The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas-Chapter 245: A Balant Threat!

Aeron’s POV~

I wanted to rip the throat out of the man sitting in front of me.

Alpha Marek sat there with a wild, unsettling look in his eyes, his posture relaxed as if he owned the very air I breathed.

My gaze roamed around the room, taking in the suffocating reality of our situation. This bastard hadn’t just come for a social visit; he had come to deliver an ultimatum. It wasn’t an offer. It was a blatant threat. If we didn’t take his side, we wouldn’t be getting out of this palace alive.

The arrogance of it was enough to make my blood boil. Behind me, I could feel my brothers...Luca, Lucian, and Kael.

I didn’t need to look at them to know their jaws were twitching with the same restrained violence I felt.

We were all staring at the old man, who didn’t look old at all. Despite his years, his skin was taut and his energy was unnaturally high.

Then, I saw it.

A hint of dark, muddy blood clouded the whites of his eyes. My expression shifted from irritation to pure disgust. The bastard had been drinking witch blood.

No wonder he had the guts to knock on my door. He had boosted himself with that foul adrenaline because he knew, deep down, he was nothing compared to me and my brothers. He had come prepared, and he had come dirty.

I glanced toward the windows. The entire Lycan Palace was surrounded. It was a mystery how they had managed to hide the presence of so many wolves in the capital.

Not even an hour ago, the streets had been quiet. Now, countless packs and thousands of wolves under the Council’s thumb had us pinned.

Before Marek had stepped inside, I had tried to reach my men, only to find they were already neutralized or surrounded.

Every wolf outside had that same blood-red tint in their eyes. They looked at us like mindless monsters, ready to tear us apart on command.

Even the elite guards I had brought from our home pack were nowhere to be seen, a fact that made my pulse thunder with fury.

But I couldn’t move. Marek had stepped into my living room acting like a polite gentleman, shaking hands and sitting down with a calm, haughty expression that made me want to crush his skull against the coffee table.

"Alpha Aeron," Marek said, his voice smooth and dripping with fake respect. "You are such a powerful leader in our community. You are the pride of the werewolves and your brothers, too."

He flashed a smile at Luca, Kael, and Lucian. They looked ready to lunge, their muscles taut with anger. Only my sharp glare kept them from turning this room into a slaughterhouse.

My heart was leaping into my throat, but not for my own life. I was thinking about our mate.

How could she handle this chaos? And more importantly, I was thinking about her safety. This bastard and the Council wanted to wipe out every single person with Lycan blood.

Selene was a Lycan. They would never let her live if they found her. We had to get to her. We had to protect her before they realized she was our mate.

Marek continued to talk, acting as if we were actually considering his "offer." He wanted us to join the Council’s side. He wanted our power to help them solidify their rule. If we refused, he made it clear the house would become our tomb.

Kael was the closest to snapping. I could feel his heat radiating off him. I caught his eye and sent a sharp, silent command through our mind-link: Keep it together. We need to get one of us out of here. We need to get to Selene.

We couldn’t all rush out at once; it would draw too much attention to her location. We hadn’t told anyone about our connection to the Lycans yet. If we all bolted for the Lycan palace, Marek would know something was wrong.

Kael understood immediately. He stepped forward, his face contorting with a mask of pure, unbridled rage. He grabbed Marek by the collar, hoisting the older Alpha up.

"You really have the guts?" Kael growled, his voice vibrating the floorboards. "You aren’t even powerful enough to challenge me on a good day, and now you want the blood of the Lycans? Have you lost your mind? If our community survives, it’s because of the Lycan bloodline! You’re a traitor!"

Kael acted with perfect, raw instinct. It looked like a brother losing his temper, not a calculated distraction. Marek’s men moved toward us, baring their fangs, and Marek’s own expression flashed with fear as Kael bared his teeth.

"Kael! Enough!" I roared, stepping in. I grabbed Kael’s arm and yanked him back, playing the role of the level-headed leader.

I growled at my brother, making sure my voice was loud enough for every spy in the house to hear. "Go to your room! Don’t cause more trouble here than you already have. Get out of my sight until you can control yourself!"

Kael put up a fake resistance, snarling at me before stomping off toward the back of the palace. He slammed his bedroom door so hard the frame rattled.

Marek straightened his suit, looking ruffled and annoyed. He didn’t want any of us out of his sight, but he couldn’t find a reason to stop a brother from being sent to his room by his Alpha. He watched the door for a moment, then looked back at me.

I saw a glint of hope in Marek’s eyes. He thought he was winning. He thought that by me "disciplining" Kael, I was choosing peace. He thought that if he played his cards right, he could actually convince me to join him.

His eyes shone with a bright, greedy light. He thought he had us trapped. He had no idea that Kael was already slipping out through the house, right under his nose. heading straight for the girl they were trying to kill.

"Now," I said, forcing calmness in my voice as I leaned back in my chair. "Let’s talk about this offer of yours, Alpha Marek."