Ashes of the Broken

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen – Before the Gavel

Christa’s P.O.V.

By one o’clock in the morning…

Every Alpha had arrived.

Every Luna.

Every heir.

The lights of DeL Sol burned long after the moon reached its highest point.

No one slept.

No one expected to.

The Council would not convene until eight o’clock the following evening.

That gave us one day.

One day to prepare.

One day to protect my daughter.

One day to convince the most powerful supernatural leaders in the world that DeL Sol was still in control.

⸻

Morning came too quickly.

The Alpha House no longer felt like a home.

It felt like a palace preparing for war.

Staff hurried through the halls carrying fresh linens, silver trays, floral arrangements, and enough food to feed an army.

Guest suites were opened that hadn’t been used in years.

The kitchens were alive with shouting, laughter, and the clatter of pots.

Every room held another Alpha.

Another Luna.

Another pair of curious eyes.

Rumors traveled faster than footsteps.

I could almost hear them moving through the walls.

⸻

Antonio had already begun making his rounds.

I watched from the second-floor balcony as he crossed the courtyard with purpose.

Navi walked on his right.

Navito on his left.

Not behind him.

Beside him.

Exactly where a Second and Third should stand.

The three of them stopped every few minutes to speak with patrols, inspect security posts, and quietly redirect guards.

Antonio caught sight of me above.

He straightened instinctively.

I gave him one nod.

Nothing more.

He returned it before continuing on.

Carlos stepped beside me.

“He’s starting to look like an Alpha.”

“He always had the heart.”

I watched Antonio disappear toward the eastern gate.

“He just needed the responsibility.”

Carlos smiled.

“You sound proud.”

“I am.”

⸻

Anna remained hidden.

Aaliyah and Serenity hadn’t left her side since the confession.

The safest room in the Alpha House had become Aaliyah’s private suite.

Every window remained covered.

Every entrance guarded.

Not because Anna was a prisoner.

Because she had become the most valuable person in DeL Sol.

I found them shortly after noon.

Anna sat near the fireplace, wrapped in one of Serenity’s blankets despite the warmth outside.

Aaliyah was quietly refreshing another concealment spell.

The silver markings around the room shimmered briefly before disappearing into the walls.

Anna looked exhausted.

She smiled when she saw me.

It broke my heart.

“You don’t have to hide forever,” I said.

“No.”

She rested a hand over her stomach.

“But maybe just until tomorrow.”

I kissed her forehead.

“Just until tomorrow.”

I wasn’t sure whether I was reassuring her…

Or myself.

⸻

By evening…

The Alpha House had transformed.

Crystal chandeliers reflected across polished marble floors.

Long black tablecloths covered the Council table.

The Rivera crest stood proudly behind the head of the chamber.

Every chair had been placed with military precision.

Every glass.

Every plate.

Every name.

Nothing had been left to chance.

Because appearances mattered.

Especially tonight.

⸻

Carlos stood in front of the mirror fastening the last of his cuff links.

Black.

Everything was black.

A perfectly tailored Armani suit cut to fit him like it had been made by hand.

Gold buttons caught the light without being gaudy.

Diamond cuff links rested beneath the sleeves.

His wedding band was the only other piece of jewelry he wore.

He looked every inch the Alpha he had spent decades becoming.

I adjusted my own jacket.

Matching black Armani.

Tailored to perfection.

Sharp shoulders.

Gold buttons polished until they gleamed.

Diamond cuff links.

My hair pulled into a sleek low ponytail.

No necklace.

No earrings.

No unnecessary distractions.

Just the Rivera crest pinned over my heart.

Carlos walked behind me.

His hands rested lightly on my waist.

He met my eyes in the mirror.

“You look terrifying.”

“I was going for composed.”

“You missed.”

I smirked.

“I overshot?”

“A little.”

He kissed my temple.

“Good.”

I turned to face him.

“What about you?”

He straightened his lapels.

“I look married to the most dangerous woman in North America.”

I laughed despite myself.

“That’s probably true.”

He offered me his arm.

