Selene had one hour before facing the council.
One hour to prepare for a room full of wolves who wanted her dead.
She paced the tower room, thoughts racing between Kael's curse, Lysander's warning, and her own twisted past. What had he meant about everything being wrong?
The door opened without a knock. Cian Draven stepped in, his green eyes hard as jade. "The Alpha sent me to prepare you for the council," he said, voice stiff. "You don't seem happy about it," Selene answered. "I'm not."
Cian ringed her like a predator. "A Ruby Wolf killed my sister twenty years ago. Tore her apart with magic that burned her from the inside out." Selene stood her ground. "I'm sorry for your loss, but that wasn't me."
"Your kind are all the same." He stopped right in front of her.
"The Alpha may think you're our salvation, but I know better."
"Then why are you here?" "Orders." Cian's mouth twisted. "And I follow them, even when I disagree."
He pointed to a chair. "Sit. You need to understand our ways before you face them." Selene sat, keeping her eyes on him.
"What happens in this council?" "Seven pack masters will question you. They'll vote on your fate." Cian stayed standing, looking down at her. "If even one believes you're guilty of killing an Alpha, pack law demands your death."
A chill ran down Selene's spine. "And if I agree to help Kael?" "Then you become protected under his authoritytemporarily." Cian's eyes narrowed.
"But break your word, and no power on earth will save you." "I don't plan to break my word." "Good." Cian began to pace. "Now, pack rules.
First, never challenge an Alpha directly. Keep your eyes down when addressed by council members." "I'm not part of your pack. Why should I follow your rules?" Cian moved with amazing speed, suddenly inches from her face.
"Because breaking them means death. Is that clear enough?" Selene refuses to flinch. "Crystal." "Second, the blood bond you agreed to needs a full moon ritual. Three days from now." "So soon?"
"The Alpha doesn't have time to waste." Cian's face darkened.
"The curse spreads faster every day." Selene thought of the angry red lines creeping up Kael's neck. "What else should I know?"
"Third, while under Kael's care, you belong to his pack. Any attack against you is an attack against him." "I don't belong to anyone," Selene snapped. "In our world, you do." Cian stepped back.
"Fourth, until the rite, you'll be watched constantly. By me." "Lucky me." Cian ignored her sarcasm. "Fifth, about the prisoner" "Lysander," Selene said. "Whatever his name is, he's dangerous. The Syndicate's elite assassins are taught from youth to kill without mercy."
Something twisted in Selene's chest at the thought of the boy she barely remembered becoming a killer. "I need to speak with him."
"The Alpha hasn't approved that." "Then I'll ask him directly," Selene answered. Cian's laugh was cold. "You really don't understand how this works, do you? You have no power here.
No rights. You exist at our mercy." "If I'm the only one who can save your Alpha, I'd say I have some leverage." Cian's hand moved to his blade.
"Watch your tongue, Ruby Wolf. Many would kill you before you could blink, curse or no curse." A knock stopped them. Elara entered, arms full of fabric. "The council robes," she explained, avoiding Cian's stare.
"You're late," he growled. "Sorry, Commander," Elara mumbled, setting the bundle on the table. When Cian turned away, she caught Selene's eye and mouthed something that looked like "careful."
"I'll leave you to dress," Cian said, making for the door. "Five minutes. Then we go to the council." After he left, Elara ran to Selene's side. "Don't trust him," she whispered. "He reports everything to someone outside the pack." "How do you know?"
"I've seen him sneaking out at night, sending messages." Elara helped Selene into the formal robedeep blue with silver trim.
"The council room has rules. Walk only on the stone walk. Speak only when spoken to. And whatever you do, don't let your eyes flash silver."
"My eyes change color?"
"When your emotions run high." Elara fixed the robe's collar.
"Ruby Wolf magic is visible in your eyes. It scares them."
"You know a lot about Ruby Wolves." Elara stopped, something flickering across her face.
"I study magic. All kinds." Before Selene could question her further, the door swung open. Kael stood there, dressed in formal black, the curse mark partly hidden beneath a high collar.
