Adam looked down at Rhea. His lips twitched, a tremor passing through his jaw before it sealed tight once more. Avoiding her piercing gaze, he shifted his focus toward the semi-circle of high elders, his rich cedarwood scent turning flat, locked down, and defensive.

Rhea lunged across the small distance between them, her fingers gripping the thick leather of his sleeve. "Please, tell me what you know. Please," she begged, her voice fracturing in the night air.

Adam stared down at her trembling hands on his arm, a flicker of raw torment crossing his features before he looked away, staring back into the dark woods. "I have nothing to say."

Rhea nodded slowly. Her fingers lost their grip, slipping from his arm as her hands fell limply to her sides. She took two steps back, the cold mud squelching under her boots. Turning her back on his silence, she locked onto Elder Rowan, her silver eyes burning.

"Will you also stay silent? You are obligated to our people, sworn to protect us. We are talking about a child. A pup who needs his mother," she said, her voice dropping to a jagged whisper as tears finally spilled over her lashes.

Inside her skull, River threw her head back and howled in pure, agonizing desolation.

The elder looked at her, the scent of ancient pine and sorrow rolling off him. He kept his jaws locked. He merely let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head as he looked at the ground. Rhea pressed a trembling hand against her forehead, trying to steady the frantic spinning in her mind.

"One thing I can tell you, Luna," Elder Magnus’s baritone cut through the suffocating tension like a skinning knife. "Eli, your son, was never officially declared dead. There are no records of his passing in the high pack ledger."

Rhea’s eyes widened, a sudden, blinding flash of hope igniting in her chest. She whipped her head toward Kaleb first, then her gaze drifted back to Adam’s rigid profile. "He is alive. That confirms it."

"Nothing is certain yet, Rhea," Elder Magnus cautioned, his tone heavy and grounded. "We are still tracking the scent trail for absolute proof, but I assure you, the Grand Council will dig to the bottom of this. If the boy draws breath in this world, we will find him, no matter how many seasons it takes."

"That is exactly what terrifies me," Rhea whispered, her chest heaving as she swallowed down a sob. "So much time has passed already, Elder. If too many moons pass, I don’t want him to forget my scent. I don’t want my own baby to forget his mother."

Elder Magnus’s jaw hardened, his amber eyes flashing with protective authority as he looked at her pain. "He will be found," he rumbled with absolute certainty.

Then, he whirled on Kaleb, his dominant aura exploding outward. "But until that day, you, Alpha Kaleb Duskbane, are hereby stripped of all your sovereignty, your crown, and your command. Effective this very breath. You have failed your bloodline, and you will no longer rule this region."

Kaleb’s eyes nearly popped from their sockets, the dominant alpha blood in his veins boiling with lethal fury. "What?! Hell no!" he spat, his fangs extending as he snarled into Magnus’s face. "That will not happen! I would rather be food for the crows!"

A collective murmur rippled through the surrounding vanguard.

"Then prepare to die, you worthless traitor!" River barked inside Rhea’s head, her phantom ears pinned back in a snarl.

"The Council’s decision is final," Elder Magnus declared, his voice flat and unyielding.

Kaleb scoffed, a wild, unhinged laugh bubbling in his throat as he looked around the clearing. "You have to be kidding me."

"Mind your tongue, Alpha," Elder Seraphine warned, her sharp eyes narrowing into slits.

"Exactly, Elder. Alpha. That is who the fuck I am," Kaleb sneered. "I am the King. I cannot be stripped of anything. Especially not on my own lands."

"As of this moment, these lands are under the direct jurisdiction of the Grand Council," Elder Magnus countered, his voice vibrating the forest floor. "You are no longer king."

"Nonsense! You don’t have the power!" Kaleb barked, the veins in his thick neck bulging like ropes under his skin. He whirled, pointing a clawed finger at Rhea. "You should be ordering my Luna to march back home to the packhouse with me. We can shift, make more pups, and she can stop throwing these pathetic tantrums!"

"Not in your wildest, rotting dreams!" River roared, scratching frantically against the walls of Rhea’s mind to be let out.

Rhea stepped forward, her jaw clenched tight. She completely ignored Kaleb’s manic ranting, keeping her silver eyes pinned directly onto Elder Magnus. "While you are stripping his titles, Elder, I want the Council to sever my mate bond with Kaleb officially."

"What?" Kaleb snapped, his scent turning volatile, sharp, and toxic. "Stop dreaming, Rhea. You are mine as long as you still draw breath."

Rhea kept her back to him, her voice earnest as she pleaded with the high wolves. "Something has to be done. I cannot carry his mark anymore."

"If there was an intent to slaughter, the bond is technically fractured," Elder Rowan explained calmly, his gentle voice soothing the jagged air. "If you can prove a sacred violation. That a mate drove their blade through a mate with the intent to kill, the spiritual connection snaps. The physical mark will remain, and it will burn under severe stress, but the mate bond is broken."

Rhea pressed her palm hard against her chest, right over her heart. "I have the scar right here," she said, her voice ringing out like a vow. She finally turned her head, locking her cold gaze onto Kaleb. "You heard them. The bond is now broken, Kaleb. I am no longer yours."

Kaleb scoffed, his amber eyes flashing an unstable, dangerous gold. "No matter what these old fools say, I will never reject you," he growled stubbornly. "You will always be my Luna. And he will never have you!" he roared, thrusting his finger directly at Adam.

Adam said absolutely nothing, but his massive frame remained coiled like a hunting panther, his jaw clenched so tight the bone ticked under his skin. For a fleeting second, Rhea felt Adam’s gaze on her, not possessive, not victorious, just unbearably sad.

Elder Seraphine shook her head in utter disgust. "You already rejected the Moon Goddess’s gift the night you put your blade through her chest, Kaleb," she said coldly. "With time, the magic will fully wither and die."

Kaleb laughed, a sharp, unhinged sound that echoed off the ancient trees. "You are all joking! I am the Alpha King. I will take whatever I want."

The high elders stared back at him, their jaws snapped tight, their collective pack power rising in the dark to meet his rebellion.