POV: Kade
The room where the council met had a strong smell of incense and judging. Kade was sitting on the black stone throne, his jaw so tight he thought his teeth might break. The old leaders were yelling around him like storm clouds gathering before a big storm, They made strong accusations, brought up old rules, and said harsh punishments in quick bursts, each one hurting him more than when Rae turned him down.
"She broke a very important rule!" Elder Thorne yelled, hitting his walking stick hard on the stone floor, "Saying no to the Alpha's choice is one thing, but choosing another woman? Another woman? That's not normal, and it's not okay!"
"She did it on holy ground," another person said, his voice full of disgust, "In front of the Moonfire Flame! It makes every promise we've made look bad."
Kade stayed quiet, staring at the symbol carved into the stone table in front of him, It was the same symbol Rae had gone against, His hands, resting on his legs, moved slightly, Anger and embarrassment burned inside him, but what bothered him most wasn't that Rae had disobeyed, it was the way she looked at him.
She didn't hesitate at all, She didn't even flinch, She chose Nyra, his sister, without saying sorry or being scared. In that moment, Kade didn't just lose the person he was supposed to be with, he lost the very thing that made him a leader.
"I think we should kick them both out," Elder Morwin whispered, "Make them leave our land, Take away Rae's warrior status and don't let Nyra be part of our family anymore."
"No," Kade finally said, his voice rough against the quiet that followed, "Not yet."
People quickly turned their heads, some surprised, others ready to argue.
"Alpha," Thorne said, his eyes getting smaller, "this isn't just a personal embarrassment, The person you were supposed to be with turned you down..."
"I know," Kade interrupted, his voice cold, "I was there, remember?"
Thorne got angry, but Kade didn't care, His inner wolf was restless and hurt, It wanted to attack, but not Rae, Never her.
Even though everything had happened, a basic part of him still thought she was meant for him, He had felt it the moment their eyes met during the Trials, Her scent had made him feel alive. Her strength, her passion, her strong independence, it had all attracted him like a moth to a flame, So when she took his hand that day, he thought the Moon Goddess had finally blessed him.
But now, Rae's hand belonged to Nyra.
Kade tried not to think about how Nyra had looked at Rae in that moment, how calm and sure she had been, how easily she had followed Rae's lead. His little sister, the quiet, shy person who stayed in the background, had stood tall next to his mate.
His heart hurt,
"She's not just your sister," Morwin said in a dark voice, "She's a Night Whisper."
The whole room became silent,
Kade stopped moving,
The words moved through the room like a rock dropped into quiet water, A Night Whisper, He felt very afraid, It couldn't be real, Nyra didn't have a mark, no proof of that awful family line, But still, people had always talked about her birth, Secrets, Murmurs, His mother had always kept her safe, maybe too much so.
"If what they say is true," Thorne said, looking excited, "this could mean just sending her away isn't enough, The leaders won't allow a Night Whisper connected to a fighter, going against our rules and system, That's betraying us."
"She hasn't done anything bad," Kade replied, sounding sharper than he meant to, "Nyra has been faithful to this group her entire life."
"But she hid what she was, and now is with another woman," someone said quietly.
Kade couldn't see clearly, His wolf growled deep inside him.
The heavy feeling of politics made it hard to breathe, Rae's rebellion had started a big problem in the council, but it wasn't only about him anymore, His greedy uncle, Lord Rovan, saw the trouble and jumped on it like an animal smelling blood. He had already started making people doubt Kade, saying he wasn't good enough and was too emotional, His "soft spot" for Rae, and His inability to see Nyra clearly.
If he stood up for Rae now, if he showed even a little bit of kindness, Rovan would grab the Alpha position before the next full moon.
But still, to punish them,
Could he really let Rae be forced out? Nyra?
His wolf didn't like that idea at all. He kept seeing Rae being dragged to the edge of their land by guards, still not giving in. The thought of Nyra, kind, quiet Nyra, being kicked out like a criminal made him sick.
He couldn't think straight, The council kept talking, creating plans of politics and rules, offering to get rid of people he cared about ,
Did he still love them?
Yes,
Rae had turned him down, but he could still feel her touch like a mark on his skin, His wolf hadn't moved on, hadn't broken the connection, And as much as Kade wanted to hate her, he couldn't do it, He'd seen her fight by his side too many times, He'd suffered with her, He had dreamed of building a future with her,
And Nyra, she was his sister. Delicate, smart, and quiet, He'd always taken care of her, Could he now let her be hurt for something he didn't even understand?
