The Alpha's forbidden firstborn

CHAPTER 6: COUNCIL DOUBT

The council gathered in a long hall beneath the pack house as light faded through the high windows.

Elders sat nearest the head of the heavy oak table. Senior warriors, many still bearing the scars of old border skirmishes, sat according to their rank. Their expressions were carefully neutral, but their eyes were sharp with questions.

Kael stood at the head of the table. The mate bond pulsed steadily in his chest—a constant reminder of the girl upstairs in his room, unconscious after the necklace's explosion. He rested both hands on the back of the Alpha's chair and let the silence stretch until everyone in the room felt the weight of it.

"As you all know, I have found my mate," he said at last, his voice carrying easily in the chamber. Low. Absolute. "Her name is Elara. She will be acknowledged as Luna once the marking is completed."

For several heartbeats, no one spoke.

Elder Torin, one of the most respected elders, was the first to break the silence. His voice was measured, respectful, but edged with clear concern.

"A human, Alpha?" He voiced. "The lady you brought in here as your mate has no wolf. And she is too fragile."

"She is a slave," another elder added, with the bluntness of age. "We all saw the state of her. The bruises. The way she held herself. A Luna must stand beside her Alpha in strength. She must command respect from the pack and from outsiders. Can a girl who flinched at every raised voice truly lead this pack?"

A low murmur of agreement moved through several of the elderly wolves.

Kael felt his wolf rise in a slow, dangerous wave. Gold bled into his eyes. The temperature in the hall dropped immediately.

"She is my mate," he said, his words precise and final. "The bond is real. I will not have her spoken of as though she is still a servant. She is mine. That is the only fact any of you need."

One of the senior warriors shifted his weight. "No one questions the bond, Alpha. We question whether she can bear the weight of what comes with being bonded to an Alpha. The pack will look to her," he continued. "Other Alphas will look to her. If she cannot stand in challenges, if she cannot speak with authority, it will be seen as a weakness—not hers alone, but the whole pack's."

Kael's hands tightened on the back of the chair until the wood cracked. He let the silence return, longer this time, until several wolves began to lower their gazes.

"I have never asked this council for permission to claim what is mine," he said quietly. "I am not asking now. She will heal. She will learn. And when the time comes, she will stand beside me because the bond demands it—and because I will allow nothing less."

He paused, looking at their faces. They all dropped their gazes, intimidated.

"Anyone who does not accept that is free to speak up and face the consequences of questioning their Alpha's mate," he said, his voice carrying the full weight of his Alpha authority.

No one spoke. No one dared to.

"As you say, Alpha," Elder Torin said, the only one bold enough to even raise his gaze. "The pack will follow your Lead