“My Alpha.”

I slipped my hand through it.

“My Alpha.”

⸻

The walk to the Council Chamber was silent.

Warriors lined both sides of the hallway.

Every one of them stood at attention as we passed.

No one spoke.

The massive carved doors stood open.

Conversation filled the chamber beyond.

Alphas.

Lunas.

Heirs.

Advisors.

All waiting.

A steward struck the ceremonial staff against the stone floor.

“Alpha Carlos Rivera…”

His voice echoed through the chamber.

“…and Alpha Christa Marie Rivera of DeL Sol.”

The conversations stopped instantly.

Every head turned.

Carlos and I entered together.

Measured.

Unhurried.

Shoulder to shoulder.

Not husband behind wife.

Not wife behind husband.

Equals.

Partners.

Alphas.

The room watched every step we took.

Let them.

If they had come expecting to find a family unraveling beneath the weight of rumors…

They were going to be disappointed.

Carlos pulled out the chair at the head of the table.

I sat.

He took the seat beside me.

Together, we occupied the head of the Council.

Not because we demanded attention.

Because DeL Sol had earned it.

I folded my hands on the table.

Carlos mirrored the gesture.

Around us, conversations slowly resumed.

But I noticed something.

Every Alpha looked at us.

Every Luna studied us.

Not one of them looked away first.

Good.

Let them see confidence.

Let them see strength.

Let them wonder whether the rumors were true.

Because if there was one lesson Enrique had taught me that was worth keeping…

It was this:

Never let your enemy see you bleed.

Tonight…

DeL Sol would not bleed.

Not in front of the Council.

The steward remained beside the great doors.

The room buzzed with quiet conversation.

Crystal glasses clinked softly.

Council members greeted old friends.

Old rivals exchanged polite smiles that fooled no one.

Carlos leaned toward me without taking his eyes off the room.

“Who worries you the most?”

I didn’t answer right away.

Instead, I watched.

An Alpha who spoke too loudly.

A Luna pretending not to stare.

An heir trying desperately to look older than he was.

Everyone was telling me something.

Whether they realized it or not.

“Not Marcus,” I said quietly.

Carlos nodded.

“He came looking for answers.”

“My concern isn’t the ones asking questions.”

“It’s the ones already convinced they know the answers.”

Across the room, Alpha Lorenzo Moretti laughed at something another Alpha had said.

His wife, Sofia, wasn’t laughing.

She was watching me.

Again.

I smiled politely.

She returned the gesture.

Neither of us meant it.

Carlos followed my gaze.

“Sofia.”

“Mmm.”

“She’ll push.”

“I know.”

“How far?”

I looked directly at her.

“As far as she thinks she can.”

Carlos’s lips twitched.

“And how far are you willing to let her?”

I picked up my glass of water.

“We’re about to find out.”

As if she had heard us…

Sofia excused herself from the group surrounding her and made her way toward our table.

Several Lunas noticed.

One by one, they quietly followed.

Of course they did.

Predators rarely hunted alone.

“Christa.”

Sofia’s smile was flawless.

“I wanted to tell you how beautiful your home is.”

“Thank you.”

“And the renovations after the battle…”

She looked around the chamber.

“…remarkable.”

“We’ve worked hard.”

“I’m sure.”

She rested one hand lightly on the back of an empty chair.

“It couldn’t have been easy…”

“…losing so many people.”

“No.”

“It wasn’t.”

A long pause settled between us.

Then she said it.

“I imagine losing Carter was especially difficult for Anna.”

The room around us grew noticeably quieter.

People weren’t listening.

They were pretending not to.

I folded my hands together.

“My daughter loved him.”

Sofia nodded sympathetically.

“I’ve heard.”

Another Luna stepped beside her.

Celeste Laurent.

Unlike Sofia…

There wasn’t an ounce of malice in her face.

“How is Anna?”

Before I could answer…

A third voice joined us.

“Recovering?”

Or hiding?”

Silence.

The question came from Luna Vivienne Ashcroft of Black Hollow.

