CHAPTER 9 – The Elders’ Ultimatum

(Delph’s POV)

Dawn bleeds through the curtains like a wound that won’t close.

I’ve been awake all night, staring at the map on my desk but seeing only her face in the firelight.

Afnan.

The name alone feels dangerous.

When the knock comes, I already know it isn’t good news.

Corin enters without waiting for permission; his scent carries tension.

“They’re waiting in the council hall,” he says. “They called an emergency session. No guards, no audience.”

Of course they did. Wolves never bare their teeth in front of witnesses.

“Let’s not keep them waiting,” I mutter, pulling on my jacket.

The council chamber smells of cold stone and silver ink. Six elders sit in their crescent, robes crisp, expressions carved from arrogance. Serena stands behind them like a golden blade.

Elder Varr speaks first. “Alpha Delph. We’ll speak plainly. Your decisions place Bloodstone in jeopardy.”

I take the center seat. “Jeopardy from what? A woman under protection?”

“From weakness,” Varr replies. “From distraction.”

Ruhn, the youngest, glances down as if the floor might save him. The others don’t blink.

Serena steps forward, voice smooth. “Rumors spread through every rank. They say the Alpha hides a traitor in his house. That he fathered her bastards.”

My claws pierce the wood of the armrest. “Choose your next words carefully.”

She smiles slowly, cruelly. “The Council demands a Blood Oath Test before the next full moon. Refuse, and we will invoke Article Nine.”

Article Nine.

The right to strip an Alpha of authority pending review.

Corin stiffens beside me, but I raise a hand before he can speak.

“You dare threaten me in my own hall?”

Varr folds his hands. “We preserve the pack, not the throne. If your bloodline is compromised, leadership must pass to one who still honors the old laws.”

“You mean one you can control.”

No one denies it.

Serena’s eyes glitter. “You could end this now, Delph. Bring the woman and her pups before us, let the moon decide truth from rumor.”

I stand. The power rolls off me, thick enough to press the air from their lungs. The torches flicker blue.

“I’ve given this pack everything: my youth, my brothers, my blood. If you think I’ll offer my children next, you’ve forgotten who leads you.”

Varr rises slowly. “Then prepare for the consequences.”

“Prepare for war,” I return.

The room vibrates with the force of the words. The elders shrink back, robes whispering against the floor as they retreat. Only Serena lingers.

“You’re making a mistake,” she murmurs.

I look at her, tired of masks. “Maybe. But it’ll be mine.”

When the chamber empties, Corin exhales. “They’ll move fast. Probably by nightfall.”

“I know.”

“What’s the plan?”

I walk to the window. Outside, the training fields glimmer with dew. Beyond them, the eastern roof catches a sliver of sunlight in the part of the house where she’s sleeping.

“Double the guards,” I say. “No one enters or leaves without my order. If the Council sends word to the outer packs, intercept it.”

Corin hesitates. “You’re really going to fight them over her?”

“Over them,” I correct. “She’s not the only one they’d destroy.”

He studies me a moment longer, then nods. “Understood, Alpha.”

When he leaves, silence returns.

Draven prowls inside me, restless. You’ve chosen.

“Yes.”

They’ll come for her tonight.

“I know.”

Then be ready.

I glance again toward the east wing. The thought of Afnan, the twins alone behind those doors fills me with something I haven’t felt in years.

Not for myself.

For what I could lose.

Later, as the sun climbs higher, I call the captains to the courtyard. Orders pour from my mouth patrol shifts, barrier seals, new wards along the borders. They think it’s preparation for a rogue attack. Maybe it is. The worst enemies wear familiar faces.

When the last soldier salutes and leaves, I stand in the silence of the yard, breathing smoke and morning air.

Choosing Afnan means risking everything I built.

Not choosing her means destroying what’s left of my soul.

The decision isn’t noble. It’s instinct.

An Alpha protects what’s his.

And for the first time, I stop pretending I don’t know what that means.