Chapter 87: Chapter 87 Defying Tradition
Victoria
The council chamber had been prepared with astonishing speed—Lilith’s doing, no doubt. She had a way of understanding what the Elders respected most: simplicity edged with authority. The space was stripped of unnecessary ornament, yet carried a gravity that pressed down on anyone who entered. Heavy oak chairs flanked a stone table polished to a muted sheen, banners of the four territories hanging with austere pride.
I let my gaze sweep over the room and felt a flicker of reluctant admiration. Trust Lilith to capture the Council’s taste so perfectly. Simple, but solemn. No distraction, no weakness. Just tradition carved into stone and wood. She never misses the mark, I thought, silently grateful to have someone with such foresight on our side.
My fingers brushed Leo’s as we walked to the front. The touch was brief, nearly invisible to the elders waiting for us, but it steadied the frantic beat of my heart.
I sat beside him, spine straight despite the weight of a dozen sharp gazes.
Elder Maxwell, silver-haired and solemn, rose at the far end of the chamber. His voice carried like rolling thunder. “Alpha Leonard Moretti. Luna Victoria. The Council thanks you for appearing on such urgent notice.”
Urgent, I thought bitterly. No—opportunistic.
Maxwell gestured for us to sit, and the silence pressed tighter.
Richard Kane of Stone Lake Pack leaned forward, his gold signet ring gleaming in the torchlight. His eyes, hard and pitiless, locked on me. “We have heard troubling rumors. A Luna of... divided blood. Wolf and fairy. Is this true?”
The word fairy dripped from his tongue like poison.
I opened my mouth, but Leo’s growl cut across the chamber before I could speak. “What’s true is that my mate saved lives when Marcus attacked. If this Council is here to question her courage, this meeting is already over.”
A murmur rippled through the room. Kane’s lips curled into something between a smile and a sneer. “No one questions bravery, Alpha. But bravery does not erase impurity. The fae have been gone for centuries. Alpha Dominic concealed that his Luna carried their blood, and now we see the result—a daughter with divided lineage. We tolerated a wolf-human hybrid Luna as your mate, Alpha Moretti, but if she is truly fae-born, tradition demands caution.”
The insult seared hot in my chest. I felt Leo stiffen beside me, his claws threatening to break skin against the table.
Before he could erupt, Helena Stone’s voice rang out, sharp as steel. “Tradition has never carried us forward, Richard. Victoria stood her ground when others fell. You call her mixed blood, I call her proof—proof that strength takes many forms.”
My heart jolted. A female Alpha, speaking for me. For us. It felt like the first crack of light through storm clouds.
Still, all eyes returned to me. My throat tightened, but I forced myself to meet Kane’s glare. “I never asked to be born different. But when Marcus struck, I acted. I protected our people. If that frightens you, Alpha Kane, perhaps your fear says more about you than it does about my blood.”
The chamber hushed.
Kane’s jaw clenched. “Defiance dressed as virtue. You speak well, girl, but words do not change lineage. You are still—”
Alpha Bernard’s chuckle cut him off, smooth as oil on water. “Perhaps we should temper our judgments. Power is a tool. In the wrong hands, destructive. In the right, invaluable.” His gaze slid to Maxwell, then back to me. “The question is not whether she has it, but whether it can be... guided.”
Guided. Controlled. Owned. His smile told me exactly where his thoughts lay.
Maxwell raised his hand, demanding silence. “Enough. The Council is not here to indulge in prejudice nor to sanctify untested power. We are here to determine if Shadow Pack remains stable under its Alpha and his Luna.” His eyes fixed on me. “So I ask plainly—Luna Victoria, can you control these abilities the rumors speak of?”
Every pair of eyes locked on me. My breath caught.
Beneath the table, Leo’s hand found mine. His thumb pressed firmly, a silent promise. Only what we rehearsed. Only what we allow.
I forced myself to lift my chin, though my pulse raced. “What I did was instinct. A surge in a moment of desperation. I do not summon it at will, nor do I wish to. My loyalty is to my pack. To my mate. ”
The silence that followed was heavy, testing.
Helena nodded once, firm approval. Kane scoffed, muttering something about weakness. Bernard’s expression remained neutral, though I caught the flicker of calculation in his eyes. Maxwell’s gaze lingered the longest, weighing every syllable I’d spoken.
And then, for reasons I couldn’t fully explain, Emma’s face flashed in my mind. My human friend.
I swallowed, then spoke again—unrehearsed. “If you need proof that I belong, then don’t look at my blood. Look at my bonds. My closest friend is human. Emma. By every old law, she should have run from me. Yet she stayed. She chose loyalty over fear. If a human can stand with a wolf, then why can’t fae and wolf stand together? Are we so fragile that friendship across bloodlines terrifies us?”
The chamber stirred with murmurs.
Helena’s eyes warmed, a glimmer of pride shining there. “Well said.”
But Kane slammed his hand on the table. “Humans are fragile. Unreliable. They cannot be trusted with our ways, let alone dictate them. To hold them up as proof—absurd!”
I felt heat crawl up my neck, but I pressed on. “Absurd? Or necessary? We’ve lived decades now with fragile alliances between humans and wolves. Do you want them to fail? To return to bloodshed? My friendship with Emma is not weakness—it’s possibility. Proof that we can be stronger together.”
Leo’s hand squeezed mine, pride flowing through our bond.
Kane sneered. “Naïve. Fairy tales and human pets. Hardly the foundation for leadership.”
Helena bristled, her voice cutting like a whip. “And yet she commands respect you could never buy, Richard. That alone tells me she carries more Alpha spirit than your entire council seat.”
The insult landed like a slap, drawing laughter from a few younger guards along the wall before silence reclaimed the chamber.
Maxwell finally raised his hand again. His gaze, sharp and unreadable, pinned me. “You have spoken with conviction, Luna Victoria. That carries weight. But conviction alone does not ensure stability. The Council will deliberate further. Understand this—should Marcus return, or should your... control falter, our scrutiny will double.”
The warning was clear.
I forced myself not to flinch. Instead, I leaned forward, voice steady. “Then watch closely, Elder. When Marcus returns, you will see where my loyalty—and my strength—truly lies.”
A beat of silence, then Maxwell gave a grave nod. “So be it.”
The meeting ended as abruptly as it began. The elders rose, cloaked in shadows and murmurs, filing toward private chambers to confer. Kane threw me one last look of disdain before vanishing. Helena paused long enough to incline her head toward me—a small gesture, but one that filled me with more courage than I expected.
As the chamber emptied, I released the breath I’d been holding and sagged back into my chair.
Leo’s hand closed around mine, pulling it to his lips. His kiss lingered on my knuckles, fierce and possessive. “You were perfect,” he murmured, voice meant only for me.
I allowed myself the smallest smile, though my chest still ached with the weight of the Council’s judgment. “Do you think they believed me?”
His eyes gleamed, wolf-bright. “They don’t have to believe. They only have to fear underestimating you.”
For the first time, I realized Leo wasn’t shielding me from the Council—he was standing beside me, letting me claim my place. And maybe, just maybe, I was finally ready to claim it.