Younger than most.

Sharp.

Brilliant.

And utterly incapable of minding her own business.

Carlos finally spoke.

“My daughter isn’t on today’s agenda.”

Vivienne smiled.

“Not officially.”

“But she has become the topic of every conversation.”

I looked around the chamber.

She wasn’t wrong.

The conversations had stopped entirely now.

Every Alpha.

Every Luna.

Every heir.

Listening.

Waiting.

Watching.

I slowly rose from my chair.

The scrape of wood against marble echoed through the chamber.

No one spoke.

I walked until I stood directly across from the three Lunas.

Sofia.

Celeste.

Vivienne.

I looked at each of them before speaking.

“When Carlos and I accepted the responsibility of leading DeL Sol…”

My voice was calm.

“…we understood our decisions would be questioned.”

I glanced toward the gathered Alphas.

“We understood our policies would be debated.”

Then back to the women before me.

“But somewhere along the way…”

“…it seems we’ve forgotten something.”

Sofia tilted her head.

“And what’s that?”

“My daughter.”

I smiled politely.

“…is not a Council agenda.”

The room became impossibly still.

“If you have questions…”

I looked toward the table.

“…ask your fellow Alpha.”

“If you have concerns…”

“…address DeL Sol.”

“But if you’ve mistaken this chamber for an opportunity to gossip about my child…”

My smile disappeared.

“…you’ve confused confidence with permission.”

No one moved.

No one breathed.

Then—

A slow clap echoed from the far side of the room.

Every head turned.

Navarro.

Still seated.

Still expressionless.

He lowered his hands after only three claps.

“I’d forgotten…”

His voice carried effortlessly across the chamber.

“…how formidable La Diabla truly is.”

The room stiffened.

Most of the younger Alphas had never heard anyone use that name aloud.

The older ones remembered it all too well.

I met Navarro’s eyes across the chamber.

For several long seconds…

Neither of us blinked.

Then the steward struck his ceremonial staff against the marble floor three times.

CRACK.

CRACK.

CRACK.

“Ladies and gentlemen…”

He raised his voice over the silence.

“The Council of Alphas is now in session.”

Every Alpha returned to their seat.

Every Luna followed.

The massive oak doors closed with a thunderous boom.

No one would leave until the Council was finished.

And somehow…

I knew before the first word was spoken…

Someone in this room intended to put my daughter on trial.

The ancient oak doors sealed shut behind the last Council guard.

The sound echoed through the chamber like the toll of a funeral bell.

Silence settled over the room.

At the center of the table, the Council’s ceremonial gavel rested on a block carved from the original stone of DeL Sol.

Marcus Blackwood rose first.

As the eldest sitting Alpha, tradition granted him the honor of opening the Council.

He rested both hands on the table.

“May the Moon Goddess guide our words.”

Every Alpha lowered their head.

“May our decisions preserve the balance between wolf, witch, and vampire.”

The room answered as one.

“So let it be.”

Marcus nodded once before taking his seat.

“The floor is open.”

Immediately, Alpha Jean-Baptiste Laurent stood.

“For the past four months, Crimson Ridge has experienced disturbances unlike anything in our recorded history.”

He placed several photographs onto the center of the table.

“Our sacred springs have begun glowing beneath the full moon.”

Another Alpha slid a leather folder across the polished wood.

“Blue Moon has reported the same.”

One after another, reports began piling onto the table.

Ancient trees blooming in winter.

Witches sharing identical dreams despite living hundreds of miles apart.

Vampires refusing to hunt beneath certain phases of the moon.

Children awakening gifts years before they should.

No one interrupted.

Everyone listened.

Carlos quietly sorted through each report.

His expression never changed.

Finally, Marcus looked toward us.

“Carlos.”

The room followed his gaze.

“You’ve remained unusually quiet.”

Carlos folded his hands.

“I’m listening.”

“And?”

He looked around the chamber.

“I believe every report is connected.”

Several heads nodded.

“So do we.”

Marcus leaned forward.

“Connected to what?”

