Chapter Seventeen
The air in the Council chamber felt thicker than usual, like the walls themselves were holding their breath. The dark wood loomed overhead, stealing the light as the tapestries stared down with imposing, judging glares.
Every breath I took felt laced with suspicion. The silence was not empty. It was pulled taut like a string ready to snap. You could taste it in the air, raw and metallic, the first bite of blood on your tongue.
No one had shouted, not yet. But only one voice was needed to tip the balance as the question hung.
"Did your people do this?"
I didn't flinch. I stood with my posture straight, not stiff or rigid but controlled. That was the key here. Control. To survive, you couldn't be defensive or brash or loud. You needed restraint, composure. That was strength.
But inside, the war raged.
My mind was a battlefield, the adrenaline pumping through my veins in a thumping base. Whether the accusations were true or not, it didn't matter. Someone was out to get me, to see my place here undermined and the conflict with my people reignited.
The stunt with Talia had failed so they had upped the stakes.
Each Council member was looking towards me now, some with thinly veiled contempt, some with the biting glint of strategy, others with apprehension and fear. They were watching, waiting for me to snap and lash out.
I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
If this enemy hidden in the shadows of political conflict was trying to paint my people as savage, they wouldn't see me break.
I held my silence like a blade. If I spoke too soon, they would call it guilt. If I raised my voice, they would deem it aggression. If I let my mask falter, it was weakness.
So I waited, let the tension build and swirl like a fog.
Eyes shifted, fingers twitched, legs fidgeted in seats.
And then I stood. Shoulder back, chin held high. Cool, calm, collected as the vultures circled.
"My people know the value of life. We do not waste them proving points," I answered, my voice slicing through the thick silence of the room. "I was not sent here in search of conflict, only collaboration."
Whispers sparked as I sat, a hushed hum of murmured voices and dipped heads. My hands gripped the arms of my seat, straining to keep the tension from my face.
A sweet voice spoke up next, head tilted in a yearning for understanding. "Are you saying that the North is extending its diplomacy through violence?" Lyra asked, her words void of accusation and instead filled with a honeyed kindness.
That was not what I was saying.
This show of force with the rogues was not the mark of a people trained to survive in taiga and tundra. Travelling from our territory to make some rash display of violence was short sighted and an unnecessary risk.
But I held my tongue. Speaking up would be defensive and given the obvious conflict of interest between myself and Lyra, would be taken as a childish, emotional move by the rest of the Council.
"It doesn't matter what the intention was," Alpha de Silva's voice boomed as he smacked his open palm against the dark wooden pew in front of him. "This is unsanctioned interference from a pack we don't have an alliance with. There must be repercussions."
A rumble of agreement rolled through the tiered rows of leaders, subtle nods of agreement on disapproving faces filled the aisles.
"We can't trust her not to interfere," another Alpha spoke, her mouth pinched and her voice haughty. "We must remove her from further Council proceedings while we decide how to deal with this attack on our lands."
A scoff sounded from beside me, drawing heads towards us once more.
Lucien lounged in his seat with outstretched legs and one eyebrow raised as he leisurely pulled his eyes away from where he inspected the silver rings that adorned his fingers, as though he was telling the room they were now worthy of his attention.
"Interesting how you're so quick to jump to exile and treason without even confirming the identities of the killers," he drawled as his crimson eyes tore into the room with disdain. "Are you really so sure it was these northern wolves or is it just an easy excuse to hide behind fear?"
My thudding heart slowed, a strange bubble of something forming in my chest at his subtle defense of me. It wasn't pushing or prying but he was showing something he'd raised with me many times before.
He could be an ally.
"All of us here recognise these injuries," Alpha de Silva countered as he levelled Lucien with a furious glare. "This is their signature. I'm not backing down to this threat."
The blood froze in my veins at his insult. Lucien was right - there was no proof that this had been my people other than the images they knew from their fairytales.
"If Northern Circle had made a threat, you would not be speculating. You would know." I met Alpha de Silva's gaze with cool precision.
He had to see that this act of quiet aggression was cowardly. Sly, covert moves weren't the way of my people.
Our tradition relied on clear hierarchy and formal challenges. In the north, execution like this could mean your own death for betraying trust in such a dishonourable way. If Northern Circle was going to put forward a threat, it would be to the Council's face through me.
"There's no need for us to get too emotional," Lyra spoke, her gentle eyes sweeping the room but hesitating on me. "We don't need to threaten each other when we can work together to come to a solution."
"We're not the ones bringing threats," Alpha de Silva sneered, sending prickles of shivering frost across my neck at the implication.
"Eclipse Moon is right," a voice argued from the left. I didn't know his name but an Alpha not calling for my head on a spike was already a relief. "We don't know for certain that this was Northern Circle. It would be unwise for us to exclude them until an investigation has happened."
I could almost see Lyra's right eye twitch at the words, though her saccharine smile didn't falter.
