Kael's POV
The meeting room felt smaller than usual.
Kael sat at the head of the table with Dante beside him, trying to look composed while his entire world was about to implode. He could feel Serena upstairs through the bond, could sense her confusion and fear as she realized something was happening.
The door opened and Elder Moira walked in.
She wasn't alone. Three other Council Alphas followed her, their expressions serious and cold. The air in the room changed the moment they entered. Became heavier. Dangerous.
Moira sat across from Kael without waiting for an invitation. Her sharp blue eyes cut straight to his.
"We've received reports," she said flatly. "About a human girl living in the Alpha residence. About midnight visitors in the forest. About a shared mate bond."
Kael's jaw clenched. There was no point lying. The news had probably spread through the pack within hours.
"It's true," he said.
The room exploded.
One of the Alphas stood up so fast his chair fell backward. Another started talking immediately, his voice rising. The third just stared at Kael like he'd announced he was betraying them all.
Which, technically, he had.
Moira's hand came down on the table with enough force to silence everyone.
"You know the law," she said. Her voice was ice. "Twin Alphas may not share a fated mate. It is forbidden under penalty of removal and exile."
"Fated bonds are sacred," Kael said. His control was fraying. "They are chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. No law should override that."
"The law exists because the last time twin Alphas attempted to share a mate, it nearly destroyed this entire pack," Moira said coldly. "Your own father helped enforce that law. Your own father died protecting it."
The mention of his father hit hard.
Dante's hands clenched into fists under the table. Kael could feel his brother's anger through their twin bond, could feel him fighting the urge to do something violent.
"My father would have wanted us to honor true bonds," Kael said. "Not reject them."
"Your father would have wanted the pack to survive," one of the other Alphas snapped. "A shared mate bond divides leadership. It creates instability. It makes your pack vulnerable to attack."
"We are stronger together," Dante finally spoke. His voice was rough with barely contained rage. "All three of us."
Moira leaned forward. "Stronger or not, the law is absolute. You have one week to reject the girl or we strip your titles. You will lose your positions as Alphas and all three of you will be exiled from pack territory."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
Kael felt them settle over him like chains. One week. Seven days to either give up his mate or lose everything. His position. His pack. Dante's position. Serena's protection.
It was no choice at all.
"You're asking us to reject our fated mate," Kael said, hearing the desperation creeping into his voice.
"I'm giving you an out," Moira said coldly. "Better you reject her than have the Council do it for you and execute her for causing pack division."
The threat was clear. Defy the Council and Serena would die.
Kael stood up. "Get out."
"You have one week," Moira repeated, standing as well. The other Alphas followed suit.
They filed out of the meeting room like they hadn't just destroyed everything.
The moment the door closed, Dante exploded.
He shifted halfway, his human fist becoming something between man and wolf as he punched the wall. The impact cracked the plaster and left a hole the size of his hand. He pulled back and punched again. And again.
"Dante, stop," Kael said but his brother wasn't listening.
"One week," Dante snarled between punches. "They're giving us one week to choose between the pack and our mate like it's actually a choice."
Kael wanted to punch something too. Wanted to scream. Wanted to rip the entire room apart.
Instead he stood there feeling the weight of impossible decisions crushing down on him.
Through the bond, he could feel Serena's panic getting worse. Could feel her fear like it was his own. Could feel Dante's rage and his own helplessness mixing together until he couldn't tell which emotions were his anymore.
The door opened again.
His mother Vivian stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind her. She looked tired, like she'd been carrying the weight of the world for too long.
"I warned you this would happen," she said quietly.
"Did you come to tell us to reject her?" Dante demanded. He was still half-shifted, his anger barely contained.
"No," Vivian said. She moved to Kael and pulled him toward the corner of the room, away from Dante's hearing even though they all knew her voice would carry anyway. "I came to tell you something else."
She glanced at Dante, then back to Kael. Her eyes were grave.
"Corvus Blackthorn was at the Council meeting," she whispered. "Watching. Listening to every word with calculating eyes."
Kael's blood went cold.
Corvus didn't attend Council meetings. The Blackthorn Alpha rarely left his own territory. But if he'd been there to hear about Serena, to hear about the mate bond, to hear about the threat of exile...
"He knows," Kael said flatly.
"He knows," Vivian confirmed. "And now he knows exactly how much trouble you're in. He knows the Council is threatening your positions. He knows Serena is your weakness."
Dante moved closer, catching the end of the conversation. His wolf was right at the surface, his eyes still flickering between human and animal.
"He's going to move against us," Dante said. It wasn't a question.
Vivian's expression was grave. "He's going to attack while you're vulnerable. He's going to try to take Serena before the Council can exile her. And he's going to use your conflict with the elders against you."
The walls of the room felt like they were closing in.
Kael had thought the Council was their biggest problem. Had thought they had one week to figure out how to navigate impossible politics and pack law.
But now there was an external threat. A predator circling. A rival Alpha who saw exactly what they all saw.
That Serena was valuable enough to kill for.