Carlos answered honestly.

“We don’t know.”

Murmurs filled the chamber.

Lorenzo Moretti stood.

“With respect…”

He buttoned his jacket.

“I don’t believe that’s entirely true.”

Carlos met his eyes.

“Go on.”

Lorenzo slowly walked around the inside of the Council table.

“Every disturbance we’ve discussed…”

He tapped one report after another.

“…appeared within the last six months.”

Another tap.

“Every one.”

He stopped walking.

“And every one began shortly after the Battle .”

No one argued.

Because he was right.

Lorenzo continued.

“That battle changed our world.”

“It eliminated Dorian.”

“It destroyed his hybrid army.”He looked toward Carlos.

“And it claimed the life of the hybrid known as Carter Lykoudis.”A heavy silence followed.

Lorenzo clasped his hands behind his back.

“I do not believe those events are unrelated.”

Marcus nodded thoughtfully.

“What are you suggesting?”

“I’m suggesting…”

Lorenzo paused.

“…that we stop pretending the rumors surrounding DeL Sol have nothing to do with the disturbances affecting the rest of us.”

The room became still.

I felt Carlos’s hand lightly brush mine beneath the table.

Not to restrain me.

To remind me.

Breathe.

Luna Sofia rose without waiting to be recognized.

“If we’re discussing rumors…”

She looked directly at me.

“…perhaps we should stop calling them rumors.”

Across the chamber, Navarro remained perfectly still.

Watching.

Always watching.

Sofia continued.

“Every pack represented here knows that Anna Rivera loved Carter Lykoudis.”

No one disputed it.

“Every pack knows she accepted him as her mate.”

Again…

Silence.

Then she delivered the question every person in the room had been waiting to ask.

“So I’ll ask it plainly.”

She folded her hands in front of her.

“Is Anna Rivera carrying the child of the hybrid?”

The chamber fell completely silent.

Every Alpha.

Every Luna.

Every heir.

Every pair of eyes settled on Carlos and me.

I could hear the ticking of the antique clock mounted above the fireplace.

Carlos remained seated.

Calm.

Composed.

His voice was measured when he finally answered.

“My daughter’s private life is not subject to a Council vote.”

A few Alphas nodded in agreement.

Others exchanged uneasy glances.

Sofia didn’t sit down.

“So that’s not a denial.”

Before Carlos could respond, I slowly stood.

The scrape of my chair across the marble floor echoed through the chamber.

“I’ve tolerated questions.”

I looked around the table.

“I’ve tolerated speculation.”

My gaze settled on Sofia.

“But understand something before another word is spoken.”

My voice never rose.

It didn’t have to.

“If any person in this chamber mistakes concern for entitlement…”

“…or believes my daughter will be treated as evidence instead of family…”

I rested both hands on the table.

“They will discover exactly why my enemies gave me the name La Diabla.”

No one spoke.

Even the air seemed to stop moving.

Then, from the far end of the table…

Navarro smiled.

It wasn’t a friendly smile.

It was the smile of a man watching two storms collide.

And for the first time since the meeting began…

He spoke.

“I believe…”

His deep voice rolled through the chamber.

“…there is only one way to end the speculation.”

He turned his eyes toward Marcus.

“I formally request that Anna Rivera be summoned before this Council.”

The request hung in the air.

Every eye turned to Marcus.

The eldest Alpha slowly lifted the ceremonial gavel.

He looked first at Carlos.

Then at me.

Finally, he spoke.

“The request has been made.”

“Does any Alpha object?”

Silence.

No one answered Marcus.

Not immediately.

The weight of the question settled over the chamber like fog.

“The request has been made.”

Marcus’s hand remained on the ceremonial gavel.

“Does any Alpha object?”

“I do.”

Carlos never raised his voice.

He didn’t need to.

Every eye turned toward him.

He remained seated, one hand resting calmly on the polished black table.

Marcus inclined his head.

“State your objection.”

Carlos stood slowly, buttoning his Armani jacket with practiced ease.

“The request violates Council precedent.”

