Chapter 16: Retaliation

The pack didn’t erupt.

That was the council’s first mistake.

There were no riots, no howls of rebellion tearing through the night. No open defiance they could crush and call order restored.

Instead, things… slipped.

A patrol arrived late to the northern ridge—because the map they were given was wrong.

A supply run stalled—because the gate logs had been altered.

Messages went unanswered. Then misdelivered. Then lost.

Nothing illegal.

Nothing punishable.

Everything deliberate.

Iria noticed the pattern by noon.

“They’re bleeding us slowly,” she said, standing beside Kael on the upper terrace. “Small failures. Just enough to make you look ineffective.”

Kael’s expression was unreadable. “They’re testing loyalty.”

“And finding cracks.”

“Yes.”

He didn’t sound angry.

That worried her more than rage ever could.

By afternoon, the council struck properly.

A public decree.

Clean. Controlled. Poisoned.

The herald’s voice echoed across the courtyard:

“By council authority, the Alpha’s direct command over border security is temporarily suspended pending internal review.”

A pause.

Then the final cut.

“Until such time, all border forces will report directly to the council.”

Silence followed.

Then murmurs.

Sharp ones.

Iria felt the shift immediately. This wasn’t administrative.

This was humiliation.

“They’re stripping you in public,” she said quietly.

Kael didn’t move. “They want the pack to see me restrained.”

“And me?”

Kael’s gaze flicked to her. “They want you isolated.”

That evening, Iria learned what isolation really meant.

Two doors closed to her that had always been open.

A steward she trusted suddenly “forgot” her requests.

A warrior she’d spoken with openly the day before wouldn’t meet her eyes.

Fear spreads faster than loyalty.

Mara found her in the healer’s wing, voice tight. “They reassigned me.”

“Where?”

“The outer lowlands.”

That was exile in all but name.

Iria’s jaw clenched. “Because of me.”

“Because of proximity,” Mara corrected. “They’re drawing a perimeter around you.”

Iria exhaled slowly. “Then we step outside it.”

Mara searched her face. “You’re thinking like him now.”

“Good,” Iria replied. “That means they’re already late.”

Kael convened no meeting.

He didn’t counter the decree publicly.

Instead, he walked the territory.

Spoke quietly.

Listened longer than he talked.

Remembered names.

That unsettled people more than orders ever had.

Iria watched him from a distance, realizing something with a chill of clarity:

He wasn’t reclaiming authority.

He was rebuilding allegiance.

That night, he joined her by the fire pit near the eastern barracks—neutral ground. Watched.

“They think I’ll strike back hard,” Kael said. “Violence justifies them.”

“So you won’t.”

“No.”

He met her gaze. “But you might.”

Iria didn’t deny it. “They’re underestimating me.”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to stop me?”

Kael was silent for a long moment.

“Once,” he said carefully, “I controlled this pack by force and fear. It kept them safe—but it made them dependent.”

He looked at her. “If you move, you’ll teach them something else.”

“Choice,” Iria said.

“Consequences,” Kael corrected. “For everyone.”

Iria’s lips curved faintly. “Then let’s be honest.”

She stepped closer. “They didn’t remove you because you were unstable. They removed you because you couldn’t be controlled.”

Kael’s eyes darkened. “And you?”

“They’re coming for me because I can’t be dismissed.”

The bond thrummed—low, steady, dangerous.

The council met late that night.

They didn’t invite Kael.

They didn’t need to.

“We need leverage,” Lorien said sharply. “Something that forces compliance.”

Eldric hesitated. “If we push too hard—”

“We’re already past that,” Lorien snapped. “She’s rallying sentiment.”

“She hasn’t called for rebellion.”

“Yet.”

Silence stretched.

Then someone said it.

“Separate them.”

Heads turned.

“Undermine the bond,” the councilor continued. “If they can’t act in tandem, this ends.”

Eldric’s face drained of color. “That’s dangerous.”

“So is letting them stand together,” Lorien replied. “Prepare the measures.”

The decision settled like ash.

Iria woke before dawn with a sharp ache behind her eyes.

The bond felt… muted.

Not gone.

Suppressed.

She sat up slowly, dread pooling low in her stomach.

Something had shifted.

Across the territory, Kael opened his eyes at the same moment.

And for the first time since his return, the connection between them felt strained.

Interfered with.

Engineered.

Kael rose to his feet, jaw hardening.

“They’ve crossed a line,” he murmured to the empty room.

And this time, retaliation would not stay quiet.