Chapter 227: A Ruined Bond
"How dare you blame us like that!" Dahlia screamed.
Rage brewed in her eyes like a storm, swirling with madness as she glared at everyone present. For a second, I thought she would beat the odds and have her anger trigger an impossible shift even during the lunar eclipse. Thankfully, she remained very human and I remained very alive.
"Yes," Alpha Thorton said, his voice much calmer than Dahlia’s, though it held just the same — if not more — fury. "Darach is family. Are you suggesting that you would do the same to your son, Alpha Burke? Or perhaps you to your brother, Alpha Damon?"
"That is obviously not the same," Alpha Burke replied, folding his arms across his chest as he stared at the thick-skinned father and daughter duo. "Me and my mate’s familial ties with our son best whatever feelings you have for poor young Darach, evidently seen in the memories that Miss Harper had supplied us with. The Oracles stand witness to your tyranny; it is obvious that Darach Elrod hadn’t received fair treatment at home."
"He stayed alone for the most part," I added, rubbing salt in the wound right when Alpha Burke had beaten Alpha Thorton into a corner. "When I met him, he was alone in a garden. I would’ve thought that he was an ordinary member of the pack if it weren’t for his introduction."
Alpha Thorton’s lip twitched but I wasn’t going to allow him the chance to fight back. I was no match in strength, but if it came to a battle of words, I was most handy.
"On the contrary, Milo’s dynamics with his family far surpass whatever sick bond you claim to have with Darach," I said to Alpha Thorton, my gaze never breaking contact with his glare. If looks could kill, Alpha Thorton would’ve wanted nothing more than to send me six feet under.
Damon, after having watched the exchange in silence for so long, finally said, "On the other hand, Blaise and I are twins."
Blaise continued, "My brother spared no effort to find me while I was away from Fangborne. That is something most if not all who are present will remember."
Of course. Who would forget Damon’s tyranny as he waged war against the world just to find his younger twin brother? Everyone remembered, but no one clarified, for the battle was now against Alpha Thorton.
Even the packs who were neutral in this debate couldn’t help but silently condemn Alpha Thorton’s actions― the sin of separating the wolf from the man was grave, especially when done on a family member.
"And that is why the accusations against you hold so much weight, Alpha Thorton," Alpha Burke said. "It is because it’s normal to treat your family with kindness that the lack of compassion you have for your son is thus so alarming."
Nicole’s face was still gravely portrayed from the moonwater’s projection. However, while Darach was nowhere to be found, we could still hear his voice relayed through the mysterious call.
"This can’t be real..." he murmured, his voice shaky and distorted, but still crystal clear. "It’s not happening. It’s not real. They’re lying."
"Indeed they are," Alpha Thorton hissed through clenched teeth. "The separation of the wolf is only temporary, my boy. They are merely fear-mongering."
"With all due respect, Alpha Thorton, then perhaps you can explain why Darach felt pain when others did not?" Nicole asked. "With my understanding, the pain felt from the severing of the bond between wolf and man can only be felt by those present in the council at the Forest of Selene. For the wolves outside, they feel nothing more than brief discomfort. Yet, Darach Elrod mentioned feeling pain."
She whirled around, looking away from the water and at a figure― most likely Darach huddled in a corner.
"Didn’t you, Darach?"
"It felt like my flesh was being ripped apart from bone," Darach’s weak whisper came from the moonwater. "Or that my heart was thorn out of my chest and crushed in someone’s hands, silver pressed against every inch of my skin."
"That feels accurate," Blaise said, leaning back against his seat.
I shot him an alarmed look, to which he merely shrugged. "A wolf is a part of you," he said. "And as for the heart..."
Damon’s frown seemed to carry the weight of the world. "Perhaps he was feeling the break of the bond he had with his unknown mate."
At this proclamation, another ring of gasps burst forth from the crowd. The members of the council all looked at one another with alarm, horror, and disbelief coloring their faces. Some pointed and gestured at Darach and Nicole, while others had their eyes glued on Alpha Thorton and Dahlia’s quickly paling faces.
How could they have forgotten? When the wolf was gone, that would leave Darach as nothing more than an ordinary human― and humans had no fated mates.
Milo, of all people, looked most pained. His fists were clenched and so was his jaw. He stared wordlessly at the projection of Nicole, as though he was willing for Darach to show up through the image. However, Nicole remained unmoving. Darach refused to step forward and with all due right. His world had just crashed down upon him.
"Sinister..." Alpha Burke said. "Absolutely sinister! You’ve doomed not only your son, but you’ve also ruined another poor soul’s chance at finding their fated partner! Do you not understand what you have just done, Alpha Thorton? This no longer concerns your son― an innocent life is now dragged into this mess you’ve created!"
"What would that family know of fated mates and bonds between two souls?" Luna Cassidy said with a huff. She grabbed her husband’s arm, scowling with hatred at Thunderstrike’s table― Dahlia, specifically. "Have you forgotten, Burke? Dahlia Elrod disrespected her own fated mate in front of a crowd and tried to steal the man who was fated for someone else!"
Every word flew from Luna Cassidy’s lips as though they were poison.
"Mom..." Milo urged from her side. "That’s enough."
"No," Luna Cassidy firmly said. "Since we’re laying everyone’s sins bare here at the council, perhaps this shall also be addressed while it’s on topic."
She pointed an accusatory hand in Dahlia’s direction, seething.
"Dahlia Elrod has no respect for the Moon Goddess’s intentions," Luna Cassidy said. "And evidently, this trait must come from someone. Who else holds more responsibility for her callous upbringing than her father himself?"
