บททั้งหมดของ THE COLD WOLF'S MATE : บทที่ 111 - บทที่ 120

Kael’s POV The council chamber was colder than usual.Not from the stone walls or the autumn wind threading through the high windows, but from the weight of what was about to be decided.Marcus sat shackled in the center of the room, a heavy iron chain linking his wrists to the stone pillar sunk into the floor. His head was bowed, his dark hair falling over his face, but every so often his lips twisted with that faint, mocking smile I had come to know too well.I stood at the front, facing the semicircle of elders seated behind the long oak table. Their eyes followed me, sharp, expectant, judging.“Alpha Kael,” Elder Ryn intoned, his voice gravel worn with age. “We are gathered to decide the fate of Marcus Ravel for his crimes against the pack. He has been accused of treason, violence against our own, and the kidnapping of Elara.”At the sound of her name, my wolf surged against my skin. I clenched my jaw, forcing him back. Elara wasn’t here. I had asked her to stay away from this,

Elara’s POVThe cold night air wrapped around me as Kael led me away from the council hall. The echo of Marcus’s laugh still haunted the edges of my mind, but Kael’s hand was firm around mine.We walked in silence, our steps crunching over frost-coated stone until the lights of the council chamber faded behind us. Only then did Kael stop, turning to me with eyes that glowed faintly in the dark.“You were strong in there,” he murmured, brushing his thumb over my knuckles. “Stronger than they deserved.”I swallowed, my throat tight. “I had to be.”His jaw flexed, the storm inside him never far from the surface. “They don’t understand but I do. I saw it, Elara. You walked through my power as if it were smoke.”I frowned. “I didn’t even feel it.”“That’s the point,” Kael said, his voice low, threaded with awe and unease. “No one walks through Alpha dominance untouched, not even another Alpha but you…” His eyes narrowed slightly. “You didn’t flinch. Do you realize what that means?”I sho

Elara’s POV The night after our stolen feast had passed too quickly, laughter fading into the quiet hum of crickets and the steady comfort of Kael’s warmth at my side but dawn brought no such comfort. Dawn brought the weight of what loomed ahead.One day, only one day until the council demanded to see me. Until I would stand beneath their cold, unyielding stares and prove myself, or prove Marcus was right about me.I pulled in a breath, steadying my hands where they rested on my knees. Around me, the training grounds stretched wide, ringed with tall pines that seemed to watch with ancient eyes. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, restless and eager, as though she too understood the urgency of the hours ticking down.“You’re thinking too much again,” Kael’s voice broke through my haze.I glanced up. He stood at the edge of the clearing, arms folded, his gaze sharp and steady on me.Storm, Jake, and Milo flanked him, each looking more awake than I felt. Storm already looked impatient

Elara’s POV The forest was quiet after Storm left, but the silence didn’t settle. It pressed in, heavy and alive, like the pines themselves had heard every word and were holding their breath.I stayed there longer than I should have, listening to the wind whistle through the branches, my chest too tight to breathe right. His confession still rattled through me.It was strange, how a man like Storm, all fire and sharp edges, could carry so much grief beneath the surface.And stranger still, that he’d lay some of it at my feet.I wanted to chase him, tell him again he wasn’t alone, but part of me knew he wouldn’t let me. Storm wasn’t the type to be comforted, he was the type to build walls higher when someone tried.So I walked back to the clearing alone.The night air nipped at my damp skin, the ache of training still pulsing through my arms and legs. Normally, exhaustion after a long session felt like proof, like progress. Tonight it felt like weight.By the time I slipped into th

Elara’s POV The council chamber doors shut behind me with a thundering finality, the echo chasing me down the mountain corridor until it felt like the very stone walls carried their judgment.I forced my breathing steady, though my chest still trembled from the trial. My palms were slick, my heart pounding, but I had survived. That had to count for something.Kael walked a step behind me, his silence heavier than words. His presence was enough, his wolf, steady and strong, pressed against mine like an anchor. Milo and Jake followed too, their footsteps firm, loyal shadows that would never let me falter. Even Storm lingered near the entrance, his eyes unreadable as always, though I caught the faintest flicker of approval before he turned away.But the moment the cold mountain air swept over me as we stepped outside, my relief cracked.Because she was waiting.Liora.The former councilhead daughter stood just beyond the stone archway, draped in crimson silk that gleamed against the