Chapter 7 The Wolves at the Door

My eyes darted across the clearing. I was not used to being looked at. Now, hundreds of wolves stared at me, surrounding us in both human and animal forms. My senses were heightened. I could hear everything.  I could hear very heavy breathing and low growls hidden deep in the forest. I know they weren’t here for me. They had come to see exactly what I was.

"Shoulders back," Echo murmured, right behind my ear.

I forced myself to try, but the heavy weight of the crowd's stares made my knees shake. Thane stayed close on my right side, waiting to defend me if a fight broke out. Ares was directly behind my back.  I could feel the sharp, lethal energy coming from him. As if in a hunt for any wolf who might turn into a problem.

Suddenly, the Grand Elder stepped out into view.

"Three sworn Alphas," he announced, his loud voice cutting through the forest. "Bound in the same night, to a wolf with no pack, no name, and no known shift. Explain. Or admit what you did to them."

I forced my chin up, trying hard to hold my weight. Bad memories were tearing through my mind. Back in Duskveil, if I try to speak up I would definetly get beaten up. I convinced myself, this isn’t Duskveil anymore. I am with three strong Alphas. I could shift. I could defend myself now.

I took a deep breath and was about to take a step forward. When suddenly, a path opened in the middle of the crowd.

Alpha Raulf walked through.

A suffocating wave of fear hit me instantly. Seeing his face again made the memories of the abused I endured rushed back into my mind. All the progress I had made dissolved. The moment my eyes locked onto Alpha Raulf, I felt small and helpless all over again.

Alpha Raulf smirked, stepping closer. His cruel eyes scanning me from head to toe. "Look at you standing tall with three great Alphas," he said, mocking me loudly to embarrass me in front of everyone. "You think you're somebody now, Selena? You're still just the pathetic, packless garbage I threw away."

I looked down at the dirt, completely humiliated as the crowd whispered.

Behind me, the three Alphas didn’t stay quiet. Thane took a deadly step forward, his bared fangs gleaming as a low, feral growl tore from his chest. On my left, Echo’s eyes went completely black with rage, his claws extending with a terrifying click. Ares let out a sound that wasn't human. It was a deep, roaring growl that shook the air itself.

They were ready to start a war right then and there to protect me.

Aplha Raulf did not stop. "Let's look at the facts," he sneered. "She was the weakest in my territory. She never shifted, and her wolf didn't even speak. She was entirely useless. But the moment I rejected her and threw her out, three Alphas instantly lined up to take her as their own? These circumstances are far too intriguing to ignore. She is scheming, Grand Elder. She played them."

The silence in the clearing returned. The Grand Elder fixed his cold eyes directly on me, completely ignoring the angry growls of the Alphas. "Tempting, bewitching an Alpha goes against our deepest laws, let alone forcing three into submission." he announced to the crowd. "A wolf that is not yours should never be taken.”

Before the Grand Elder could say another word, Thane stepped completely in front of me, baring his fangs at the ridge.  "We were not tempted," he growled at the Grand Elder. “A Grand Elder should know the laws of nature better. You cannot fake a true mate bond. I came to her on my own."

Echo spoke next, his voice calm but firm. "The bond is real, Elder. I felt the pull in my chest before I ever saw her face. My wolf demanded I find her. I was called, and I answered."

Ares let out a harsh, lethal sound from behind me. "We are Alphas. Our wolves chose her, and no unshifted girl has the power to force that. I came because she belongs to me."

The moment the three Alphas finished speaking, a ripple went through the crowd. Wolves from Thane’s, Echo’s, and Ares’s respective packs stepped forward, leaving the main assembly to gather behind their leaders.

The Grand Elder looked down at the division, his expression completely unreadable.

"You can stand together all you like," the Grand Elder barked. "The law is absolute. This bond is completely unrecognized without a formal claiming ceremony. And no ceremony will take place without the King's personal approval."

Something inside me clicked. For the first time in my life, I didn't want to hide or stay silent. I forced my shoulders back. I stepped past Thane, standing out in the open on my own two feet.

"Then let the King make his judgment," I said loudly, looking straight up at the ridge.

Alpha Raulf let out a loud, mocking laugh that echoed off the hills. He took a heavy step toward me, his sneer cutting deeper than before. "Look at you, speaking like you're royalty," Raulf scoffed, gesturing wildly to the watching packs.  “You think stepping up makes you brave? You are nothing but packless trash.”

In a split second, Thane and Echo lunged forward in a blur of terrifying speed, their claws out. Ares tore past my side, a lethal shadow aimed right at Raulf's face.

But before the first blow could land, the Grand Elder raised his hand and spoke a single, ancient word of power. It was a decree of primordial magic of the highest council. A deafening crack echoed through the forest, and a blinding ripple of red energy shot out from the ridge. Thane, Echo, and Ares slammed violently into the dirt. They struggled against the invisible weight, powerless.

Watching the three most powerful Alphas brought to their knees for protecting me made furious. An anger I never thought I could feel. My helplessness vanished, replaced by a dark, lethal rage that shattered everything timid inside me. I screamed Ylva’s name internally, begging her to help me defend the only men who had ever stood up for me. I wanted to shift, to fight, to rip the throat out of anyone standing in our way.

The primal animal instinct to protect what was mine flooded my soul. Erasing all my fear until I was blind with it. I didn't care about the laws, the King, or the consequences anymore. They were hurting my mates.

Ares forced himself to move. His gritted teeth dripping with blood from the sheer effort of defying the spell. He forced his voice to break through my rage.

“Selena, stop,” he choked out, his eyes locking onto mine with desperate warning. "Don’t show them what you are."