Semua Bab The Alpha’s Unbroken Mate: Bab 21 - Bab 30

The fortress was silent when we returned, but it wasn’t the silence of peace. It was the silence of a wound, raw and waiting to fester. Snow still clung to my cloak, melting in rivulets across the stone floor as we crossed the gate. Eyes watched us from every corridor, narrowing, unblinking.I wanted to disappear into Lucian’s presence, but he didn’t meet my eyes. He walked two steps ahead, his jaw set so tight I could see the muscle ticking beneath his skin.The mark on my palm burned like a coal I couldn’t drop. I wrapped my hand in the folds of my cloak, but I felt the heat bleeding through fabric, through flesh. A secret, screaming to be noticed.Mirek was the first to break the silence. “She should be questioned.” His voice carried easily in the hall, bouncing off stone and wood. “The Shadow was there. We all saw it. And she” his eyes flicked toward me like knives“she was the one it wanted.”Lucian spun so quickly the movement startled even me. “Enough.” His voice was low, danger

The council chamber was carved into the heart of the fortress, a circle of stone lit by torches that dripped wax down the walls. Long shadows leaned across the table, where six chairs stood filled and one remained empty Lucian’s, though he never sat unless forced.I had never been inside before. The air was thicker here, heavy with old oaths and older grudges. Wolves who carried the weight of the pack’s future sat in judgment, their gazes spears turned on me.Mirek stood at the far side, arms folded, his scar stark in the flickering light. He had wasted no time reporting what he’d seen.Lucian walked beside me, a wall of steady heat. He kept his hand low, near mine, but didn’t touch. Not here, not in front of them. His golden eyes swept the room, daring anyone to speak first.It was Elder Corvin who broke the silence. His voice was thin but sharp, honed by decades of cutting through battles and lies. “The mark has changed. It flared openly before witnesses. This cannot be ignored.”A

The council chamber was colder than the forest at night. Torches burned along the stone walls, but their light only deepened the shadows between the pillars. Every elder was present, their faces lined with suspicion and doubt. Warriors crowded the edges of the hall, whispering among themselves.And in the center, I stood. Alone.Lucian’s hand hovered at my back, not touching but near enough to steady me. His presence was the only thing that kept my knees from buckling.Elder Veyna’s sharp voice cut the air. “The evidence cannot be ignored. A trail through the east tunnel. Cloth carrying her scent. The weapons ruined by fire. Who else could it be?”“It wasn’t me,” I said, my voice steady though my heart slammed against my ribs.Whispers swelled. Liar. Spy. Shadow-marked.Lucian’s growl silenced them. “You speak without proof, Veyna. Wolves smell of smoke after battle. Wolves shed cloth all the time. Would you condemn her on coincidence?”“It isn’t coincidence,” Mirek said. He leaned fo

The air in the fortress was different that morning.Quieter. Too quiet.Every wolf could feel it an unease coiled like smoke in the lungs. The battle at the southern gate had scarred us, but this was not the silence of recovery. This was the silence before the storm.Lucian summoned the warriors to the hall. I stood at his side, bandaged hand hidden beneath a fresh glove. His voice carried across the room, steady and commanding.“The Shadow Alpha is testing us. He pushes at our borders, sends his beasts to our gates, reaches into our dreams. But we are not prey. We are not weak. We will strengthen the chains that hold this pack together.”His words stirred growls of agreement, but beneath the sound, I felt the ripple of doubt. I could see it in their eyes how many of them had heard the whispers in their sleep, too? How many wondered if the fire inside me was a beacon or a curse?Mirek raised a hand. “Chains are only as strong as their weakest link. If the Shadow Alpha finds one openin

The fortress had not known joy in months.So when the moon rose full and silver, the council declared the Festival of Moonfire would not be canceled. “We must remind the pack what it means to be wolves,” one elder insisted. “If we live only in fear, we are already conquered.”Lucian agreed though his jaw clenched as he said it. And so, despite the scars of the last battle, the courtyard filled with lanterns, drums, and firepits.The Moonfire Festival was sacred. A night to honor the bond between wolves and flame, a pact said to have been forged when the first Alpha howled to the stars. Children darted between stalls of roasted meat. Warriors painted their faces with ash. The air pulsed with music and the beat of drums, strong enough to stir something primal in every chest.And yet, under the laughter, I heard it—the low ripple of whispers. The Harbinger walks among us. Her fire burns too hot. It was her presence that brought the breach.Every glance that lingered too long was a remind