"And if it was them?" Another shouted, his chair screeching against the floors as he scraped it back to stand. "We'd be spoon feeding them information to hurt us."
Chaos erupted as the arguing broke out, each voice demanding to be heard until the symphony of voices was a muddled cacophony of growls.
I could feel the blood pulsing through my fingers as I clutched the arms of my chair. My dull nails dug into the wood even as the threat of splinters creaked under my grip.
"Enough!" The dark growl thundered across the room, the shuddering pull of dominance in their tone enough to turn some of the weaker Alpha's necks in submission. Dax hadn't moved, hadn't stood from his seat to force the quivering silence that he demanded.
Instead of taking the floor himself, Dax nodded towards Alpha Hendrix. The older man had kept his head raised under Dax's domineering Alpha tone and returned the nod in appreciation before speaking.
"It is clear this issue has left us divided," Alpha Hendrix said, taking up his role as Speaker with a measured tone.
"For now, we'll move forward with an investigation instead of action.
We have entered into treaty talks with Northern Circle in good faith and given the division of opinions, we must take a rational approach. "
Alpha de Silva huffed softly and I wouldn't have been surprised to see steam coming from his nose with the redness of his face.
"We will put together a committee to investigate this and come together on this issue once they have findings to present," Alpha Hendrix continued and then with a crack of his gavel, the room was dismissed.
I was more than ready to make a quick exit and escape from the invasive stares.
"This is the most interesting these old dogs have been in years. Good job," Lucien complimented, that telltale mischievousness in his grin.
"Glad I can be of service," I deadpanned before walking away to the sound of Lucien's dark laughter echoing behind me.
The weight of the last couple days was heavy on my shoulders and my eyes stung as they begged for sleep. Problems could be dealt with tomorrow but I was desperate to crash out into a heavy, dreamless sleep for as long as possible.
However, given the frequency of drama the Council liked to stir, I doubted that would be very long.
A door next to me opened and before I could turn, a large hand grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, slamming the door behind us.
Two arms caged me against the door, the body so close I could feel the heat splutter and crack between us.
Dax.
"Was it your people?" He demanded, voice low and sharp as his chocolate eyes bore into mine with a feverish intensity.
Fire flared in my veins, smothering the icy chill that wanted to rise and consuming me with a fiery rage at his audacity.
It was a struggle to keep the icy mask in place, to not crack and shatter when I was only inches from him, when it would take so little touch. Such a small movement and I could slap his frustratingly handsome face for daring to think it was Northern Circle.
"If you knew me, you wouldn't be able to ask that," I answered, forcing my voice to be steady and my emotions back into the frozen cage in my chest.
His eyes flared a glowing amber and his jaw tightened as a thin line formed between his dark brows. "You're not making it easy to trust you."
"And you're not trying to."
His hand slammed against the door next to my head. The bang rang in my ears but I didn't flinch.
He wouldn't intimidate me.
"I don't have the energy for your games, Kiera," he seethed as he stared me down, daring me to break.
"I need to look out for my pack. So if you're going to keep riling up the Council and making this more difficult for both if us, you need to tell me know because I'm not going to be one of your toys. "
I felt my body vibrating as my wolf threatened to rise to the surface. My shift hummed beneath my skin and I could see the glowing icy blue of my eyes reflected in the dark abyss of Dax's.
"How dare you." The voice didn't sound like my own.
It was deeper and darker, demanding submission.
"I came here to protect my people. To get peace in good faith.
And all I've gotten in return is bared teeth and a knife at my back.
That you think I would risk the safety of my pack, my kin for petty games. You're just like the rest of them."
Something in Dax softened, his eyes melting into a liquid as that line between his brows disappeared and the harened line of his mouth tilted to a gentle frown.
"Kiera..." he breathed my name with a hushed reverence.
Dax moved his hand from where his palm pressed against the door. His fingers traced the air next to my jaw, hovering tentative and unsure. I could feel the warmth of his breath on my lips as tingles spread from my stomach in little flutters.
In one tilt of my head, I could close the gap and feel his lips against mine. Or he could.
But he didn't move.
Of course he didn't.
How would his sweet little Lyra feel knowing he'd kissed me?
I slipped to the side, the oppressive heat fading with the distance as I tugged on the handle and pulled the door open.
Dax's eyes were widened ever so slightly, his hand still raised as though he was holding the ghost of me.
"Don't start something you're not strong enough to finish."
Tensions are rising, games are being played and Kiera is starting to crack. How do you think she handled the accusations?
Lucien stood up for her but do you think he's really on her side or he's playing his own games?
And can we talk about that almost moment with Dax?? I love the chemistry sparking between them. Do you think he regrets rejecting her yet?
Was it Northern Circle who killed those rogues or is there a bigger game being played? What do you think?
Thanks so much for reading this far! Let me know if there's anything you want to see more of!