"Where are you going?" Garran called her, freezing her on her spot.
"I.." her voice trembled when the man took a step closer. His eyes fell over several marks on her body and she pulled the shawl closer.
His rage brimmed and voice cracked.
"You want to kill all of us at once." the voice felt like thunder making her flinch.
"I want to end it." she refused only to get a snarl in return.
"By getting all of us killed!" the man fumed as if he wanted to kill her. "Return whenever you where. I will handle this from here." he announced and Elara bit her lips. Normally, she would never challenge the authority of an alpha. But this was about Callen.
"Callen will not survive war." her voice made the man laugh loud and full of disdain.
"Yet, you are sure that he would survive the wrath of a cursed alpha when you tell your fated mate that you have surrendered yourself to your chosen mate?" he demanded.
Elara had the power to sway minds. As long as she convinced Luca that she was taken and he did not need a taken mate, everything would be sorted. Her powers had never failed her.
But she did not trust Garren enough to let him know that. She had not even told Callen about it. Her powers were nothing but a curse and she hated using them. But this was an exception.
"I have my ways." she whispered in the end, making him chuckle.
"I can see you have ways, Elara. I have never seen Tamara accepting someone much less fighting for them. And callen.." he shook his head, his gaze daunting. "But Luca is not a simple wolf. He did not share compassion. Pleading did not work with him. Now return." she wanted to refute. But knew he would not listen to her. She could only take a step back to attack later.
Biting her lips she nodded and took a step. Turning, she was about to leave when she heard him again.
"I am going to the council tomorrow. That is our last chance."
—-----------
The council chamber was carved from ancient obsidian stone, hidden beneath the high cliffs of Blackmark Mountain. Only the Alphas of recognized packs and ranked elders were permitted to enter. It was a sacred place, neutral ground, or it had been, before Luca stepped into it.
The air stilled as the cursed Alpha of Downthrone strode across the floor, every footstep echoing like a war drum. His presence was a storm wrapped in flesh, tall, broad-shouldered, with a scar slashed down one side of his face like a jagged lightning bolt. His eyes burned like frostfire, a deep, unnatural blue, almost glowing with the curse that lived inside him.
Moonridge's Alpha, Garran, stood waiting near the center, jaw tight. He had never felt so powerless. He had tried diplomacy. Tried to track Luca's mate. Even begged Callen to denounce the bond, to end the claim. Nothing had worked and now the girl wanted to tell Luca that she had slept with another mate. How did he even reach this condition?
So now, he turned to the council, the last authority left in their world.
Elders sat in a semicircle, wearing their ceremonial robes marked with their pack sigils. Some looked tired. Others are nervous. Most kept their gaze fixed on Luca, unsure whether he would tear the place apart or finally listen.
"I've come as ordered," Luca said, voice like gravel soaked in cold water. "Where is she?"
"She is not here," Garran replied carefully, speaking through clenched teeth. "And you know that. This meeting isn't about her, it's about your threat to our pack."
"My threat," Luca said slowly, as if tasting the words. "You mean my claim."
"You have no claim on a girl who's already marked!" Garran barked.
"She is mine." Luca's voice dropped to a growl, something ancient stirring just beneath his skin. "You think a mark overrides the mate bond? You think I didn't feel her soul snap into mine the moment she was taken from me?"
One of the council elders cleared her throat. "Alpha Luca, your mate is not an object. She cannot be possessed."
"I don't want to possess her," he snapped. "I want her back. She belongs to me, body, soul, spirit. And you're letting them keep her prisoner."
"She is free, Luca," Elder Thorne said firmly. "She chose to be marked by another. You cannot undo that without killing someone."
Silence fell at that word. Everyone knew what was unspoken. The bond with Callen. The fact that it should have been Luca's.
The elder continued. "We are not here to debate fate. We are here because Moonridge is facing war. Because you have already attacked their sentries and destroyed part of their land."
Garran nodded grimly. "I filed this petition for aid because my people were attacked when he had just invited himself to find his mate. My warriors are not healing naturally. And we can't survive another attack."
Luca's voice was colder than winter steel. "Give me my mate. And there will be no war."
"She doesn't want you," Garran said quietly.
For the first time, Luca flinched. Just a flicker of pain behind those glacial eyes. It was gone in a second.
"She is confused. The mark binds her, but not completely. That's why she is suffering. That is why you are suffering."
He took a step closer to Garran, looming like the specter of death.
"You think you are helping her by keeping her away from me? You are killing her."
One of the elders spoke up, wary. "Alpha Luca, even if we ordered her brought here… she would have to agree."
"She will," he said with terrifying certainty.
Elder Thorne folded her hands. "Then we propose a compromise. You will not attack Moonridge. In return, the girl Elara will be brought here to the Council. And she will choose."
Luca's jaw clenched.
"Let her speak for herself," Thorne added. "If the bond is truly as deep as you say, she will know."
Luca said nothing for a long moment. Then finally, he nodded once. But his voice was thundering when he spoke.
"If you lie to me… if she's hurt… if he touches her again I won't come for her." He looked around the chamber, gaze scorching every face.
"I will come for all of you."