But still, if he supported them now, he'd lose everything.
He'd be seen as weak, Not good enough, The group would fall apart and His uncle would attack.
Kade looked down at his hands, They were shaking.
He could feel the decision getting closer, Two choices, One needed a sacrifice, and The other promised destruction,
And no matter what he chose, something inside him would be destroyed.
"I need time," he finally said,
"You don't have it," Thorne said in a harsh voice, "The group needs things to be stable, A decision has to be made before the full moon."
Kade stood up, "I'll give them one."
But he didn't say what it was.
He spun around, his cape making a sharp noise as it moved, and quickly left the meeting room, feeling like the responsibility of being king was now harder to bear than before.
Kade didn't go back to his room, He didn't talk to the people guarding him, Instead, he went straight to the cliffs, a spot where quiet could still beat out what was expected of him, The wind blew strongly around him, hitting his coat as he looked out at the forest that went on like a heartbeat under the light of the moon.
He felt like he couldn't breathe,
He could still picture the council members talking in his mind, punish them, kick them out, set an example. Each one sounded louder than the one before, But louder than any of them, was what Rae had said.
My wolf is connected to Nyra,
The Moon Goddess herself was mentioned in that statement. So, saying it wasn't true would mean saying the divine was wrong, But agreeing with it meant losing Rae forever, Agreeing with it meant his power would never be the same.
The group was already falling apart, His uncle Rovan was going around like a vulture, quietly spreading bad feelings like poison to anyone who would listen. Any sign that he was weak, or couldn't make up his mind, would be all the council needed to turn against him.
But Kade wasn't sure, He was stuck between two choices.
He stood at the sacred place thinking Rae would pick him, Her strength, her loyalty, her passion, it had always been for him. When she chose Nyra, it didn't just hurt his pride, it ruined everything he thought he understood, Everything he had planned.
And now? Now the group wanted someone to pay,
He squeezed his hands tightly, and his veins popped out, The smell of moss and river water far away didn't help to calm the anger building up inside him, His wolf inside him growled, confused, hurt, but not mad at Rae, Not really.
She had always done what she thought was the right thing,
Even when it broke his heart,
He turned around, barely realizing how hard he had squeezed his hands, or how deeply his nails had cut into his own skin, He was thinking fast, about Rae, Nyra, the council's threats, and the impossible situation they were all in, He couldn't protect them both, Not without being obvious.
If he stood up for Rae, it would show that her disobedience was okay, and even worse, expose Nyra. The rumors about her being a Night Whisper weren't stopping, The older members had grabbed onto them like bugs, wanting anything to justify their decision.
He hadn't known about this,
He really hadn't.
Had his mother really kept that secret for all these years? Was that why Nyra had always been kept out of the spotlight? Always protected, and kept away from every party, every council meeting?
If it was true, if Nyra really had Night Whisper blood, there was no saving her, No chance of forgiveness, The law didn't care about those who were seen as wrong, And worse, Rae had become connected to her.
The two women he needed most were now tied together, And the group wanted someone to be punished.
Decide,
The word came again, Louder, More hurtful.
If he waited too long to choose, the group would do it for him, And their choice would not be kind, Rovan had made that obvious when they last spoke, his uncle's smile was too big, and his eyes seemed to show he had already won.
Kade tightened his jaw and glanced back at the palace, the lights in the meeting room still shone like mad stars, Each moment he hesitated made his choices fewer, But anything he did would take something from him.
He took a quick breath, and his chest hurt. He thought about Rae, the way she looked at him before turning, not with anger, but with sureness. The power in her eyes wasn't just being against him, it was faith.
And Nyra, Nyra had just gone along, She trusted Rae, even if it meant going against all they knew,
They didn't need him, But they should not have to leave either.
Kade wasn't sure he could keep them safe, Not without putting everything at risk.
But he knew something for sure,
Rovan could not be the winner,
More than anything, that could not happen.
So, he would wait and watch, He would give the group what they asked for, on the outside. He would seem calm and smart, He would not protect Rae or Nyra, not yet.
But he would not destroy them, either.
He'd find a different way, He had to do it.
The Moon Goddess might have made her move, but the game wasn't done yet.
Kade turned away from the cliffs and started walking back to the fortress, his cloak moving behind him like the darkness he now carried with him. He hadn't chosen yet, but time was passing.
And he'd need every moment to live through what was about to happen.