Chapter 98: The Gathering Storm

The great council chamber of the Crescent Moon Pack had not seen this much unrest in decades.

The air was thick with power and unease as elders, commanders, and envoys crowded into the stone-walled hall, voices low and full of suspicion. War was no longer a distant thunder—it had arrived at their gates.

Serena stood just beside Elias on the raised platform at the head of the chamber. Her posture was tall, regal even, though her heart beat wildly beneath her ribs. The weight of countless gazes pressed into her, some curious, some skeptical, a few outright hostile.

But Elias’s hand remained firmly in hers, and that single touch kept her grounded.

Theron stood to Elias’s right, arms folded tightly across his chest, his expression carved from stone. Serena could tell something deeper gnawed at him, something he hadn’t voiced yet.

“This meeting is not for ceremony,” Elias began, his voice carrying over the murmur like thunder breaking the clouds. “It is for survival. Our borders have been breached. Members of our patrol are dead. The Blood Fang Pack has declared war.”

Murmurs exploded across the room.

“Why now?” Elder Corrin snapped. “We’ve held uneasy peace for years!”

“They must’ve been planning this for months,” another elder said. “We should’ve struck first when we had the chance!”

“They wouldn’t have moved without inside knowledge,” Theron said grimly, stepping forward. “That’s what makes this different. They knew our patrol patterns. Our shift changes. Even the hidden routes.”

Elias’s jaw clenched. “We believe someone from within our ranks is feeding them information.”

Gasps echoed through the chamber like ripples across water.

Serena watched the tension coil tighter. She could feel the weight of mistrust settling over the room like a thick fog. Her instincts as the future Luna, as someone deeply bound to this pack—even before her bloodline awakening—screamed for clarity.

“We’re not just being attacked from the outside,” she said clearly, drawing all eyes to her. “We’re being tested from within. If there’s a traitor among us, then war isn’t our only threat. Division is.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Some elders looked surprised to hear her speak. Others exchanged glances, calculating. But she didn’t flinch.

Elias stepped forward beside her. “Serena speaks the truth. We can’t face Blood Fang as a fractured pack. We need unity—and that starts now.”

Elder Ruvan stood slowly. “You ask us to trust an outsider—”

“She’s not an outsider,” Elias growled. “She is my mate. She is one of us.”

Ruvan’s gaze met Serena’s, and for a moment, something flickered—respect, perhaps, or wary acknowledgment.

Before more could be said, the doors to the chamber burst open.

A young warrior—barely more than a boy—rushed in, panting. “Your Highness... something you need to see. Now.”

Elias didn’t hesitate. He motioned for Serena and Theron to follow as he strode from the hall. The council erupted behind them, but no one dared delay the Alpha King.

The warrior led them to the underground holding cells—a cold, damp stone corridor beneath the estate that hadn’t been used in months. Except now, torchlight flickered off the walls and the scent of blood hung in the air.

Two guards stood watch at the end of the hallway, where a single prisoner was shackled to the far wall. Elias’s steps slowed as they approached.

Serena’s breath caught.

She knew the prisoner.

Lira.

The former healer. A soft-spoken wolf with keen eyes and a calming aura. She had once tended to Serena’s bruises and wounds after her early training sessions.

“What the hell is this?” Elias asked, his voice low and dangerous.

One of the guards answered, “Caught her sneaking through the archive hall. She was trying to access the restricted records—the ones with patrol routes and estate maps. She had copies stashed on her.”

Theron stepped forward, grabbing the damp parchment off a table. “These are from last week’s logs.”

Lira’s head lolled up, her lip split, her eyes defiant even through exhaustion. “You don’t understand,” she spat. “I did what I had to.”

“You betrayed your pack,” Elias said sharply. “That I do understand.”

“No,” she hissed. “I tried to save it.”

Everyone froze.

Serena stepped closer. “Explain.”

Lira let out a humorless laugh, coughing. “You think this war started at the border? They’ve been poisoning this place from the inside for years. Whispering to the desperate. The ignored. The forgotten. You don’t protect the weak—you let them rot beneath your throne.”

Elias’s eyes flared with fury. “So you chose to become a weapon for our enemies?”

“I chose not to die quietly.”

The words rang in the cold chamber like a confession, and suddenly, Serena understood—Lira hadn’t been alone. If there was one, there were likely more. Disillusioned wolves who’d felt abandoned by the crown, seduced by the false promises of the Blood Fang pack.

“She’s not the only one,” Serena whispered.

Theron nodded grimly. “We’ll need to comb every rank. Every corner of the estate.”

Elias’s gaze darkened, but he nodded. “Take her to the high cells. No one speaks to her unless I say so.”

As the guards hauled Lira away, Serena turned to Elias. “This is bigger than just battle plans and betrayals.”

He looked at her, eyes burning. “It’s rebellion.”

That night, Serena couldn’t sleep.

The moon hung full and heavy over the horizon, casting ghostly light across her chambers. She stood on the balcony, wrapped in one of Elias’s robes, the scent of him grounding her.

When the door opened behind her, she didn’t turn.

“You should be resting,” Elias murmured, coming up behind her.

“I can’t.”

He slipped his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck. “You were incredible today. You commanded respect—even from the elders who doubted you.”

She leaned into him. “It doesn’t feel like enough.”

“It is.”

They stood there in silence, breathing each other in.

“Do you think we can win this?” she asked softly. “Not just the war, but the hearts of our people?”

Elias turned her to face him, cupping her cheeks. “I don’t just think it. I believe it. Because of you.”

She reached up, brushing her fingers along his jaw. “I don’t know what’s coming. But I know I want to face it with you.”

Their lips met again—slower this time, deeper. Not desperate, but deliberate. Like they had time to learn every curve, every sigh, every unspoken vow that passed between them.

Clothes were forgotten. Moans swallowed by the stars. They sank into one another like gravity pulling the earth to the sea, two forces converging beneath the moonlight.

And for that moment, nothing else existed.

Just Serena and Elias, kings and queens in a world set on fire.