CHAPTER 10: THE ALPHA DEBATE

NYALL'S POV

It’s too warm for a mid morning, and right now the council chamber smells like smoke and sweat due to the fact that it's entirely packed tight with ranked wolves, council members, and Elders.

Hell, the room feels like it’s just about to explode.

... Or maybe that’s just me.

Fenric is sitting to my right, repeatedly bouncing his leg.

Orien’s on my left, sitting completely still with his eyes narrowed as if he’s already calculated ten different ways this meeting could end in blood.

And me?

... Well... I’m trying not to snap the arms off this relic of a wooden chair that I'm sitting on.

“Lord Alpha Theron will not be joining us,” announces Elder Merrin from the center platform in a rather monotone voice.

“He has asked that we proceed with the hearing in his absence.”

Mentally I scoff at this; I know my father very well, and the right translation to his words are: he doesn’t want to be blamed for whatever’s about to go down.

There are mumurs around the chamber, and across the wide marble floor, I catch the High Priestess entering slowly, with two of her moon robed acolytes on either side of her, and her presence silences the murmurs instantly.

... Then she climbs the platform.

“Thank you all for gathering so quickly,” she begins.

“Today’s matter regards not only pack stability, but the sanctity of the bond.”

She pauses then, and looks over every werewolf present before continuing.

“Yesterday, an incident occurred involving the Omega, Iryn Vale.”

Instantly my hand curls into a fist.

“She collapsed unexpectedly during a heat episode, and multiple witnesses— including the three bonded Alphas— reported a sudden and complete drop in her scent------”

“She was burning up,” Orien says beside me, interrupting her.

“She was in distress.”

“Scent disruption can happen in heat,” I add flatly.

“Yes, but not complete disappearance,” the High Priestess counters, adding;

“And definitely not in an Omega. It is unheard of, in fact it is impossible,.”

Fenric growls lowly under his breath at this.

“Elders,” she turns now, addressing the semicircle of seated wolves near the front.

“Have any of you, in all your centuries of living, heard of an Omega losing their scent?”

“No,” says Elder Thorne who is so wrinkled with a silver scarred mark on the left side of his face.

“Even newborn Omega pups scent the air way stronger than Alphas.”

“Omegas may be weak,” Elder Merrin adds, “but their scents are the strongest markers the Moon Goddess gave them. It is what defines them.”

“She’s not just any Omega,” Fenric snaps immediately. “She’s our mate.”

At that, the High Priestess turns her gaze toward him. “Is she?”

“Do you question the Moon’s bond?” I demand, standing up to my feet.

“I do not, but I question the signs,” she replies.

"When the Moon marks someone, it is clear; but this bond… is unstable AND disruptive. Now we have scent loss—”

“She was attacked,” I cut in through clenched teeth.

“Someone tried to sever the bond.”

Yes, that's what I, Fenric and Orien concluded must have happened to our mate, especially given the sort of dream that she had.

We would never hurt our mate, and she was not scared of that until she fainted and had that dream.

... And then she lost her scent----- she didn't notice it when she woke up panicking from that dream, but we did---- for several minutes.

It has to be a spell that was put on her, however the High Priestess just looks at me with an unbelieving look on her face.

“We have no evidence of that.”

“We have experience,” Orien says, standing beside me.

"We felt the bond weaken, and you know what that means.”

That gets the interest of the elders, and a murmur rises from the lower ranks as they whisper amongst themselves, saying three words in two phrases: “dark magic” and “sabotage”.

Seeing them whisper like fools, I wonder if they have forgotten we're all werewolves and we all have extended hearing senses.

... And it makes me I wonder just how sensible their thoughts on the spell matter is.

“Enough,” Merrin says.

“This is not a trial of magic, it's a matter of safety. If the girl’s condition is… volatile, then she must be quarantined until we understand what she is.”

That makes me angry and I move from the spot I'm standing to take a step forward, fury burning beneath my skin.

“She’s our mate; Our bond was seen by the Moon and blessed by the altar. No Elder has the right to separate her from us.”

“The safety of the pack supersedes your personal attachment,” the High Priestess says, looking at me.

