CHAPTER 18: The Council of Alphas (Part II)

The silence stretched so long that Selene could hear the crackle of the fire at the far end of the chamber.

Every face had turned toward her.

"A complaint?" Victor asked at last, his voice calm enough to make the words sound harmless. "Against my Luna?"

Elder Rowan remained standing, both hands resting on the council table.

"It was submitted anonymously this morning."

Victor's expression didn't change.

"Read it."

The elder hesitated.

"It concerns the integrity of Ashfang's position within this alliance."

Victor's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I said... read it."

Rowan unfolded the parchment.

"'The alliance demands mutual trust among its leaders. Yet the Luna of Ashfang has been seen in repeated private meetings with Alpha Kieran Blackwood. Such conduct raises questions about divided loyalties and whether Ashfang's interests remain adequately represented.'"

Not one person spoke as Selene felt dozens of eyes settle on her.

She didn't lower her head. She had spent five years doing that and had decided that never again.

Victor broke the silence first. "So." His gaze swept across the council. "We're discussing gossip now."

"No," another elder replied carefully. "We're discussing perception."

Victor looked at him. "And what exactly is the difference?"

"The first can be ignored.". The elder folded his hands. "The second can destroy alliances."

Damien leaned forward. "Since when do anonymous accusations deserve a place in this chamber?"

"They don't," Victor answered before anyone else could.

"Then why are we entertaining this?" Damien asked.

"Because," Elder Rowan said, "someone wanted us to."

Ryker gave a soft laugh. "Finally."

Several heads turned toward him.

"I was beginning to think everyone here had forgotten how politics actually works."

Victor regarded him coolly. "You find this amusing?"

"I find it predictable."

Ryker folded his arms. "No one attacks a fortress from the front if they can poison the well instead."His eyes drifted toward Selene for the briefest moment."This isn't about her, it's about you."

Victor's jaw tightened. "And what conclusion have you reached?"

"That somebody doesn't want Ashfang leading this alliance."

The room fell quiet again with no one disagreeing because they couldn't deny the truth in his words.

Damien looked toward the elders. "If that's true, then whoever sent this succeeded."

"Not necessarily," Kieran spoke for the first time since the accusation had been read.

Every eye shifted to him as he in turn met the elders' gaze without hesitation.

"If we're allowing rumors to influence council decisions..." His voice remained even."...then none of us belong at this table."

One of the northern Alphas frowned. "Easy for you to say."

Kieran looked at him."Is it?"

"You aren't the one whose pack is being questioned."

"No." Kieran's eyes flicked briefly toward Selene. "But I am part of the rumor."

Whispers broke out across the chamber.

Victor noticed the glance, so did Damien. And Ryker, he remained silent, watching the conversation unfold exactly as though he'd expected every word.

The northern Alpha continued. "Then perhaps you're the right person to answer."

Kieran waited.

"Have you been meeting Lady Selene privately?"

Victor remained silent as Selene twisted the fabric of her dress between her fingers and Damien leaned forward, the protest already on his lips.

Instead... Kieran answered. "Yes."

The word landed like a stone dropped into still water with whispers spreading in the chamber once more.

Victor's didn't take his eyes off Kieran. And in them... Was fire, slowly burning."You admit it."

"I do."

"Were those meetings appropriate?"

"They were necessary."

"For what purpose?"

"Personal."

Victor's smile became almost imperceptible. "Personal." The word rolled off his tongue again and again. "What an unfortunate choice."

Damien spoke before the tension could tighten further. "This is ridiculous."

The room turned toward him.

"Since when is speaking privately with someone a crime?"

"No one said it was."

"No?" Damien looked around the table. "Then why does this sound less like a council meeting and more like a public trial?"

Ryker rested his chin against one hand. "Because trials are entertaining."

Damien shot him a look. "You aren't helping."

"I rarely do."

A few council members couldn't hold back the laughter that had gathered in their bellies. So they let it out, to the surprise of others.

But Victor, he neither laughed nor twisted his face to the tune the room listened to. He kept his attention on Kieran with the fire in his eyes growing larger with each passing breath

"You said those meetings were personal."

"I did."

"Do you care to explain?"

Kieran held his gaze. "No."

Victor's fingers tapped the table once. "Interesting."

An older elder cleared his throat."If refusing to answer only fuels suspicion..."

Kieran interrupted him calmly."I don't answer questions asked for the wrong reasons."

"And what reason would satisfy you?" The elder pressed

"The truth."

A dry laugh escaped Victor's lips. "The truth." His smile never reached his eyes.

"We've been discussing trust all morning." He looked directly at Kieran. "Now you're asking us to trust you."

"I didn't ask anyone to trust me."

"No?" Victor leaned back. "Then perhaps you should ask Lady Selene."

Selene's heart sank into her belly as every face turned toward her again.

She met Victor's eyes. "What would you like me to say?"

"The truth." His tone dripped with honey. "Were your meetings with Alpha Kieran appropriate?"

"They were conversations."

"About?"

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, knowing that the massacre, the warning, and the investigation had to remain buried.

"They were private."

Victor studied her. "So you refuse to answer as well."

"I refuse to explain myself to accusations without names."

For the first time, Ryker smiled with genuine approval. "Well said."

Victor ignored him. Instead, he asked quietly, "Have you known Alpha Kieran longer than you've known me?"

The question caught everyone off guard.

Selene didn't answer immediately.

"Yes," she muttered under her breath, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Victor nodded once as the chamber fell silent.

"I see."

An elder shifted on his seat like the words he just heard pierced his buttocks. "Alpha Kieran..." His voice carried a note of caution. "...there is one matter that should be clarified."

Kieran looked at him.

"You admitted knowing Lady Selene before her marriage."

"Yes."

"Were you merely acquaintances?"

The room held its breath as Ryker's smile vanished and Damien slowly turned toward Kieran.

Her heart hammered as Kieran caught her eye, understanding everything she begged him not to say without a single word. He turned back to the council anyway

"No."

The elder frowned. "No?"

"We weren't acquaintances."

Victor's face turned white as his fingers trembled on the table. "What were you, then?"

The walls seemed to close in as Kieran answered without taking his eyes off the council. "She was my mate."

The chamber stood frozen beneath the weight of what he had just said.

A quill slipped from an elder's hand, a sharp inhale cut through the silence, Damien's eyes locked on Kieran, and Ryker slowly closed his eyes.

"...Well." He muttered under his breath. "That should complicate things."

Victor didn't move or blink. His face remained perfectly composed.

Only the crystal glass beneath his hand betrayed him as a thin crack spread across its surface.

No one noticed except Selene. And in that single, terrible moment... She realized the council meeting was over.