Chapter 24: The Elders' Decree

Fenrir's POV

The council chamber smelled of old parchment, burnt wood, and the suffocating weight of tradition. I stood at the head of the long oak table, fists planted on the surface, staring down six of the oldest, most insufferable lycans in the pack.

"The bloodline must be secured," Elder Thorne rasped, his voice like gravel scraping against bone. "The ritual was a formality. The magic ensured the child would take. But the act itself, the physical union must be performed to solidify the bond between sire and surrogate. It is tradition. It is law."

"The child is already conceived," I said flatly. "The surrogate is pregnant. The line is secure."

"The line is half secure," Elder Morwen countered, her sharp eyes glittering. "The child grows, but the pack grows restless. They whisper that their Alpha refuses to claim his surrogate. That he is weak. That he cannot perform his most basic duty."

My wolf stirred, a low growl rumbling in my chest. They dare question us?

"The pack's whispers are not my concern," I said. "My concern is the wellbeing of the mother and child."

"You've grown soft, Fenrir," Thorne spat. "That human has made you soft. You used to be ruthless. Decisive. Now you coddle a surrogate like she's your mate."

The word hit like a whip.

My jaw tightened. "I am neither soft nor coddled. I am strategic."

"Then be strategic in this," Morwen said, leaning forward. "Tonight. You will go to her chambers. You will complete the ritual. You will not leave until it is done."

"And if I refuse?" The room went still.

"You won't," Thorne said. "Because if you do, we will be forced to reconsider your leadership. There are others who would gladly take your place. Others who understand the weight of tradition.” I held his gaze.

"Tonight, I would get it done.” I repeated.

~~~~~

I left the council chamber with my blood boiling and my wolf clawing at the inside of my skull.

“They think we're weak, he snarled. They think we can't claim what's ours.”

She's not ours yet

“She IS. You know she is. You felt it the moment you saw her.” I didn't answer. Because he was right.

when she'd walked into my study with her chin held high and her hands trembling. She'd looked at me like I was a monster and maybe I was but beneath the fear, there was fire. A quiet, stubborn fire that refused to be extinguished and I'd wanted to burn in it.

“You want her, my wolf whispered. You want to bury yourself inside her and never come out.”

Shut up.

I wandered the grounds for hours, trying to clear my head but everywhere I looked, I saw her.

Every time I saw her near them, my blood boiled. They flocked to her like moths to a flame, all broad shoulders and easy smiles, their scents mingling with hers in a way that made my vision go red.

One of them a young, arrogant pup named Kael had the audacity to show her how to hold a dagger with his hand on her waist. His breath on her neck. His scent all over her.

I'd nearly ripped his throat out.

“You should have, my wolf growled. She belongs to us.”

I watched her from the shadows, a predator stalking his prey. She smiled at Kael a soft, genuine smile that lit up her entire face as something inside me cracked.

She never smiles at me like that. She smiled at me with fear with confusion like I was going to hurt her.

I wanted her smile,Her real smile. The one she gave the servants, the warriors, the goddamn flowers. I wanted it directed at me only me.

I made a promise. To MY marked mate. The woman I'm supposed to…..

“Forget her, my wolf snapped. Winora is real. Winora is HERE and she is ours.” I closed my eyes and for the first time in years, I let myself consider it.

Night fell like a shroud as I I stood outside her door, hand raised, heart hammering in my chest.

You don't have to do this, I told myself. You can walk away. You can tell the elders to go to hell.

But I didn't because I wanted her.

I knocked. A soft, hesitant voice answered. "Come in."

I pushed the door open. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, a book in her lap, her hair loose around her shoulders. She was wearing a simple nightgown white, thin, practically transparent in the candlelight as my mouth went dry.

Goddess.

She looked up, and the moment she saw me, her expression shuttered. Guarded and wary.

"Fenrir." She closed the book, setting it aside. "What are you doing here?" I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. The click of the latch echoed in the quiet room.

"The elders," I said, my voice carefully controlled, "have demanded that we complete the ritual."

She blinked. "The ritual?"

"The physical union to solidify the bond to ensure the future heir’s strength.” Her face went pale.

"You're serious." She stood, arms crossing over her chest. "You expect me to just... spread my legs for you because some old men said so?" The words hit me like a slap.

Spread her legs.

Goddess, the image that conjured. Her beneath me, thighs parted, eyes dark with need….

Focus, fenrir.

"This isn't about expectation," I said, my voice cold, detached. "This is about duty."

“The pack needs to see us united. They need to see you claimed."

Her eyes flashed. "Claimed? Like a piece of property?"

"Like a mate." The word hung between us.

She took a step back, shaking her head. "No. No, I won't do this. " She stopped, her voice breaking.

"Not when I what?" She looked at me, and for a moment I saw it. The hurt, The confusion. The same desperate, burning want that I felt. She feels it too.

"You almost kissed me," she whispered. "And then you pushed me away like I was nothing. Maybe I was disgusting to you and now you want to use me? To fulfill some archaic ritual so you can keep your precious throne?" My wolf howled. She thinks we don't want her. SHOW HER. Show her how much we want her.

But I couldn't. I couldn't let her see because if I did I would let myself feel what I was feeling. I'd lose control and I couldn't afford to lose control.

"You're overthinking this," I said, my voice flat. "It's just sex. A formality nothing more." Her breath hitched.

"Nothing more," she repeated, her voice hollow. "Right of course because I'm just the surrogate. The breeder."

"So You came here so I would just spread my legs," she said again, her voice shaking with rage and something that sounded dangerously close to tears, "and let you use me like I'm nothing? What happens if I disobey?" The words hung in the air. Immediately something inside me snapped. I stepped forward as her back hit the wall. My hands came up on either side of her head, caging her in, my body inches from hers.

She gasped, eyes wide as I smirked.

"You won't like how creative I get with punishment," I murmured, my voice a low, dangerous purr as her breath caught.

I leaned in, my lips brushing the shell of her ear.

"So tell me, Winora," I whispered. "Are you going to disobey?"