Chapter 29: Chapter 29

LUXURY

The sunglasses felt ridiculous.

They sat heavy on my face, shielding my eyes from the light that my mind was still struggling to process. Everything was still too much—too bright, too fast, too new. My body had learned to rely on things other than sight for so long that now, it felt like my instincts were warring with themselves.

But I wasn’t about to walk into the council chambers looking vulnerable.

I had no plans of indulging in any conversation about the ritual, about the flames, about the fucking miracle that had happened to me.

The council didn’t deserve to know.

They hadn’t earned the right to that part of me.

Selene walked beside me, her presence steady, grounding. My wolf hummed at her nearness, a reminder that she was here, that she was mine. She hadn’t left my side since that night. And I had no plans of letting her leave it now.

We reached the heavy wooden doors of the council chamber, and one of my retainers, Zander, stepped forward, offering me a quiet nod before he cracked the door open.

“You’re going in first,” he murmured. “They want to speak to you alone before she enters.”

A slow, simmering irritation curled through my chest, but I didn’t argue.

Of course, they did.

I cast one last glance at Selene, who frowned but didn’t protest.

“I’ll be fine,” I murmured, brushing my fingers briefly against hers before stepping inside.

The council chamber smelled the same.

Wood. Paper. A lingering trace of incense from whatever pointless rituals they had been conducting before I arrived.

The room was too still.

I heard the shuffling of robes, the shifting of bodies. I could feel the weight of their stares, their scrutiny, even through my sunglasses.

I took my seat at the head of the long table, folding my hands in front of me, my jaw tight.

The silence stretched.

Then, finally—

“Nine wolves dead.”

The voice belonged to Elder Grayson, one of the oldest members of the council. He was always the first to speak, the first to pick at a wound and see if it bled.

“Five at the hands of the hunters,” he continued, his tone neutral, unreadable. “Four at yours.”

I didn’t react.

Another council member, this time Elder Calloway, leaned forward. “A battle took place on our lands, Alpha. One that you led. And yet, you’ve been absent since.”

I exhaled slowly, already feeling my patience disintegrating.

“You have not attended to your duties as alpha in two weeks,” Grayson added, voice sharpening. “And the pack has taken notice.”

The irritation that had been simmering in my chest burned hotter.

I reached up, pulling the sunglasses off my face and slamming them onto the table so hard the sound cracked through the silence.

Every single one of them flinched.

I leaned in, my eyes locking onto Grayson first, then Calloway. “Tell me,” I said, my voice dangerously soft. “What do you think I’ve been doing?”

A flicker of unease.

They weren’t used to seeing my eyes—my new eyes. I could feel them staring, trying to make sense of the murky blue that had replaced the blindness they had always known.

But I wasn’t done.

I turned to the other side of the table, my gaze landing on Elder Marston, a man who had always been too quiet for my liking.

“And what about you, Marston?” I asked, my voice sharp now, cutting. “Did you know? Did you know the kind of atrocities my father committed on this land?”

Marston’s breath hitched.

I stood, my chair scraping against the floor as I pressed my hands against the table, towering over them.

“Did you know about the rituals?” I demanded, my voice rising now, dangerous, furious. “About the dark magic that ran so deep into our soil that it fucking cursed my bloodline?”

I heard the shuffle of movement behind me—Julian, stepping forward to intervene.

“Alpha—”

I ignored them.

My gaze swept over the council, my rage pressing into the room like a storm. “Did you know that my father severed my mate’s bond before she could even shift? That he stole her from me before we ever had the chance to find each other?”

Silence.

Guilt.

It was there.

They knew.

Or at the very least, some of them suspected.

A snarl curled at the edges of my lips as I took a step back, shaking off the hands that tried to pull me away.

I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through my hair before letting my gaze tear through them once more.

“You will not make me out to be a poor alpha,” I growled. “Not after everything I have done for this pack. Not after eight years of leading, of fighting, of winning.”

I let my words sink in. Let the weight of them press down on them the way their scrutiny had pressed down on me.

And then, I drove it home.

“This pack is stronger than ever,” I said, my voice like iron. “With my luna at my side.” A pause. A slow, deliberate inhale. “And not just my luna.”

I let the moment stretch.

