Chapter 27 #2
That has my wolf coming forward. A low growl rips from my chest before I can stop it, reverberating through the space and rattling more than a few nerves.
I lean forward, voice lethal. “Do you think I’ve been played for a fool, Kael?” My gaze locks on his. “Do you think I don’t know my own mate or mind?”
He shrugs, infuriatingly calm. “If the alphas were manipulated then…”
I’m on my feet before the thought finishes forming.
My chair slams into the wall behind me with a crack that echoes through the room. Power rolls off me in a wave—controlled, but unmistakable.
“I am not them.”
The words leave no room for debate.
For a split second, I consider exactly how easily I could end this. How fast and final my actions could be. My wolf urges me forward, muscles coiling and teeth aching.
But then Dax speaks.
“Rowan isn’t the only potential threat in this room,” he says evenly.
The interruption snaps my attention just enough to keep me staying still.
“Any alpha here could slaughter a dozen wolves before anyone stopped them,” Dax continues, gaze sweeping the table. “Are we supposed to live in suspicion of everyone, forever?” He pauses, then adds, “What about the witches? Do we decide not to trust them because their magic can control us?”
The room quiets again.
“Or,” he finishes, “do we judge by actions instead of potential?”
Kael leans back in his chair, lips pressed thin, choosing silence.
Smart choice.
“Dax is right,” Brynn says. “I only questioned things because that’s what we’re here to do, but Rowan deserves the chance to prove herself. We’ve let fear rule us for too long, and that isn’t leadership. It isn’t the way to see our kind thrive.”
I feel Rowan move beside me as she stands. I think she means to leave the room, but instead she stays by my side, taking my hand.
The simple contact cuts through the last of the fury coiled in my chest, centering me.
Maybe she’s steadying herself, but she’s also reminding me—and everyone else in this room—that we stand together.
“I don’t want your power,” she says calmly.
“And I don’t want to see your destruction.
” Her voice is steady, unyielding. “Yes, I killed two of your alphas and other pack members, but what choice did I have when NightShade was attacked? My people were threatened. I defended them like any of you would have.”
Her eyes move slowly around the table. “And yes, I spent two weeks with Malrik, but I assure you that he has no control over me. Not now, not ever.” She pauses.
“If you’ll allow it, I’ll gladly share what I’ve learned, but what you need to know first and foremost is that my intentions are to heal.
I have no desire to be a threat unless I’m given reason. ”
The light around her chromatic eyes brightens, not flaring or wild, but controlled and certain.
“If we can work together,” she finishes with a promise, “then that shouldn’t happen.”
No boasting. Just facts.
When she sits again, I follow suit, and the silence within the room shows exactly where the line is.
I lean forward, folding my hands on the table. “The council will no longer sanction the hunting of hybrids. Not in secret. Not under twisted interpretations of ‘protection.’ Not the hybrids or the Ashmark.”
No one challenges it.
“Our loyalty is to wolves as a whole,” I continue.
“Not fear, not control, and certainly not power hoarded behind closed doors.” My gaze sweeps the table.
“If that doesn’t work for you, I’m sure Taren will gladly see that you’re returned to your pack to pick your replacement. We do this together or not at all.”
One by one, they nod.
Some faster than others, but none refuse.
The vote isn’t ceremonial. It doesn’t need to be.
As their agreements become something tangible, there’s a shift in the room, subtle yet undeniable.
I feel it first in my chest, then along my spine.
A low hum of awareness and recognition. The ancient magic that binds alphas of the council to one another begins to stir, threads of our wolves reaching out and interlocking, not in dominance, but in purpose.
The council was always meant to be more than words and vows.
When it stands united, the packs feel it, they draw strength from it. Balance will return where fractures once lived.
A fact I didn’t see the importance of after my mother was killed and rejected my seat, but it’s indisputable now. The whisper of wolves in my mind, the need for hope and restoration and peace.
We’ve let our people down for too long, but no more.
As our energies begin to settle, there’s a brief, disorienting second where I swear I sense something else woven into that current—a flicker that doesn’t belong solely to any one pack. One that’s familiar and powerful in a way that doesn’t press or demand.
Rowan.
It’s gone as quickly as it comes, and when no one else says anything, I dismiss it as nothing more than our bond acknowledging my new role within the council.
Still, my gaze finds hers. She isn’t watching the others. Her eyes are on me.
There’s no question in them. No uncertainty. Just quiet understanding with something fiercer beneath it. Pride and the unshakable faith that wherever this path leads, we’re walking it together.
Because this was never just about her alone.
This is about making sure there’s never another chance for someone like Malrik to hurt us again.
And this time, I intend to see it through.