Chapter 131

Lauren

The meeting clearing was packed—wolves shoulder to shoulder, some still smudged with ash from border patrols, others whispering behind tense, closed mouths. The low growl of unease rumbled beneath it all, like a thunderstorm waiting for the first lightning strike.

Tall trees loomed at the edge of the gathering, their skeletal branches reaching inward like spectators at the gallows. Cold torchlight flickered across scowling faces, casting jagged shadows that danced with every shift and movement. The scent of pine and damp soil mixed with something sharper—fear, or maybe pride, or the refusal to show either.

This wasn’t a celebration. Not a festival. No ceremonies. No songs.

Alexander had summoned the pack because Mark—my brother—was still alive.

Because, against all odds, we had a shot at bringing him home from his prison.

If anyone would just listen.

“Theo gave us everything,” Alexander said, his voice cutting through the buzz like a blade. He stepped forward, chin high, every inch of him the Alpha he was. “The guard rotations. Weak spots in their border patrol. Where they keep the prisoners. We can end this silly war and, can get Mark out.”

“From the inside,” I added, stepping up beside him. My voice rang louder than I expected—steady, even when I felt my pulse thundering in my throat. “This is an opportunity to strike while they’re weak. They won’t see it coming.”

Some wolves murmured. A few exchanged uncertain glances.

But one man didn’t move at all.

Alpha King Dalverious sat on his wooden throne like a crumbling monument. Everything about him was stiff—his posture, his silver-streaked hair pulled tightly back, the way he looked down at us as if bored by our mere presence. He was carved from tradition and coated in arrogance, wearing his authority like rusted armor that still shone in his own eyes.

He scoffed. Loudly. “And you’re taking this information from a rogue? From the Rogue King’s son?”

He leaned forward, lips curling into something between a sneer and a smirk.

“And you expect me to risk my warriors—my sons—for some outsider abomination? Because of a prophecy? Because he is…” He paused for effect, eyes sliding toward me, as if even the idea repulsed him. “Your brother?”

I felt it then. Not just the chill of the night air, but the heat rising behind my ribs. My fists clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms.

He wasn’t done.

“And I’ll tell you something else,” he said, his voice dripping with contempt. “I’m not about to take orders from a Luna. Things have always worked this way. Men lead the pack. Women follow.”

His gaze slid from mine to Alexander’s like a slow, poisonous snake.

“She doesn’t make the decisions. You do. So get your woman in line.”

The clearing went dead silent.

Even the wind stopped.

For a moment, everything held still—except Alexander, who tensed beside me like a storm about to snap. His jaw was locked, fists twitching, a muscle jumping in his cheek. I felt his power rise—dangerous, hot, and very, very close to exploding.

But I reached out and touched his arm.

I’ve got this.

He looked at me, and for a single heartbeat, his rage met my calm.

Then I stepped forward.

“No.”

My voice echoed louder than I intended.

I wasn’t tall compared to him. I wasn’t old. I wasn’t a soldier or a general or a battle-hardened Alpha. I was a Luna. A healer. A teacher. The one who sat with injured pups and calmed mothers in labor. The one who fed the pack when others forgot what hunger felt like.

But right now, I felt like fire.

“You think I need your permission to speak? To fight?” I asked, slowly approaching him. “If that’s how little you value women, then maybe it’s no surprise you’re on your third Luna.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Killy, his young, rosey cheeked bride behind him ducked her chin.

“You marry them young. You rule them until they break. Then you replace them. And we’re supposed to believe that’s leadership?”

Dalverious’s eyes narrowed. “Watch your tone.”

“Why? Does it scare you?” I said, taking another step forward. “Are the women in this pack only good for bearing your heirs and keeping their heads down?”

Murmurs rose in the crowd. Uneasy. Surprised. Some shocked into silence.

“I’ve seen every single mother in this pack carry her weight—raise warriors, fight sickness, run patrols when others fell. Are you really going to look them in the eye and say they’re worth less than the men beside them?”

He stood up, towering and trembling with fury.

“You forget your place.”

“No,” I said. “I claim it.”

Liam tried to speak up—“Father, she’s right. Mother would have—”

“Enough!” Dalverious’s voice cracked like a whip across the clearing.

Then he raised his hand—and the world tilted.

“Order.”

The command wasn’t just sound—it was power. Ancient and dark, like chains forged in tradition. It hit the pack like a wave, sending wolves crashing to their knees. Growls turned to gasps. Even Alexander hit the ground beside me with a grunt, forced into a bow, his eyes burning with resistance.

Liam collapsed too. The elders. Everyone submissive to the Alpha King’s power.

But not me.

I stood.

Straight. Still. Unbent.

The power washed over me and broke like water on stone.

Honestly, I had no idea how. Just that the tattoed dots under my eyes stung.

Dalverious froze.

“What…”

“I don’t bow to you,” I said quietly, finding my voice. “I never have. I never will.”

I stepped forward again. And this time, the light of the moon cut through the trees like silver fire, catching my hair, my skin, and the royal marks beneath my eyes.

“I am not ruled by a man. I am ruled by the moon herself. The one who gave us our gift. Who watches every shift, every howl, every heartbeat under her sky.”

Gasps rippled again—quieter this time. And some were full of awe.

I turned to the pack. Not to the king.

“I’ve spent my life protecting this pack. Teaching the young, caring for the old, caring for the sick you abandon. I’ve stitched wounds and stories. I’ve never once asked if someone was born strong or soft, male or female. I’ve never once asked if someone deserved help—I only asked if they needed it.”

More wolves raised their eyes to me, the women mostly.

“So now I ask you,” I said. “Do you believe in a pack that serves one voice—or one that listens to all? Do you believe that strength is born from control… or from unity? I will fight for every single one of you—pureblood, Lycan, pup. All of us. Together. I fight to rescue my brother as I would fight for any of you!”

Silence.

Then a high voice: “I stand with her.”

Then another.

Then a dozen more.

Dalverious’s eyes darted around, searching for control that was slipping like sand through his fingers.

“You want to charge into battle now?” he mocked, raising his chin. “You think the moon is going to save you?”

I didn’t answer.

Instead, I stepped back beside Alexander—and shifted.

My bones cracked, skin glowing silver as fawny fur spread over me. I rose, tall and regal, eyes glowing like fire caught in moonlight. The mark beneath each eye shone—twin royal dots. A Luna, yes. But more.

An Alpha in her own right.

Alexander shifted beside me, massive and glowing with pride.

Together, we stood—not as Alpha and his Luna.

But as leaders.

“We fight now,” I said, my voice deep with power. “Because now is all we have. And I won’t wait for another to be lost before you feel safe enough to care.”

Wolves surged forward—some, not all, but enough with roaring conviction.

Liam stepped to our side, shifting to his white form, marking his alliance.

Dalverious sat back down.

Not because he chose to. But because we’d already left him behind.

And this time, we weren’t waiting for permission.