Chapter 10
Rylan's POV
The air in the council chamber feels like a storm about to break, electric, dangerous, and inevitable.
My mother and father stand at the front of the chamber, silent beneath council law, their expressions carved from stone as their son’s disgrace unfolds before them.
The truth rite answers to the council alone. Not even the Alpha or Luna may interfere unless Lycan law itself is broken.
I stand directly behind Selena, close enough that I can feel her heat, smell the subtle notes of her scent that my wolf has already memorized. My hands remain at my sides, but every muscle in my body is coiled tight, ready.
Steady. Patient. She needs our strength, not our rage.
My wolf paces within me, hackles raised. We both know what’s coming.
The five council elders sit elevated at their ancient oak table, faces impassive as stone. Between us and them stand Ronan and Candice, him with shoulders squared in defiance, her with tears already glistening in wide, innocent eyes.
“This hearing will now commence,” Elder Miriam announces, her voice carrying the weight of centuries. “A truth rite has been requested to resolve serious accusations of mate bond interference and pack law violations.”
Candice immediately steps forward, one delicate hand pressed to her chest. “Elders, I don’t understand why we’re even here.
” Her voice breaks perfectly. “I’ve done nothing but support my Alpha heir and his fated mate.
.. my best friend, Selena. I-I was doing this for the good of the pack.
I-If Selena became pregnant with an Alpha heir’s pup, she could have died, and the pack would be without a Luna. ”
I feel Selena tense in front of me. My fingertips brush the small of her back, a whisper of contact, but enough to steady her.
“That’s right, we did this out of love for Selena,” Ronan growls, his eyes flashing. “This is a waste of council time. I won’t stand for these baseless accusations against myself or my pack members.”
Elder Darius raises a weathered hand. “You will stand for whatever this council deems necessary, Alpha heir Ronan. The evidence presented warrants full investigation.”
At his signal, two attendants bring forward the collection of evidence Selena and I have gathered, the doctored pack records, testimony from affected wolves, the medical reports showing the herb traces in Selena’s system.
“These documents show a clear pattern of manipulation,” Elder Miriam states. “The truth rite will reveal what words cannot.”
Ronan’s jaw clenches so hard I can hear his teeth grinding. “This is absurd. I demand...“
“You demand nothing here,” I say, my voice low but carrying across the chamber. It’s the first time I’ve spoken, and I feel every eye shift to me.
Show them what happens to those who threaten what’s ours.
I keep my expression neutral, but my eyes lock with Ronan’s. He looks away first.
The council attendants begin preparing the ritual circle, pouring silver dust in an unbroken line around the central stone dais where the truth rite will be performed. The elders each contribute a drop of blood to the ceremonial bowl.
“Step forward,” Elder Miriam commands. “All parties involved must participate.”
Selena moves first, her spine straight despite everything. I remain at the edge of the circle, watching as she takes her place opposite Ronan and Candice.
“Begin the rite,” Elder Darius intones.
The ritual starts with ancient words, the language of wolves that predates human speech. The silver dust ignites, not with flame but with a cold blue light that rises in a perfect cylinder around them.
And then something unexpected happens.
As the magic reaches Selena, it... hesitates. The blue light flickers, bends around her like water around a stone. The perfect cylinder warps, stretching toward her before snapping back into place.
Elder Miriam’s eyes widen. The other elders shift uncomfortably, exchanging glances heavy with unspoken concern.
“Continue,” Elder Darius commands, though his voice holds a new edge.
The ritual progresses, the light growing brighter until it bathes all three participants in its unforgiving glow. This magic cannot be deceived, it draws truth from blood and bone.
“Tell us about the herbs found in Selena’s system,” Elder Miriam demands.
Candice’s face, moments ago a perfect mask of innocence, begins to twitch. “I don’t... I never...” The magic flares brighter around her, and she flinches. “It was just to help her adjust! She wasn’t right for him anyway!”
“Candice,” Ronan hisses, but it’s too late.
“Did you administer substances to interfere with Selena’s mate bond?” Elder Miriam presses.
“Yes!” Candice finally breaks, her composure shattering. “Yes, but he knew! He’s always known what I was doing!”
The chamber erupts in murmurs. Ronan lunges toward Candice, but the magic holds him back, silver light binding his movements.
“Ronan,” Elder Darius’s voice cuts through the chaos. “Did you knowingly allow interference with your mate bond?”
Ronan’s face contorts with rage. “You don’t understand. The prophecy...“
“Answer the question,” all five elders command in unison.
The magic constricts around him, and he falls to his knees. “Yes! She was never what I wanted! The pack needed strength, not some human weakling!”
I feel my wolf surge forward, claws and teeth pressing against the barrier of my skin. I force him back, but just barely.
Soon. Not yet, but soon.
Selena stands unflinching in the face of his hatred, and pride swells in my chest.
“The council has heard enough,” Elder Miriam declares. “Ronan, you have violated our most sacred laws. The mate bond you claimed was false, maintained through deception and malice.”
Elder Darius rises. “By the power of this council, we rule that Selena is released from any claim you have made upon her. The rejection is granted.”
“No!” Ronan roars, fighting against the magic. “You can’t do this! She’s mine!”
“She was never yours,” I say, my voice deadly calm.
Elder Miriam raises her hands. “Let the fated bond be broken.”
The air grows heavy, charged with ancient power. I watch Selena’s face as the ritual reaches its climax. She gasps, her back arching as if an invisible cord connected to her center is being pulled taut.
Then, with a sound like thunder contained in a single room, something snaps.
Selena cries out, dropping to her knees as Ronan is thrown backward, colliding with the far wall. The magic between them visibly shatters, fragments of blue light dispersing like broken glass.
In that exact moment, that precise heartbeat when one bond dies, I feel it.
A surge of heat and power unlike anything I’ve ever known floods through me, racing from my core to every extremity. My wolf howls in triumph, no longer fighting to get out but merging with me in perfect unity.
MINE.
My eyes lock with Selena’s. Her lips part in shock as she feels it too, this new connection forging between us, molten and unbreakable. Not a mere bond but something older, primal, written in the stars long before either of us drew breath.
Every instinct in my body screams one undeniable truth: she is mine, I am hers, and nothing in this world will ever come between us again.