Then, with a smirk sharp enough to cut, I added—

“But my sight, too.”

The reaction was instant.

Shock.

A flicker of fear.

I didn’t let them recover.

I turned toward the doors. “Bring her in,” I ordered, my voice calm, unwavering.

A second later, Selene entered.

She moved like the force of nature she was, her presence commanding the room without effort.

Her amber eyes found mine immediately, filled with something fierce, something proud.

She had always seen me.

Now, for the first time, I saw her back.

And the council?

They would see, too.

She was luna.

And they would recognize her as such.

Selene hesitated for a fraction of a second before she moved to stand beside me. Her shoulder brushed mine, grounding me, steadying me. My fingers twitched at my side, an unconscious urge to reach for her, but I curled them into fists instead.

The council was watching.

Waiting.

Elder Grayson, ever the first to speak, clasped his hands in front of him and exhaled slowly.

“Luna,” he acknowledged, his voice careful.

Selene inclined her head, her expression unreadable. “Elder.”

A beat of silence stretched between them before Elder Calloway cleared his throat. “There is much to discuss.”

I didn’t sit. Neither did Selene.

We towered over them, forcing them to tilt their heads, to look up.

It wasn’t a mistake.

They could pretend they held the power here, but they didn’t.

I did.

Selene did.

“Then discuss,” I said flatly.

Calloway pursed his lips. “We’ve gone over the losses, and there were far too many. The four killed by your hand after such a great loss was reckless.”

Selene didn’t flinch.

Neither did I.

“They were challengers,” I said, my voice clipped. “They were traitors. They died for it.”

Grayson inhaled sharply. “The loss of four to our own kind is significant, Alpha—”

I laughed. A low, humorless sound that made his mouth snap shut.

I leaned forward slightly, my voice dangerous. “You’re acting like I was the one who threw the first strike.”

Marston shifted in his seat, clearing his throat. “Their deaths sent a message.”

A sharp grin curled at the edges of my lips. “Good.”

Silence.

Marston frowned, his gaze shifting toward Selene. “And what of you, Luna?” he asked, voice slow, measured. “You have been at the heart of much of this conflict. The attack on you, the challenge against the alpha, the fight for your bond.”

Selene tilted her head slightly. “Are you asking if I regret surviving?”

Marston’s lips pressed into a thin line. “That isn’t what I—”

“You can say it outright,” Selene said smoothly, her expression deceptively calm. “You want to know if I am worth the losses.”

A flicker of discomfort ran through the room.

Selene smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Tell me, Elder, would you have asked my alpha if he was worth it?”

I didn’t move, but my chest burned with satisfaction.

Selene had always been strong.

But here—standing before the council, owning her place, forcing them to see her—

She was magnificent.

Marston looked away, his throat bobbing. “That is not the discussion at hand.”

Selene lifted her chin. “Then what is?”

Calloway folded his hands. “The pack has been waiting. For two weeks, we have been without leadership, without your presence, and we need to know—”

I exhaled sharply, barely resisting the urge to laugh again.

They wanted to know why I had been absent?

They wanted to pretend I had abandoned my post?

I slammed my palms onto the table, making several of them jump.

“You want to talk about leadership?” My voice was low, venomous. “You want to sit here and question why I wasn’t present when I was undoing the shit my father left behind? When I was ripping his curse out of my own blood?”

Silence.

My breathing was steady, but I could feel the anger vibrating under my skin, barely contained.

“You sit here,” I continued, voice sharper now, dangerous, “pretending that this pack has suffered under my rule. Eight years, I have led Nightshade. For eight years, I have kept us strong. And now, because we took losses in battle—losses we would have taken regardless—you think I need to explain myself?”

I let the words settle, let them dig into them.

Grayson’s mouth opened slightly, then snapped shut.

Calloway stiffened.

Marston blinked.

I let them drown in it.

I had no intention of explaining myself further.

They could whisper, they could speculate, but the truth had already hit them like a hammer.

Everything was different now.

Everything had changed.

I reached for Selene’s hand, threading my fingers through hers before I tore my gaze away from the council.

“This meeting is over.”

I didn’t wait for a response.

I turned on my heel, leading my luna out of the room, leaving the council to choke on the realization—

That their alpha was no longer the man they had once known.

That now—

He was something more.