“If she is a threat—”

“She’s not!” Fenric shouts, standing so fast that his chair crashes backward with a loud clatter.

“She’s not a threat, you’re all just scared because you can’t control her.”

The elders all gasp at his words, and Orien mutters;

“Shit.”

“Control yourself,” Elder Thorne barks.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Fenric snaps back, his eyes now glowing now while the bones under his skin starts to move and make crunching noise.

He's about to shift, that's not good.

Damn it Fenric, now is not the time.

Quickly, I step in, blocking his path as he lunges toward the central dais.

“Fen,” I warn under my breath, gripping his arm so he doesn't go any further.

“She’s not going into some fucking cage,” he growls, so loudly that of course, everyone heard him.

“I won’t let them touch her.”

“Back down,” I hiss, tightening my grip on him. “You’re not helping her like this.”

He breathes hard now, his chest heaving and his fists staying clenched, but he doesn’t strike yet, thankfully.

However the High Priestess watches us, nodding as if Fenric's reaction just proved something to her.

“This aggression is exactly what concerns me; the three of you are already very territorial to the point of violence. If the girl’s bond is feeding that instability—”

“Don’t call her ‘the girl’,” Orien growls, standing up as well.

“Her name is Iryn.”

The chamber falls quiet again, and I watch their bodies become tense, realising that they're mind linking each other.

I wonder what they're discussing---- damn centuries old elders and their ability to block others----- even Alphas---- from hearing their mind link conversations.

Still, I hate being not in the no and proceed to reading their body language and then I notice that the Elders seem to have decided to act more carefully now with us.

That seems good.

I take in a slow breath, and then turn away from from Fenric entirely, facing the platform fully.

“You want answers right? So do we---- but you will not separate us from her. If you try to, we will challenge it.”

Fenric nods beside me, agreeing withy statement and Orien says;

“We’ll permit the situation and allow her to go the Temple’s healers for examination WITH US PRESENT. But if you dare try to isolate her—”

“You’ll start a war?” the High Priestess asks, raising a brow at my brother and Orien smiles without warmth.

“We’ll finish one.”

See that's the thing about Orien; he's the quiet one amongst us three, but he's just as violent as Fenric and I.

Elder Veylen, the only female among the elders who has been quiet till now, stands up and places both of her hands on the council table.

“Enough. This bickering brings us no closer to understanding; I propose a compromise.”

My jaw tightens at that, but I nod my head at her. “Speak.”

“The Omega will remain with you— for now,” she says slowly and carefully, and I have to bite my lips to stop myself from telling her it's FOREVER not 'for now'.

“... But she is to be observed. Daily reports must be given to the Elders, and she is to undergo a full magical testing to confirm if indeed she was been placed under a spell.”

Hearing that, I glance at my brothers.

Fenric’s still fuming, but stays silent, while Orien nods once more to himself than to the elders.

So I face the room again. “We’ll allow it, but if Iryn is harmed in the process, you will all answer to us.”

The Elders murmur their agreement to us, rather reluctantly, and the High Priestess bows her head to us.

“Then the matter is tabled for now Alphas.”

I exhale, only now realizing how tense my shoulders have been this entire time that we've been here.

As the council begins to disperse, I notice that almost all on then are keeping there gazes on us longer than necessary.

Their eyes are filled with doubt, fear and some curiosity.

However what I notice the most is that not a single one of them sees Iryn as their Luna.

... yet

But they will.

-------------------

Outside the chamber, Fenric punches the stone wall so hard that he causes a crack on the edge of the archway.

“She’s not a fucking experiment,” he growls.

“She won’t be,” I say. “We’ll protect her.”

Orien lets out a slow breath. “We have to find out who did this. Someone’s trying to break our mate bond.”

“I’d bet my life it’s Elayne,” Fenric mutters. “She was too quiet the last few days.”

“Quiet wolves are the ones who strike deepest,” I say, giving him a look.

“We’ll deal with her.”

Orien looks up at the sky at that moment, and I follow his gaze to see that the clouds are beginning to turn violet.

“We need to get back to Iryn,” he says.

“She probably felt the bond flare while we were in there.”

I nod and we all speed run back to our quarters.