DRAVEN'S POV.
The council chamber was colder than usual. Not from the mountain wind that slipped through the high stone arches, but from the eyes that turned toward me as I entered. Twelve elders sat at the long crescent table, each draped in the black and silver of the Ghost Moon Pack. My seat, the one at the head, waited like a judgment throne.
They didn't bow. Not this time. That told me everything.
Zayn followed behind me, silent, tense. I could hear the faint echo of his pulse, steady, and controlled, but mine…mine beat like a drum in the dark. The scent of distrust was thick in the air.
I hadn't even taken my seat when one of them, Lord Rennic, stood. His beard was white as frost, his voice sharp enough to draw blood.
"Your Majesty," he said, the title rolling off his tongue like an accusation. "We have heard disturbing rumors. Tell us…is it true you brought a human back into this sacred palace?"
The others murmured, their voices blending like the hiss of snakes.
I sat slowly. "If you already know, why bother asking?"
Gasps cut through the chamber. Zayn shifted behind me but didn't speak.
Lord Rennic slammed a fist against the table. "This is an outrage! You defy every law the Moon set upon us! Humans are forbidden within these walls, they bring rot, impurity—"
"Enough." My voice came out low, and dangerous. "You speak as if I've forgotten the laws. I haven't. But I make them."
That silenced him for a heartbeat. Then came another voice, soft, female, cutting through the noise like a blade through silk.
"Do you?"
My mother stepped into the chamber. The Queen Mother of the Ghost Moon Pack didn't need an announcement, her presence was enough. The elders bowed at once, their spines snapping straight. Her silver gown swept the floor like mist, her crown glinting with cold moonlight. But her eyes, those same sharp, cruel eyes I'd inherited, were already on me.
"You make the laws, yet you break the ones that matter most," she said, gliding closer. "Tell me, Draven. What made you bring a human back here? A whim? Pity?"
Her tone dripped with venomous sweetness. I didn't answer.
She circled me like a wolf stalking its cub. "Do you even know what they're saying outside these walls? That the Alpha King has gone soft. That the curse has taken his mind. That a mere human girl has bewitched him."
Laughter rippled through the room. I felt my jaw tighten.
"If I've gone soft," I said finally, "it's because I haven't ripped out the tongues spreading those lies."
Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Then prove them wrong. End this foolishness. Bring me the girl, and I will see to it that she disappears quietly. No mess. No trace."
Zayn's eyes flicked toward me. He knew that tone. He knew what was coming.
I stood. "She's harmless."
"She's human," my mother snapped. "That's harm enough. Do you think the Goddess will overlook this insult? You've already been cursed once, my son. Must you tempt her again?"
Her words struck harder than she knew. For a fleeting moment, the image of Selin's face, terrified, defiant and alive, burned behind my eyes.
I turned away, gripping the edge of the table. "The curse doesn't concern you."
"The curse concerns all of us," Lord Rennic spat. "You are our Alpha. If that girl's presence weakens you, we all fall."
I straightened slowly, letting the silence stretch until the air itself seemed to tremble. "You think I'm weak because I refused to kill an innocent?"
They said nothing. Not one dared. But I could smell it, the fear, the judgment.
My mother's voice softened, and somehow that made it worse.
"You're not yourself, Draven. I've seen it in your eyes. The curse is playing tricks again. It's making you feel. That girl is the Moon's test, a poison meant to lure you back into darkness."
"And yet," I said quietly, "I'm the only one who's managed to stay in control."
Her hand twitched at her side. "You're losing it. I can see it. You—"
"No," I growled. "You see me resisting it."
A heavy silence fell. The elders shifted in their seats, exchanging wary looks. Zayn didn't move an inch, his loyalty was a blade drawn, ready.
Finally, my mother tilted her head, the faintest smile curling her lips. "Then prove it, my son. If you are truly in control, you will not defy me again."
I met her gaze without blinking. "And if I do?"
Her smile vanished. "Then I will remind the pack who the real ruler is."
I felt something dark coil in my chest. I stepped closer, my voice a low rumble. "You mistake mercy for weakness, Mother. Don't make that mistake twice."
For a moment, I thought she'd back down. But instead, she turned to the council and said, almost sweetly…
"Find the human girl. Bring her to me. She will be executed by dawn."
Zayn stiffened behind me.
I didn't think. The words tore out before I could stop them.
"Over my dead body."
She froze. The room went silent. The air itself seemed to stop moving.
When she looked at me again, her eyes gleamed like a blade catching moonlight. "Careful, my son," she whispered. "You may just get your wish."
Then she turned, her gown whispering against the stone, and walked out, each step echoing like a countdown.
I stood there long after she was gone, the weight of her words pressing against my ribs, the council watching me with barely concealed fear.
Zayn's voice came quietly beside me. "Draven…what do we do?"
I didn't look at him. My jaw clenched as my pulse steadied. Something was happening inside me…the anger that I felt, I haven't felt that in a long time.
"We hide her better," I said. "And if anyone touches her—"
I finally met his eyes, my voice dropping to a growl.
"They'll learn what true weakness looks like."