Moonblooded

Chapter 4 The Council

The black car cut through the morning mist like a blade.

It was sleek, armored, silent it screamed power it was just like the Council, money driven and flashy. The kind of vehicle that didn’t need an escort because it was the message. No flags. No banners. Just quiet judgment wrapped in modern steel.

Kade stood on the steps of the Blackfang estate, arms folded across his chest, Varric restless beneath his skin. The pack gathered quietly along the drive, warriors in full uniform, their postures perfect and rehearsed. But beneath the surface, tension coiled tight.

The car stopped.

The rear door opened.

Council Alpha Alder stepped out.

He wasn’t tall or imposing. He didn’t need to be. There was something colder than steel in his sharp grey eyes calculated power that came from wielding judgment, not brute force.

Beside him was a younger wolf his assistant armed with a digital pad and a too clean scent that spoke of polished neutrality. The young male took in everything, stylus tapping the screen in rhythm with Alder’s movements.

Kade descended the steps slowly. “Council Alpha Alder,” he greeted, voice flat.

“Alpha Kade.” Alder’s tone was neutral but clipped. “Blackfang stands…impressive as ever.”

Kade didn’t smile. “We pride ourselves on discipline.”

“And on rewriting protocol?”

Kade’s jaw ticked. “You’ll find the rogue secured and monitored as per guidelines.”

“I wasn’t aware rogues warranted medical care.” Alder’s gaze was sharp. “Especially not from packs tasked with protecting Council territories.”

“She was nearly dead when we found her.”

“And yet you saved her. Unorthodox, to say the least.” Alder nodded to his assistant, who was already recording. “I’ll need to see her.”

Kade’s answer came instantly. “She’s under medical quarantine. Silver exposure, deep trauma, and unknown origin. She’s not fit for inspection.”

Alder studied him for a beat too long. “How convenient.”

Kade didn’t blink. “Council policy allows Alpha discretion in medical matters concerning dangerous subjects.”

Alder’s assistant paused in his note-taking.

Alder turned. “Very well. For now.”

They walked through the courtyard, past the stone fountains and manicured hedges that framed the estate like the teeth of a crown. Kade’s steps were even, his aura controlled but every word, every glance Alder offered was another chisel against his composure.

Kade stepped forward. “You’re not here for her. You’re here for me.”

“And you know why,” Alder replied. “You’ve skirted the threshold for three years now. You’re approaching thirty, unmated, and unstable. Your wolf is barely leashed. The Council has tolerated this because of your father’s legacy, your financial leverage, your performance in the northern skirmishes.”

His voice dropped colder.

“But we do not tolerate feral Alphas.”

Varric snarled behind Kade’s eyes. Let me show him how leashed we are.

Kade’s lips curled. “I’m not feral.”

“Not yet. But you will be. And when that day comes—”

“It won’t.”

“You don’t get to decide,” Alder snapped. “You were given Amara three years ago by treaty. A contract backed by her father, one of our own. The arrangement is Council recognized. And yet…”

He let the silence stretch.

“You haven’t claimed her.”

Kade didn’t speak. The wind moved around them. Ronan remained still at his side. Darian shifted once.

Alder’s tone sharpened. “Mate her. Or we’ll decide how Blackfang’s leadership continues.”

Kade’s aura flared like a wave, crashing outward in a pulse of dominance that sent the assistant stumbling back a step. Even Alder blinked, shoulders tensing.

Kade didn’t yell.

He just looked at him.

And Alder knew this was his only warning.

The moment passed.

Alder smoothed his coat.

“Walk me through your estate.”

The estate never felt more like a cage.

Kade led Alder and his assistant through the south wing, his footfalls echoing against stone and steel. The halls were filled with curated history portraits of past Alphas, weapons mounted on velvet displays, etched runes passed down from the old world. Pride and lineage. Blackfang’s legacy.

Yet with every step, Alder made notes. Observations. Silent judgments.

Ronan walked just behind them, his Beta senses tuned to every shift in energy.

Darian lagged farther back, arms crossed, scowl fixed to his face.

The whispers began to follow them pack members ducking behind corners, warriors freezing mid-training, their unease spreading like frost. Eyes darted. Minds raced. The pack link buzzed beneath the surface.

“Why is the Council here?”

“Is it about the rogue?”

“Why does Alpha look so… off?”

Varric’s growl simmered in Kade’s chest. They doubt us. All of them.

At the armory corridor, Alder stopped and turned to Ronan.

“Beta,” he said, voice clipped. “You’ve served Kade since he took the title?”

“I have,” Ronan said.

“And how would you assess his leadership today, compared to, say… two months ago?”

Ronan didn’t hesitate. “He’s consistent. Calculated. Focused.”

“And stable?”

Ronan’s jaw tightened. “Absolutely.”

Kade almost smiled.

Alder turned. “And you, Delta?”

Darian’s voice came sharper. “You want me to lie, or tell you what everyone else is thinking?”