"It's time," he said. The council chamber was a vast circular room carved straight into the mountain. Seven stone thrones made a half-circle, with a smaller stone seat in the centerclearly meant for her.
Pack members filled the space behind the thrones, hundreds of eyes looking as Selene walked the narrow stone path. Kael moved to the largest throne while Cian took position right behind Selene's seat.
She could feel his breath on her neck, a steady reminder of his distrust. An elderly woman with steel-gray hair hit a staff against the floor three times. Silence fell quickly. "The council recognizes Selene Arden, last of the Ruby Wolf bloodline," she declared.
"You stand accused of the murder of Alpha Magnus Thorne, father of our present Alpha. How do you plead?" "Not guilty," Selene said, keeping her voice steady. Murmurs spread through the crowd.
"Evidence says otherwise," said a burly guy with a scar across his face. "A Ruby Wolf's magic was detected at the scene." "I was a child," Selene answered.
"Barely five years old." "Old enough to kill," the man replied. Kael raised his hand, and the room fell silent again. "Selene Arden has decided to help break the curse that threatens our pack. In exchange, I have offered her security." A thin, silver-haired man leaned forward.
"The curse takes one life at a time. Her kind killed dozens. Why protect her?" "Because I believe she's innocent," Kael said simply. Gasps echoed through the room. "You risk everything on that belief?" the old woman asked. "I do." Kael stood. "Three nights from now, under the full moon, we will perform the blood bond rite.
If successful, the curse will break, and Selene Arden will be cleared of all charges." "And if it fails?" the burly man asked. Selene felt Cian tense behind her.
"Then pack law will take its course," Kael answered. The council members exchanged looks. Finally, the old woman nodded. "Very well.
The Ruby Wolf stays under your protection until the full moon. After that, her fate will be decided by the success or failure of the rite." As the meeting finished, pack members filed out, many casting hateful glances at Selene. Cian stayed glued to her side as Kael approached. "That went better than expected," Kael said quietly.
"They still want me dead," Selene noted. "Most of them, yes." Kael touched her arm lightly. "Come. There's someone you should meet." Cian followed them down a winding path deep into the mountain.
The air grew cool and damp as they fell. "The prisoner?" Selene asked. Kael nodded. "Five minutes. No more." They stopped before an iron door guarded by two wolves. At Kael's nod, they unlocked it. Lysander sat on a stone bench, head bowed. He looked up as they entered, his hazel eyes finding Selene instantly.
"Leave us," Kael told Cian and the guards. "Alpha, I don't think" "Now, Cian." With clear reluctance, Cian backed out, leaving Selene alone with Kael and Lysander. "Five minutes," Kael reminded her, stepping back to the door. Selene approached Lysander carefully.
"You said they lied to me. Who? About what?" Lysander leaned forward. "Everything you think you know is wrong, Selene. Your mother isn't dead. She leads the Syndicate now."
The room seemed to tilt. "My mother? Ravena is alive?" "Very much so. And she wants you backor dead." "Why are you telling me this? You're Syndicate too." Pain flashed across Lysander's face. "I was taken from you. We were friends once.
More than friends." Fragments of memory stirreda boy's laughing face, hands clasped together, a childish promise. "The blood bond won't break his curse," Lysander whispered desperately. "It will finish it. Your magic is the key, but not in the way you think." "Time's up," Kael said sharply. "Don't trust him," Lysander called as guards pulled him back.
"Don't let him access your blood under the full moon!" The door slammed shut. Selene stood frozen, mind racing. "He's lying," Kael said. "Trying to prevent the ritual." But doubt had planted itself in Selene's mind.
What if Lysander was right? What if her mother truly lived? And what if the blood bond wouldn't save Kael, but damn them both?
As they climbed back toward the upper floors, Cian fell into step behind them, his watchful eyes never leaving Selene.
She could almost feel his hope that the ritual would failgiving him the reason he needed to finish what began fifteen years ago when her family was slaughtered.
Three days until the full moon.
Three days to decide who was lying: the Alpha who needed her blood, or the killer who claimed to know her heart.