpha anymore," Davian said quietly. "The curse made her something else."

I walked toward the door and pushed Davian aside, not hard, just enough to get past.

He stumbled back, shock written all over his face.

"Lennox, wait," he said, following me. "Ryker didn't just bring the council, he brought witnesses, he's building a case against you."

"Let him."

"He's claiming you're unstable, that the curse makes you a threat to every pack."

"He's not wrong," I said, heading down the stairs. "I am a threat, just not to every pack, only to his."

Davian grabbed my wrist and the bond flared between us, stronger than before.

"If you kill him in front of the council, they'll execute you," he said. "Is that what you want?"

I stopped. "What do you want me to do? Hide while he demands my head?"

"I want you to think," Davian said. "Ryker knows he can't beat you in a fight anymore, so he's using the council."

"Then I'll deal with the council too."

"Lennox—"

"I'm done hiding," I cut him off. "Ryker wants to see what I've become? Fine, let's show him."

I pulled free and continued down the stairs.

Callum was waiting at the bottom. "The council is demanding an audience, they're threatening to declare this pack hostile if you don't comply."

"How many?" Davian asked.

"Twelve council members, twenty guards, and Ryker brought another dozen warriors."

"It won't come to a fight," I said.

I opened the door before anyone could stop me.

Elder Marcus Verne stood on the other side with eleven other council members behind him. Ryker stood to his right with Seren beside him, both looking smug.

Marcus's eyes went straight to me and I watched his face change from confident to genuinely afraid.

"What are you?" he breathed.

"Alive," I said. "Disappointed?"

Marcus recovered quickly. "Lennox Gray, you are hereby summoned to appear before the Mooncrest Council to answer for crimes against pack law."

"What are my crimes?"

"Illegal bonding with a cursed Alpha, reckless endangerment of pack safety, and suspicion of dark magic usage," Marcus read from a scroll. "You will submit to council authority immediately or be declared rogue."

I laughed. "You're joking."

"The council does not joke about threats to pack security."

"I'm not a threat to pack security, I'm a threat to him," I pointed at Ryker. "And he knows it, that's why he brought you here."

Ryker's jaw clenched but he didn't speak.

"Your personal grievances are irrelevant," Marcus said. "What matters is that you have bonded with a curse that has killed three women before you."

"I completed the bond, I'm stable."

"That remains to be seen," Marcus said. "The council demands you submit to examination by our healers."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you will be declared rogue and hunted accordingly."

Davian moved up behind me. "Elder Marcus, you're overstepping, Lennox is under my protection as my bonded mate."

"The council has authority over all threats to pack safety," Marcus countered.

"The curse is broken," Davian said. "I'm cured, that's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Marcus's eyes narrowed. "At what cost? We don't know what she's become."

"So you want to kill me just to be safe?" I asked.

"We want to ensure you're not a danger to innocent people."

"The only people in danger from me are the ones who deserve it."

Ryker finally spoke, his voice smooth. "See? She's already threatening violence."

I turned my full attention to him and watched him take an involuntary step back.

"I haven't threatened anyone yet, Ryker," I said softly. "But keep talking and I'll make an exception."

Seren grabbed his arm. "Maybe we should go."

"No," Ryker said, but his voice shook. "We came here to protect the packs from this thing."

"Thing?" I took a step forward and half the guards reached for their weapons. "That's what you're calling me now?"

"What else would I call you? You're not a wolf anymore."

"I am looking at myself," I said, taking another step. "And I like what I see, I'm stronger than I've ever been, and I'm not the pathetic girl you threw away anymore."

Then Ryker made his mistake.

He stepped forward, his Alpha aura pushing out, trying to force submission.

It hit everyone on the porch, even Davian tensed but it didn't touch me.

I stood there completely unaffected while his power washed over me like water.

Ryker's face went white. "That's impossible."

"Nothing about me is impossible anymore," I said, and then I let my own aura out.

It wasn't like an Alpha's aura, it was different, darker, heavier. It felt like the curse itself, ancient and hungry and terrifying.

Every single person on that porch took a step back.

Ryker actually stumbled, his aura collapsing completely.

"This is what you created," I said to him. "When you threw me away, you created this, so don't act surprised when your mistakes come back to haunt you."

Seren was pulling on Ryker's arm. "We need to go, now."

"The council will hear about this," Marcus said, his voice shaking.

"Then do something about it," I challenged. "Bring your hunters, bring your warriors, but understand this, I'm not running anymore, I'm not hiding anymore, and I'm definitely not dying because you're all too scared to admit that I survived something you thought was impossible."

Marcus opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"That's what I thought," I said, and slammed the door in all their faces.

The hallway was silent.

Then Davian spoke. "You realize you just threatened the entire council."

"Yes."

"They'll come back with an army."

"Let them."

"You're going to start a war," he said.

I thought about Ryker's face, about the fear in his eyes.

"Yes," I said. "I'm okay with that." I shrugged my shoulders.