Semua Bab Beast Billionaire Claim : Bab 21 - Bab 30

The morning sun broke through the mist with the weight of a thousand watching eyes.Zara stood at the edge of the council amphitheater, the wind curling through her loose curls like it was searching for secrets. Beneath her bare feet, the runic tiles glowed faintly—ancient enchantments etched to reveal lies in speech. They hadn’t pulsed yet. But they would.Because the whispers had begun.“She’s pregnant with the Alpha’s heir,” someone had murmured two nights ago, behind wine-stained lips at a summit gathering.Now, it was no longer a whisper. It was a storm. And it had reached the council’s ears like blood in the water.“They say it’s a witch-spawn,” hissed Councilor Drelan, sharp-nosed and sharper-tongued, robes stiff with embroidered contempt. “No rite. No bonded blessing. Born of broken curses and rebel bloodlines. The child cannot rule.”“It’s not a rumor anymore,” said Councilor Arwyn, more measured but no less venomous. “It’s a threat. An heir without precedent. Without precede

The air inside the Silver & Vale summit chamber was thick with incense and power, laced with the tension of too many secrets. Flames flickered along the sconces carved from obsidian, casting distorted shadows of the Unity Circle leaders onto the marble floor. Fractures—once subtle—were beginning to yawn like fault lines.Zara sat at the Luna seat, Maxim’s chair beside her conspicuously empty. Her fingers traced the lines of the etched moon-and-flame insignia, heart pounding to a rhythm that didn’t feel like her own.He was late. Again.Across the table, Drelan tapped his cane. “The Alpha’s absence continues to raise doubts. The council must act.”“And who do you propose to act in his stead?” Gavin asked coolly from Zara’s left, arms crossed, face unreadable.“We propose she act,” Arwyn said, nodding toward Zara. “Until the Alpha’s condition stabilizes, the Luna must lead.”Murmurs rippled through the chamber. Zara sat straighter, unwilling to shrink under the weight of expectation. “I

The sky over Silver & Vale was blood-washed.Not in omen, but in ritual.A rare eclipse cloaked the sun in crimson haze as the Unity Circle gathered at the Sanctum of Trials—a sacred ground older than any council seat or pack law. It was where bloodlines were tested and heirs judged by elemental rites, watched not just by wolves and witches but by the very forces that birthed them.Zara stood at the center of the obsidian arena, her cloak stripped, her belly bare to the wind. The child inside her stirred lightly, as if sensing what came. All around, the Circle sat in silence. High stones formed their seats; magic crackled faintly in the air.Ruby stood behind her, fists clenched."We don't have to do this," she murmured.Zara didn’t look back. "Yes, we do. For the child. For the pack."A bell rang thrice.Councilor Venna rose. "The Heir’s Trial begins. Three gates: Flame. Frost. Memory. Should the Luna pass, the unborn shall be recognized under Unity Law. Should she fail—"Zara steppe

The wind smelled of dusk and pine when Zara slipped from the tower, her pulse uneven, cloak trailing behind her like dusk. Every footstep echoed with finality. She moved like a shadow pulled by gravity, drawn by something deeper than instinct, deeper than even the bond. Maxim waited just beyond the gates, his wolf-form pacing the tree line, muscles rippling beneath dark fur, golden eyes glowing through the mist. He was barely holding the shift, as if the man and the beast warred in his chest for the last time.The moon hung low above them—vast, ancient, expectant.Zara paused at the edge of the woods. The scent of earth and damp leaves clung to the air. Her breath caught as Maxim turned toward her, his form tensing. For a heartbeat, he was still the beast. But then he shifted. Slowly. Purposefully.Fur dissolved into skin. Bones rearranged. And then he stood before her—naked but for the cloak in his arms, his skin damp with dew, the sharp lines of his body gilded by moonlight. Not the

The wind shifted as the summit gates opened.Zara felt it first—a ripple in the wards, a strange cadence in the air. Something old and watching had crossed the threshold. Even before the guards flanked the figure, even before Ruby tensed beside her and Gavin's fingers brushed his blade, she knew. This was not an ordinary emissary.The stranger moved without hesitation, robes trailing like smoke, hood pulled low. He stopped just inside the circular hall where leaders from every major pack, coven, and court had gathered. Sunlight streamed in through the high glass dome, catching the threads of starlight woven into his dark cloak. When he raised his head, the silence fractured.He was young—or seemed so at first. Scarred cheek. Wolf-yellow eyes. A touch of silver at the temples that had nothing to do with age. Zara met his gaze and felt the world still around her. This man did not carry magic. He carried history."You cross sacred ground," Gavin said sharply. "Declare yourself."The man