Chapter 3: The Rules of the Game

The pack meeting hall looked like someone had crossed a medieval throne room with a corporate boardroom and added way too many people who could probably rip Hart's head off without breaking a sweat.

Hart stood next to Cole on a raised platform, acutely aware that every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on him with varying degrees of hostility, curiosity, and what he really hoped wasn't hunger.

"This is a terrible idea," Hart muttered under his breath, and Cole's hand pressed briefly against the small of his back in a grounding manner.

"They need to see you're real and that you're under my protection," Cole said quietly, then raised his voice to address the assembled pack.

"Most of you already know why we're here, but for those who don't, the Original Bloodline totem has activated after three thousand years, and it chose a human as my fated mate."

The hall erupted into chaos. Wolves shouted over each other, some in languages Hart didn't recognize, and the energy in the room has become aggressive and wild.

Hart's instincts screamed at him to run, but Cole's presence beside him kept him rooted.

An elderly woman with white hair and eyes like chips of ice raised her hand, and the room fell silent immediately. She stood from her seat at the front, leaning heavily on a carved wooden cane.

"Elder Thorne," Cole acknowledged with a slight nod, and Hart realized this woman held serious power if even Cole showed her respect.

"Alpha Haanshil, you bring a human before this pack and claim the totem has chosen him as your mate, yet we all know that Liam Haanshil filed a mate claim three days prior to this human ever touching the artifact." Her voice echoed everywhere Inside the hall without effort.

"Pack law is clear, a filed mate claim must be honored or rejected by the claimed party. If the Alpha attempts to override an existing claim, it is considered an act of aggression and grounds for challenge."

Hart's stomach dropped. "Wait, I'm sorry, so when someone filed a claim on me, it's mean I'm like a property?"

Several wolves growled at his tone, but Elder Thorne's expression didn't change.

"You are unfamiliar with our laws, human, which is understandable but does not change their validity. Liam Haanshil, exiled brother of Alpha Cole Haanshil, submitted a formal mate claim to the Werewolf Council using dark magic to forge a bond mark. The claim was accepted as legitimate despite the questionable methods."

"That's insane, I've never even met this Liam person!" Hart turned to Cole, anger overriding his fear.

"You once said your brother claimed me, which I remembered correctly from our last conversation, but you didn't explain it like this. Cole spit out in once speech.

“Because right now you guys are telling me some random werewolf I've never met can just decide I'm his mate and that's legally binding?"

"Dark magic can forge false bonds," Cole said, barely controlling his rage.

"My brother found out about the totem's location before I did, and he knew if it activated, it would choose my true mate. So he filed the claim preemptively to create a legal barrier."

"Which brings us to the current problem," Elder Thorne continued, her cane tapping against the floor.

"If Alpha Haanshil claims Hart Santino now, he violates the mate claim law and gives Liam Haanshil legal grounds to declare war on Haanshil Bloodlines.

If he does not claim Hart Santino, the human must go to Liam Haanshil when summoned, or the claim becomes permanent by default after the first heat cycle begins."

Hart's brain stuttered on several words in that sentence. "I'm sorry, heat cycle? What the actual hell is a heat cycle?"

Jethro, standing guard near the platform, made a sound that might have been a cough or a laugh.

Cole's hand tightened on Hart's back, and when he spoke, his voice was strained. "The mate bond triggers a biological response in werewolves. For an unmated wolf, being near their fated mate causes a heat cycle that makes the bond impossible to ignore. For humans with dormant wolf genetics, which the totem suggests you have, the same thing happens but more intensely."

"Dormant wolf genetics," Hart repeated slowly, because apparently his night couldn't get worse.

"You're saying I'm part werewolf."

"The totem only bonds with those carrying Original Bloodline markers," Elder Thorne said, studying Hart like he was a particularly interesting specimen.

"Your ancestors were wolves and human, though the bloodline has been dormant for generations. The totem's activation means you carry the strongest concentration of Original Bloodline genetics seen in three millennia."

A younger wolf stood up from the back rows, anger rolling off him in waves.

"So we're supposed to accept that our Alpha's fated mate is some weak human who doesn't even know his own heritage?

This is exactly why Liam challenged you five years ago, Cole. You're too soft, too willing to bend tradition."

"Careful, Marcus," Cole's voice dropped into that bone-vibrating register that made Hart's teeth ache. "Question my decisions all you want, but disrespect my mate again and we'll have a different kind of conversation."

The wolf named Marcus sneered but sat down, though Hart could feel his glare burning into the back of his skull.

"There is one legal option available," Elder Thorne said, drawing everyone's attention back.

"Hart Santino can publicly reject Liam Haanshil's claim and choose Cole Haanshil as his mate before the heat cycle begins.

This choice must be made freely, witnessed by the Council, and without coercion. If Hart chooses Cole, the false claim is nullified. If he refuses to choose or chooses Liam, Cole must honor that decision."

"And what happens if I choose nobody?" Hart asked, because he was genuinely curious how werewolf law handled the 'I'd rather stay single' option.

The silence that followed was answer enough, but Elder Thorne spelled it out anyway.

"Then you become unclaimed property during a time when every pack knows you're connected to the most powerful artifact in werewolf history. You would not survive a week."

"Right, so my options are: chosen scary werewolf Alpha, or exiled scary werewolf who used dark magic on me, or death by supernatural mob violence." Hart laughed in a high pitch. "This is fine, everything is fine, I'm handling this really well."

Cole's hand moved to Hart's shoulder, steadying him. "I won't force you to choose me, but I will keep you safe while you decide."

Before Hart could respond, the hall doors slammed open, and a messenger ran in, his eyes were wild eyed and panting.

"Alpha, Liam Haanshil is at the territory border with hundreds of BlackY Wolves and an army of rogues. He's demanding Hart Santino be surrendered within forty-eight hours, or he's declaring war."

The hall exploded into chaos again, and Hart had the extremely unhelpful thought that his life had officially become a supernatural soap opera, except with more death threats and fewer commercial breaks.