Terms & Teeth
1249 Words
The council chamber looked less haunted by daylight and more like a courtroom. Stone walls caught the morning glow through tall windows; cameras blinked in corners; slim black microphones dotted the length of the obsidian table. The torches still burned in their sconces, but they were for ceremony now. The true light came from recessed LEDs—a modern pack wrapped around ancient bones.
Elders filled the half-circle with seats, dark suits pressed, and expressions unreadable. Wardens stood behind them like a wall of black muscle. A few younger advisers quietly tapped at their tablets, already logging the session for the official record.
Talia stood in the witness space, Alina at her side. Her sister’s chin was lifted just a little too high—the way she got when nerves tried to show, and she refused to let them. Kaela, Talia’s wolf, stretched in the back of her mind, lazy as a cat on a hearth rug.
About time, the wolf murmured, yawning like she owned the place.
Casius took his usual post one step behind Lucian’s right shoulder, all calm threat, daring anyone to test the peace of the room.
Lucian did not sit. He stood at the head of the table, hands flat on the obsidian surface, broad shoulders squared. His gaze swept the chamber until it found Talia. He looked at her the way one might look at an answer they already knew. She confirmed and nodded her acceptance, and he nodded his understanding.
“Before we begin,” he said, voice steady with command, “two items. First: Talia Graves and Alina Graves seek entry into the Royal Obsidian Ridge Pack. Second: I claim Talia as my intended mate and future queen—subject to Council terms.”
From the guest row, Thomas made a sound—low, territorial. A growl that started deep in the spine. His eyes cut to Talia, hate and jealousy burning like coals.
Talia waited for something to answer in her—old heat, old ache.
Nothing.
Clean like an emptied room.
She lifted one shoulder in a shrug.
Kaela cackled. I just showed his wolf the middle claw. Loser. You lose, butt head!
Thomas’s wolf, Ramble, surged under his skin. Irises blew wide, canines lengthened, fingers became claws. The wardens along the wall went still.
Lucian’s answering growl rolled through the chamber, Moonfire threading the sound until it vibrated in bone. Everyone in the chamber felt it, some shifting uncomfortably in their seats, others whimpering.
“Control yourself or be removed from chambers, Calder.”
Silence snapped tight.
Thomas swallowed his wolf down, eyes dropping first.
Only then did the Council breathe again.
A ripple passed through the room—surprise sharpening some faces, others leaning back with smug satisfaction. One seat on the far left stayed bored, long leg crossed, gold jewelry catching the light.
Mira.
She wore black with accents of northern gold, all sharp angles and easy arrogance. She didn’t look at Lucian at first. She looked at Casius. Then Talia. Then, finally, Lucian. As if grading the triangle they formed.
Talia didn’t blink.
Mira’s lip curved—approval or warning, impossible to tell.
Silver-eyed Elder Neris tapped her mic. “Entry first.” She looked at the sisters. “Talia, Alina—do you come of your own will?”
“Yes,” Talia said without hesitation.
“Yes,” Alina echoed, her voice clear despite the pulse visible in her throat.
“We have provided you with our doctrines. Do you accept our laws, our Alpha, and our right to tell you ‘no’ when we must—even if you don’t like it?”
Kaela snorted. Rude, but fair.
“We do,” Talia answered, calm.
Neris inclined her head. “Then, by witness and ward, you’re ours. Captain?”
The warden captain stepped down from his post with a slim black case. When he opened it, the torches flickered across two small titanium cuffs—pack bands, not jewelry. He presented them like rings.
“Left wrist,” he instructed.
Talia extended her arm first, then Alina. The cuffs clicked closed, snug but not constricting. The metal warmed instantly, then pulsed once—alive.
Lucian stepped forward, his voice meant for them and the Council.
“These are the first seals,” he said. “Not the last. There will be a formal ceremony—a blood binding under moonlight. But that takes time, and they need the bond now. This connects them immediately, so they feel our strength—and we feel theirs.”
The cuffs shimmered faintly.
A cool thread slid behind Talia’s ear, like wind inside her skull.
Then—
Connection.
A door swung open into a crowded hall of voices.
At first: silence.
Then—floodgates.
Welcome, a dozen voices chorused. You’re ours now.
Relief slid through Talia so swiftly her knees nearly buckled. Lucian’s hand found the small of her back, steadying her. Casius did the same for Alina. The sisters reached for each other, fingers lacing.
Welcome, we’re so happy to have you, said a woman’s voice, dusk—soft and steady.
Hi! Piped a child, bright and giddy. Hi! I’m Rhea. I’m five. I’ve got a puppy too!
Light laughter shimmered through the link, warm, not mocking.
Goddess be with you, came an elder’s rumble.
Another chimed in cheerfully: Come by the community kitchen tomorrow. We’ll keep a plate waiting.
No longer alone.
Talia pressed her hand to her cuff, tears stinging. Beside her, Alina started at the voices, then grinned through the overwhelming welcomes.
Then a voice steadied, stronger, closer than the rest.
Talia. Alina. This is your aunt, Amalia. Come to me as soon as you can. We have a lot to speak of.
Talia’s heart thudded.
Alina gasped. Aunt. Family. They had believed they had none left.
Before she could speak, more voices poured in:
Welcome home.
The bond holds.
Lucian’s gaze rested on them, softer than the crown allowed.
“You are no longer rogues,” he said. “The pack knows you. And you will never walk alone again.”
Alina looked up, eyes bright.
Talia squeezed her fingers.
Recess
The Council adjourned briefly. Chairs scraped; murmurs filled the chamber. Lucian remained at the head of the table, speaking with an elder. When he finally glanced over, he found Talia’s eyes.
He smiled.
Warm. Private.
Talia crossed with him, her heart beating harder under her ribs.
Lucian stepped away from the table, lowering his voice.
“Talia,” he said, “you look steady.”
“I am.” She swallowed. “I accept,” she said quietly. “I will stay. I will stand with you.”
Something bright flared behind his eyes.
“Good,” he said. “We are aligned.”
He hesitated, softer: “Dinner tonight? After duties?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’d like that.”
He inclined his head. “Then we will celebrate later. Privately, if you choose.”
Heat rippled through her.
Her wolf hummed.
We choose.
The threat
As Talia walked away, her cuff pulsed once more.
Not warmth.
Cold.
Then—
Like a blade sliding under skin:
I see you.
Talia froze.
Kaela went still.
Another whisper, darker:
You think the King protects you.
But every fortress has a door.
Her stomach turned to ice.
Who are you? She demanded silently.
No answer.
Only:
When I find it… You’ll bleed for it.
Across the chamber, Thomas smiled.
- Writer
