"You know what keeps me awake some nights?" Kraven tilted his head, eyes glittering. "The thought of your mate. Whoever she is. If I ever find her…" His smile turned cruel. "I'll make sure she doesn't live long enough to make you king."
Athena froze.
The words sliced through her chest like ice. He was talking about her… he just didn't know it.
Xavier stopped dead in his tracks. His hand left Athena, his entire body raging toward his brother. Silver eyes glowed, hard as steel. "Say that again," he hissed, voice low and deadly.
Kraven smirked wider, clearly enjoying the reaction. "What? That I'll gut her? Tear her apart? Just to watch you break?"
Xavier stepped forward, fury radiating off him like heat. "You lay a hand on her and I swear I'll end you, brother or not."
The two alphas stood inches apart, the night brimming with violence, until the massive doors of the estate creaked open.
"Alphas," a man appeared from inside. His deep voice echoed. "The council is waiting."
The tension hung heavy in the air but neither moved until the council's summons forced them to. Xavier gave one last cold glare before grabbing Athena's hand and leading her inside, leaving Kraven smirking in the shadows.
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It was evening already, Athena's legs felt heavy as she followed Xavier up the broad stone steps. Kraven's words still rang in her ears, sharp and merciless. If I ever find her…
Xavier was right! Kraven indeed wants to kill me.
She glanced at Xavier's profile, his jaw clenched so tightly it looked carved from stone. He hadn't spoken since the threat, but the heat radiating from him was enough to keep anyone from daring to get close.
The estate loomed before her like something out of a dream or a nightmare. Towering pillars lined the entrance, carved with ancient symbols.
"What are these? It looks straight out of some movie!" Athena murmured in awe.
The heavy doors stretched nearly twenty feet high, their polished surface etched with wolves. Every inch of the place breathed authority, history, and danger.
Her heart hammered in her chest. Even if she had said this countless times already, Xavier needs to believe this wasn't her world.
She didn't belong here, not among stone walls whispering with centuries of power and councils that judged with a glance.
Inside, the air was cooler, scented with burning sage and iron. Athena's pulse quickened when she noticed the men guarding the hall… massive wolves in human form, their gazes sharp, their silence suffocating.
Xavier's hand brushed against hers again, firm and steady, as if anchoring her. She didn't pull away this time. Somehow, his silent touch was the only thing keeping her from turning and running back into the dark night.
Finally, they reached the double doors of the council chamber. Lucien stepped forward to open them, but not before giving Athena a long, unreadable look.
"Remember," Xavier murmured low enough for only her to hear, his silver eyes meeting hers for just a heartbeat, "you say nothing. No matter what."
The doors swung open.
The council chamber was vast, circular, its walls lined with robed Elders whose eyes gleamed in the torchlight. Their presence was suffocating.
They looked ancient with watchful eyes, with an all knowing look. At the center of the floor lay a sigil burned into the stone, glowing faintly, humming with energy Athena could feel in her bones.
As they stepped inside, every head turned toward them.
And Athena, for the first time, truly felt like prey.
Her breath caught as her eyes swept across the chamber.
Twelve of them. She counted.
Men and women, all draped in dark robes with silver sigils stitched at the collars, each bearing the mark of their bloodline. Their seats were high… backed, carved from black oak, more like thrones than chairs.
The way they leaned back in them, hands resting lazily on armrests, reminded Athena of crime bosses she'd only ever seen in movies… powerful, untouchable, untamed.
Each Elder's gaze was sharp and heavy, the kind that cut deeper than knives. Some looked at her with curiosity, others with disdain, and a few with expressions so unreadable they made her skin prickle.
No one smiled. No one moved.
The Elder at the head of the table… the oldest, his hair white as ash but his eyes alive with a feral gleam. Tapped a finger against the wood. The sound echoed through the chamber like a gavel.
Beside her, Xavier stood tall and collected, though Athena could feel the tension radiating off him. He looked like he belonged here… like one of them. While she… she felt like a lamb shoved into a den of wolves.
The silence stretched into suffocating. The Elders didn't need to speak to command fear; their very presence was enough.
Finally, the Elder with the silver hair leaned forward, his voice smooth but edged like steel. "So," he said, his eyes flicking between Xavier and Athena, "you've brought a guest Alpha Xavier, didn't you think… she should be introduced to us?"
Just when Xavier was about to answer, the chamber fell silent at the sound of heavy footsteps.
Kraven entered like he owned the room, cigar smoke clinging to him, his right hand man following like a shadow. His sharp gaze swept across the Elders before landing squarely on Xavier and Athena. The smugness he carried like a crown vanished as he spoke, voice hard, cutting through the silence.
"That's not the main issue and that's not why I called everyone here."
Athena froze as the entire atmosphere shifted. The Elders straightened in their seats, their once impassive stares turning sharper, heavier.
She could feel the change, the way the room leaned into Kraven's presence, the way respect or fear… tilted toward him. Why?
"Then why are we here, if not to discuss Xavier's new… recruit?" one Elder asked, his eyes flicking at Athena briefly.
Kraven's mouth curved into a humorless smile, then hardened. "It's about Xavier killing my mate."