Chapter 190: My Brother Speaks For All Of Us
Lucas cleared his throat, attempting to maintain some semblance of control. "Alpha Nicholas, we mean no disrespect, but the pack has legitimate concerns about..."
"Concerns that can be addressed," Nicholas interrupted, his tone not aggressive but absolute. "Lilith is our mate. The Moon Goddess has declared it. We have accepted it. And the pack will as well."
"With respect, Alpha," Raphael stood again, his massive frame attempting to match the alphas’ authority through sheer physical presence. "The pack cannot be expected to follow the daughter of a traitor. Her very blood is a threat to our security."
Lucian moved forward, just one step, but the movement was enough to make Raphael take an involuntary step back. His gold eyes were completely dominant now, Zev showing through with barely-contained feral intensity.
"Anyone," Lucian said, his voice dropping into a register that was more growl than speech, "who questions her loyalty, who threatens her in any way, who so much as looks at her with disrespect....will die."
The words hung in the chamber like a curse.
"I will kill them," Lucian continued, taking another slow step toward Raphael. "I will tear them apart with my bare hands. I will make their death so slow, so agonizing, that they’ll beg for the mercy of a quick end. I will do it in front of the entire pack as a reminder that she is ours. She is protected. And anyone who endangers her endangers all three of us."
"My brother speaks for all of us," Sebastian said quietly from where he was stitting. "Lilith is our mate. She is under our absolute protection. Any threat to her is a threat to us."
Nicholas remained still, but his presence alone was somehow more terrifying than his brothers’ overt aggression. When he spoke, his voice was ice.
"I’m going to make this very clear," he said, each word deliberate and final. "Lilith will be respected by this pack. She will be treated with dignity. She will be protected as our mate, which means she will be protected as our future luna."
He looked directly at Raphael.
"If you or any other elder has a problem with that, you are welcome to challenge us for leadership of this pack. I am confident in the outcome." His silver eyes swept the room. "Anyone else wish to voice their objections?"
The chamber was absolutely silent. No one moved. No one spoke. The elders had just witnessed three alphas make it unambiguously clear that Lilith was non-negotiable, that any threat to her would be met with lethal force, that the pack’s acceptance of her was not a request but a requirement.
Lucas slowly lowered himself back into his seat, understanding that this battle had been lost before it even began. Catherine, to her credit, simply nodded once in acknowledgment of the alphas’ position. One by one, the other elders fell in line, the silence of submission more powerful than any spoken agreement.
"The council is adjourned," Nicholas said flatly. "This matter is closed."
The elders began to disperse, filing out of the council chamber in grim silence. Thomas was last to leave, his face dark with resentment, but even he said nothing. The message had been delivered. The boundary had been drawn. Anyone who touched her would die.
When the last elder had left, Sebastian exhaled slowly.
"That went as well as could be expected," he said quietly.
"They’ll fall in line," Nicholas said, moving back toward the door. "Fear is as effective as loyalty when it comes to pack dynamics. They’ll respect her because we’ve made it clear that disrespecting her carries a death sentence."
"And eventually," Lucian added, his gold eyes fading back to their normal colour, "they might even come to understand why she matters. But for now, fear will suffice."
***
*The Next Morning*
Lilith was dead asleep when her phone rang.
Not the restless broken sleep she’d been having all week...this was actual sleep, deep and dreamless, her body finally surrendering after days of fighting it. She’d gone out like a light somewhere around midnight and hadn’t moved since.
Her phone had other ideas.
It buzzed on the table beside her bed, once, twice, three times....and she ignored it the first two times, dragging herself deeper into the pillow, pulling the blanket over her head.
The third time she grabbed it without opening her eyes.
"Hello." Her voice came out like gravel.
"Oh thank god, you actually picked up." The voice on the other end was bright and warm and completely unfamiliar. "Lilith? It’s Wren. Wren Adley. Please don’t hang up."
Lilith opened her eyes.
She stared at the ceiling for a full three seconds.
"Wren." She sat up slowly. "Wren Adley."
"Yes! Hi. I know, I know....it’s been forever, I’m so sorry, I should have called years ago...."
"It’s been ten years, Wren."
"I know.....I know it has, and I’m sorry."
Lilith pushed her hair out of her face and looked at the time. Seven forty-three in the morning. She’d had almost eight hours of uninterrupted sleep for the first time in days and she’d been pulled out of it by a ghost from her childhood.
"How did you get my number," she said.
A short pause. "I called Mike."
Lilith’s jaw tightened. "You called Mike."
"I didn’t know who else to ask. I lost your number when i left the pack years ago and I tried to find you on social media but you don’t have anything and...." Wren stopped. Took a breath. "I needed to find you. I had to. I heard about your dad, Lilith."
The words landed quietly.
Lilith said nothing for a moment. Just sat on her bed in the early morning grey, holding the phone to her ear.
"I’m so sorry," Wren said softly. "I’m so, so sorry. Your dad was....he was the best man. I know that doesn’t help but I needed you to know that I know that. He was wonderful and what happened was wrong and I’m sorry I wasn’t there."
Lilith’s throat tightened.
"It’s okay," she said. Because what else was there to say.
"It’s not," Wren said firmly. "It’s not okay and I should have reached out sooner. I kept telling myself I would and then time kept passing and...." She stopped again. "How are you? And how is Aunt Cassandra? Is she there? Can I talk to her?"
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