Murmurs spread around the chamber.

Lorenzo frowned.

“What precedent?”

Carlos looked around the room.

“For nearly two hundred years, this Council has recognized one principle above all others.”

He paused.

“No mate.”

“No heir.”

“No child.”

“…may be compelled to testify before the Council unless accused of violating Council law.”

His eyes settled on Marcus.

“My daughter stands accused of nothing.”

Several older Alphas exchanged thoughtful glances.

They remembered.

Marcus nodded almost imperceptibly.

Carlos continued.

“If the Council wishes to investigate DeL Sol…”

“You may question me.”

He placed a hand against his chest.

“You may question Alpha Christa.”

His hand moved toward me.

“You may question every member of my Council.”

“But you will not drag a grieving daughter before this chamber simply because gossip has reached your ears.”

The room remained quiet.

Then Alpha Marcus Blackwood spoke.

“The law is as Carlos describes.”

A few younger Alphas looked surprised.

Lorenzo wasn’t ready to concede.

“With respect…”

“This is no ordinary circumstance.”

“No,” Carlos agreed.

“It isn’t.”

“The supernatural world is changing.”

“Magic is changing.”

“We all acknowledge that.”

He slowly walked around the table, making deliberate eye contact with every Alpha present.

“But if fear becomes enough to suspend the laws that govern this Council…”

“…then none of us are leaders.”

“We are tyrants.”

No one interrupted him.

Because no one could.

Across the chamber, Luna Sofia folded her arms.

“So we simply accept your word?”

Carlos smiled politely.

“No.”

“I expect you to question me.”

“I expect you to challenge me.”

“I welcome it.”

His smile disappeared.

“But you will not question my daughter before you’ve questioned her Alpha.”

The distinction landed exactly as he intended.

Anna wasn’t hiding behind her parents.

She belonged to DeL Sol.

And DeL Sol answered through its Alphas.

Marcus rested both hands on the table.

“The objection has merit.”

He looked around the chamber.

“Does anyone wish to challenge Alpha Rivera’s interpretation of Council law?”

Before anyone could answer—

A chair scraped against the marble.

Navarro stood.

Every conversation ceased.

Unlike Carlos…

Navarro buttoned nothing.

Adjusted nothing.

He simply stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

“I have no desire to challenge Council law.”

His deep voice carried effortlessly through the chamber.

“But I would ask Alpha Rivera one question.”

Carlos met his gaze.

“You may ask.”

Navarro held his eyes for a long moment.

“If your daughter has nothing to hide…”

“…why is she absent?”

The question hung over the chamber.

Several Alphas shifted in their seats.

A few Lunas exchanged knowing looks.

Christa’s jaw tightened.

Carlos answered without hesitation.

“Because she buried her mate six months ago.”

Silence.

“My daughter has spent the last six months mourning the man she intended to spend the rest of her life beside.”

He looked around the room.

“I will not ask her to relive that grief to satisfy curiosity.”

Navarro never looked away.

“Curiosity?”

He repeated the word thoughtfully.

“Is that what you believe brought us all here?”

Carlos didn’t answer.

Navarro slowly turned, looking around the circular chamber.

“I’ve listened carefully today.”

He gestured toward the reports spread across the table.

“Sacred springs awakening.”

“Witches sharing dreams.”

“Ancient relics responding.”

“Children manifesting gifts beyond their years.”

He looked back at Carlos.

“We are not discussing gossip.”

“We are discussing signs.”

His gaze shifted to Christa.

“And signs rarely appear without a reason.”

The room grew so quiet that the ticking of the old clock once again filled the chamber.

Marcus finally broke the silence.

“Then perhaps…”

He folded his hands.

“…the better question is not whether Anna Rivera should appear before this Council.”

He looked directly at Carlos and Christa.

“But whether DeL Sol intends to tell this Council everything it knows.”

The question settled like a stone between us.

For the first time since the meeting began…

I realized we were no longer debating rumors.

We were debating trust.

And once trust was lost…

It was almost impossible to reclaim.