Chapter 55: Fire Beneath the Surface
Thorne
The guards shifted on their feet, clearly unsettled as Varen’s voice cracked through the tension.
"Let them in," he ordered, the command slicing like a blade.
The heavy doors swung open with a groan, and in walked the Council of Elders—five of them, cloaked in heavy ceremonial coats, dark as the judgment they thought they carried. At their center stood Harsh, the head elder, his greying beard trimmed to a sharp point, eyes gleaming with misplaced righteousness.
I rose from my seat at the head of the room, my spine straight, arms folded across my chest as I took my place with Varen on my left and Kiel on my right. Together, we stood tall. United. A wall of power and dominance. It crackled in the air like static, heavy and thick with tension.
"You must be out of your minds," I said slowly, the words rolling off my tongue like smoke from a fire not yet lit. "Barging into my territory. Into my home. With no invitation?"
Harsh dipped his head in a shallow bow, but it wasn’t deep enough to cool the rage boiling in my blood.
"Alpha Thorne, please—no disrespect was meant—"
"But you did disrespect me," I cut in, tone dropping to a near growl. "You disrespected this house. You disrespected my mate. And you clearly forgot your place."
Another elder—Cantor, I think—shifted forward slightly, mouth opening to speak, but one glance from me made him think better of it. He closed his lips with a snap.
Harsh tried again, this time more cautiously. "Alpha, please. The matter is delicate. We’ve heard troubling things regarding the state of the future Luna. Screams. Hallucinations. Rumors spreading through the pack."
Varen stepped forward with the grace of a snake about to strike. "Who told you?"