Kade’s eyes snapped to him. “Darian.”

“No,” Darian said, stepping forward. “Let’s all stop pretending. Kade’s been off since we brought that rogue in. Doesn’t sleep. Doesn’t speak. Harder in training, harsher in meetings. And I’ve seen him snap at warriors he wouldn’t have even looked twice at before.”

Alder arched a brow. “So you believe he’s slipping?”

“I believe something changed,” Darian said. “And whatever it is, he won’t talk about it.”

Ronan’s gaze cut to Darian. “You’re out of line.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

The tension spiked like lightning between them. Kade’s aura slammed down again harder this time, pressing every wolf in the corridor into stillness.

Even Alder’s assistant shifted his stance.

“I command this pack,” Kade said quietly. “You don’t speak on what you don’t understand.”

Darian didn’t flinch. But he backed away.

Alder nodded once. “Truth has its price, Delta. Be sure you’re willing to pay it.”

Kade continued the walk.

But the whispers were louder now.

And no one met his eyes.

Kade stalked through the main hall with Varric snarling under his skin, his aura jagged from Alder’s interrogation and Darian’s accusations.

And then there she was.

Amara.

Seated elegantly in the council lounge, legs crossed, sipping tea like royalty. Her crimson dress hugged every inch of her posture, polished and sharp. She looked like a Luna already crowned.

Alder took a seat across from her, his assistant scrolling through a holo-pad while listening intently.

Kade paused in the doorway.

Amara’s eyes sparkled the moment they landed on him.

“Ah, speak of the devil,” she said smoothly.

Alder turned, motioning for him to be seated. “Kade and I were just discussing the importance of his and your mating ceremony.”

Amara kept in beat.

“I was just telling Kade I have nearly finished all the planning for it. And Councilor have you noticed the dedication our warriors have,” she continued, “how well the Alpha has reined in his more… aggressive tendencies. He hadnt even needed to take another lover since before I arrived, and the pack has seen such stability since then.”

Alder nodded thoughtfully. “She speaks highly of you. And of your shared future.”

Amara’s smile didn’t waver. “My father has already begun preparations. After the ceremony he’s already talking of me giving Kade a male heir.”

Kade’s jaw clenched. Alder gave him a long, unreadable look.

“It would ease the Council’s fears,” he said at last, “to see the Blackfang Alpha settled and to see it have an heir. It’s past time.”

Past time, Varric growled. They want chains. Not stability.

“Of course ,” Kade said coldly.

Alder stood. “Thank you, Amara. It’s good to know your loyalty holds.”

“Always,” she replied sweetly.

The moment Alder and his assistant exited the room, Amara rose, gliding toward Kade.

“You’re welcome,” she murmured.

“For what?” he snapped.

“For saving your reputation. Again.”

“I didn’t ask for your help.”

She leaned close, fingers trailing his chest. “No. But you needed it.”

That night, Kade tried to shut everything out.

The estate was quiet. The moon half-hidden behind cloud. He stripped off his clothes, leaving them where they fell, and collapsed into bed shirtless, his body exhausted but his mind still a storm.

He didn’t remember falling asleep.

Silver hair cascaded around her shoulders as she rode him, her skin flushed, glowing in the moonlight. His mate moaned his name, breathless and wild.

“Kade…”

His hands gripped her hips, guiding her as she moved faster, harder, desperate to feel him deeper. Her head dropped back, lips parted, her voice a prayer of want.

Every motion of her body on his sent fire licking up his spine. She whimpered when his hands gripped tighter, his thrusts surging up to meet hers.

He bit her shoulder just enough to sting not to mark her and she cried out in ecstasy.

“I’m yours Alpha,” she gasped.

Ours, Varric echoed in a savage growl of triumph.

The bond flared between them, molten and true.

Her hands tangled in his hair, her lips found his throat. “Claim me Kade, mark me.”

She trembled, just as Kade reached the edge leaning up to mark her as his fangs elongated-

He woke.

And it wasn’t the little rogue.

It was Amara.

His silver-haired mate was gone, replaced by jasmine-slicked skin and red-painted lips.

Amara moved above him, her breath sharp, chasing her own finish, completely unaware of the horror crashing down inside him.

He went cold.

Still.

His body rejected it. His soul burned.

Varric erupted.

No. Not her. Not this. This is a lie.

Kade almost threw her off.

Almost.

But instinct warred with logic and logic reminded him who she was. What her father had arranged. Who watched from the shadows of Council politics.

So he didn’t fight her.

He lay still as she rocked against him, as her breath hitched and her hands grasped his chest like he was hers.

He stared past her, up at the ceiling, at the moonlight bleeding through the windows.Trying his best to make her think he was still enjoying himself.

Not Mate

Never Mate.

His wolf howled.

Amara gasped, body shuddering in release.

Kade clenched his jaw and faked a tremble. Just enough.

She collapsed onto him, smiling.

“I knew you still want me, maybe we really can get them the heir that want you to have.” she whispered.

He said nothing.