Chapter 11

3rd Person's POV

The great hall of Black Rock Pack was known for two things: Its cold, stone walls and the ruthless voices that echoed within them.

Tonight, both were in full force.

The council had gathered behind the thick, double-locked doors. Twelve members sat at the long obsidian table, their expressions carved from skepticism and sharpened by rank. Wolves of prestige, age, and cunning. But none more so than the man seated directly to Mattias’ right—Richard King.

Mattias didn’t speak at first.

He sat at the main chair of the table, arms crossed, seated almost uncaring, even though the room was filled with disapproval.

Richard broke the silence, his fingers tightly meshed, his eyes narrowed, centering on Mattias like a predator that had picked its target prey, “You’ve returned from Dark Claw. And brought… her.”

Mattias tilted his head slightly, green kiwi eyes gleaming under the low light, “Her name is Anna.”

The name alone was enough to stir a ripple around the room.

Richard’s mouth thinned, “You should have come alone.”

Mattias didn’t flinch, “I didn’t.”

“She’s carrying a child.”

“I’m aware.”

“Not yours.”

Mattias' jaw hardened, but he kept his calm composure, “You're wrong about that.”

Whispers drifted in the room like the wind . One of the elders leaned forward with an evident expression of disbelief on his face, “Are you claiming the omega’s child as your own?”

“I’m claiming my mate,” Mattias said flatly. “Which includes the child she carries.”

Another murmur. Another look passed between councilmen.

“She is not from a known bloodline,” said Elder Noam, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “No records, no status, not even a surname fit for this house.”

“I don’t need a paper trail to confirm what the moon goddess already wrote in stone,” Mattias said, voice lower now, cooler.

“You’re inviting chaos,” Richard snapped. The calm mask he wore finally cracked, just a little, “The packs are watching. This female comes wrapped in scandal. She was rejected, Mattias. Humiliated. She carries a traitor’s seed. And now you’ve brought her here to our home, possibly putting our future in jeopardy.”

Mattias leaned forward slightly, both his elbows rested on the table.

“You dare question the mate bond?” Mattias asked, his tone thunderously quiet.

“It’s not the bond I question,” Richard hissed. “It’s your judgment.”

Mattias stood. That was all it took. The room stilled. Even the air dared not move.

“I am Alpha of the Black Rock Pack,” he said, each word ringing like steel on steel. “I do not require permission to protect what is mine.”

Richard’s lips pressed into a bloodless line.

Mattias wasn’t finished.

“You may forget, but I built this territory when I was barely sixteen. I led us through the Hunter Wars. I brokered the truce with the Northern Rogues. I stood between death and every single one of you more times than I can count.”

He placed both hands on the table, eyes burning now.

“I earned the right to decide who I protect.”

“And what of her past?” Richard challenged. “Do you even know who she truly is? What she carries with her?”

“I know enough.”

“That’s not good enough,” the older wolf growled.

Mattias turned to face him fully, his voice slicing through the council like a blade, “Then I suggest you make peace with it. Because this isn’t a debate. It’s a declaration.”

Silence.

Mattias stepped back from the table. “The meeting is over.”

Some protested. Some rose with uncertain nods. But none dared speak against him again—not aloud. Not tonight. Not in his presence.

Mattias turned his back on them, his long coat swayed behind him as he left. But behind his calm walk, behind the power and cold control… Richard was still watching. And Richard was still plotting.

Anna stood on the other side of her chamber door, frozen. She hadn’t meant to listen. Definitely not.

But the moment she heard the muffled voices, she couldn't help but feel the underlying tension evident in the hallway, she couldn’t help herself.

She moved cautiously, taking gentle steps forward as she pressed her ear gently against the wooden surface.

She didn’t catch much, just fragments. Her name. The child. Words like betrayal, rejection, and scandal tossed around like she was a disease infecting this perfect kingdom.

And worst of all… she heard him defend her. Mattias. Again. It twisted something in her chest. That he would speak for her. Claim her. Without her asking, without her earning it.

She backed away from the door like it had burned her.

This wasn’t a home. Not yet. It was another cage, polished, quiet, with velvet chains. Still a cage.

She walked toward the window, her fingers moved across the glass. For some reason, the night outside was colder than she remembered it to be. It bit at her skin, even with the window closed.

Her arms moved instinctively to cover her belly.

“You an alien here,” she whispered. “You’re just the scandal they are yet to expunge”

But Ava stirred.

“No,” her wolf whispered inside her, fierce and calm. “We’re the fire they haven’t seen yet.”

…

Towards the east wing of the estate, Richard King was alone in his study. The low candle light beside him created soft shadows over parchment and glass.

He dipped the quill in ink, his strokes like a man of art. He sealed the envelope carefully with the wax bearing his insignia, also having a serpent and a crown as well.

Then he summoned a young guard.

“Take this,” he said. “To the southern borders. Give it only to the man waiting with the silver fangs tattooed on his wrist.”

The guard took the letter and bowed.

“And speak no word of it,” Richard added darkly. “Not to anyone.”

The young wolf nodded in agreement, then went into the night.

Time had passed, enough for the candle light to burn out, but Richard still stood there, staring out the window.

His reflection stared back at him, older, colder, and more strategic version of himself.

“She’ll ruin everything,” he muttered to himself. “But not before I fix it.”

And far beyond Black Rock territory… Somewhere deep in the unmarked woods… A lone wolf received the message.

And smiled.