Violet

The established protocol for removing a Supreme Alpha was a formal duel, either appointed by the Supreme Alpha alone or sanctioned by the council, with the victor either replacing the fallen ruler or appointing a successor.

What I had done bore no resemblance to that process. I had killed Palisa in the wilderness, without any council witnesses, or any formal challenge being issued.

Hence, I had committed a crime.

I had listened to this assessment with a stillness that seemed to unsettle some of the elders. When they finished, I had simply told them it was self-defence, and I said it with the same flat certainty I had given Voya on the first day.

It made no sense. She had been the one who had hunted me down, and tried to kill me.

But they had exchanged glances and Voya had eventually revealed that it did not necessarily mean I was in trouble.

There were legal loopholes and pathways that could support me, and several was already common knowledge.

The two most significant were Palisa’s imprisonment and unlawfully killing of Bei, another wolf of someone’s territory on an active mission.

Following the summit at Fresna, the council had placed Palisa under formal restrictions. She had been confined to her territory, expressly barred from even stepping foot outside her castle walls for what she has done.

The fact that she had violated that restriction, assembled a force of wolves, and personally tracked me across multiple territories was itself a severe breach of authority.

She had broken her own imprisonment to come kill me.

That single fact shifted everything.

Thankfully, Rowan’s wolves had captured Palisa’s surviving wolves as they attempted to flee the unclaimed lands. They were being held here in Frostheim now, and under severe questioning.

Their testimonies would help serve as evidence before the other supreme Alphas.

Even as they had laid out legal arguments and walked me through precedents and other necessary details, I had still brought forward the real reason I wanted this.

Nearly every territory as far as I was aware had carried out crimes towards Lycans, especially exterminating them. I did not care if it was because they were afraid of my power or scared of me attacking them, they were already showing signs of repeating what had happened in the past.

The had been stunned, and Voya had been a bit uncomfortable. She hadn’t been bothered to send wolves after me, but her territory had also been involved in the deaths of Lycans in the distant past.

I was initially not even going to move past it, but if my case of killing Palisa was going to be an issue, I would also need thorough addressing for this matter.

I did not care how ambitious it was, the broader issue of Lycan persecution needed to be tackled. The history, the hunts, the systematic destruction of an entire people based on nothing but terror at what they might become.

I was also going to present my own terms, and I would not hear anyone trying to talk me out of it.

To my surprise, Voya and her wolves had agreed to support me, and in the next few days, summons would have been sent to other supreme alphas.

Though it would take weeks for them to arrive due to the distance.

The days continued to pass, and I got to learn Kael and Rowan were also busy helping set and prepare details for this coming meeting.

I ate when I was hungry, I slept when my body demanded it, I studied the documents Voya’s elders provided, and I walked the corridors of the castle when the restlessness became too much, letting the cold air fill my lungs and clear my head.

[ - ]

Frostheim grew less foreign overtime. The structures were mostly ground level, with a lot having underground rooms and bunkers. I had learned the rhythm of its routines, the names of the healers who tended me, along with a few more discoveries.

And through it all, I thought about Bei.

It had hurt me when her burial had been carried out while I was unconscious, and I was yet to even visit her resting place.

I had wanted to tell her about what I had discovered, and she was gone because of me. Especially when she still had a sister back in Fresna.

Bei had been so excited to see the world. She would have loved to hear about what I had discovered underwater even though I could not take her there.

I don’t think I would ever stop blaming myself for what had happened.

I wished Palisa could die a million times over.

[ - ]

The children were braver than I expected.

The smallest ones had crept forward first, their round faces flushed pink from the cold, and their eyes wide with a fearless curiosity that only very young children seemed to possess. They clustered around Zephyr like she was the most fascinating thing they had ever seen.

Which, to be fair, she probably was.

Zephyr lay sprawled across the frost-dusted ground, her massive body stretched out to bask in whatever thin warmth the pale sky offered. Her golden-marked fur caught the muted light, shimmering faintly against the coat of snow, with patches of those bluish green grass peaking out as the winter season was passing away.

Her tail swished occasionally, sending little puffs of frost into the air that made the children squeal and scatter before creeping back again.

One tiny girl, bundled so thickly in furs that she was nearly spherical, had planted herself directly beside Zephyr’s head. She was patting the massive wolf’s snout with both mittened hands, her expression one of solemn concentration.

I smiled.

It had been a bit strenuous to summon Zephyr while still recovering. She had told me it wasn’t a priority, that she was content to rest within me, and I shouldn’t waste my strength.

But I had insisted.

She deserved fresh air after that ordeal, and especially after having spent a thousand years trapped in that crystal.

The least I could give her was this.

I had also wanted to come out after holing myself in that castle after so long.

The children had just crowded around me merely an hour into my walk outside.

The older ones lingered at a more cautious distance, though their curiosity was just as obvious. A few of the bolder ones had edged close enough to reach out and brush their fingertips against her fur before darting back to the safety of the group.

They had never seen a Lycan wolf before.

I sat in the snow, wrapped in one of the heavy fur-lined coats I had been provided. The air bit at my exposed cheeks and the tips of my ears, but I welcomed it.

Also watching the children made something in my chest loosen.

The spherical little girl was now attempting to climb onto Zephyr’s back. Two slightly older children were helping her, one pushing from behind while the other pulled at her coat.

I was too engrossed in the sight when the bond stirred before sharpening and growing closer.

Then I suddenly felt the familiar weight of his presence approaching from behind.