Chapter 117: Elder Responses
"The Wanderers grow stronger."
"They are no longer hiding. Taking young wolves to plunge them into darkness."
"Goddess protect us."
"If they can destroy Emberspire, who is next?"
"They will target all smaller packs."
"This is not a raid. This is a war beginning."
"Nowhere is safe anymore!"
"We must rally! We must prepare for war."
Galen took a single, heavy step forward. "Enough!" His voice, deep and commanding, boomed off the walls. The talking stopped and died immediately. All eyes turned back to the center.
Aveloria had not moved from her crouch. She gave Astrid’s shoulder a final slight squeeze and stood. She looked at him. "So you fled."
Astrid nodded weakly, fresh tears coming.
"I wanted to fight, but I’d have been taken away. I ran. I am a coward. The memory...I see it when I close my eyes. I hear the screams..." Astrid broke down, sobbing. He covered his face with his hands.
Aveloria’s voice was firm but not harsh. "You survived, Astrid."
Captain Thalrik spoke again. "After we heard his account, I separated from the SilverVale merchants. I took two soldiers and returned toward Emberspire to confirm the account. What we found..." He paused briefly. "The settlement was destroyed. Houses burned to the ground. There were too many bodies. We found Alpha Faelan’s body." He lowered his head slightly.
No one spoke for several long moments. The facts hung in the air: a pack erased, young wolves captured, all the wanderers’ doings.
The elders found their voices again, but now they were focused and directed at Aveloria.
"Your Grace, we must convene the Alpha Summit immediately."
"The Wanderers are increasing. They are organized now."
"Every pack must be warned to fortify their borders."
"We must find where these wanderers nest and burn them out!"
"We need a strong strategy, great alliances before more packs fall."
"War is coming! If we don’t prepare, our kind will go into extinction!"
The voices overlapped. Aveloria listened, her eyes moving from one speaking elder to another. Her heart was a hard, cold weight in her chest. Her heart ached for the people of Emberspire. She pictured the burning homes. The children were taken. The lives cut short. She thought of Alpha Faelan, a fair man she had met only once. She looked at Astrid, kneeling and crying in his guilt, a young man who would never be free of that night.
But beneath the grief, an immediate thought surfaced in her mind. It was a clear and sharp realization. She looked around the hall.
If some elders had turned the night she exposed Eirene, then there’d be more in this room, right now, working with the wanderers.
Her eyes scanned the faces. The one who had been quick to name the wanderers? Others who were eager for war? Those who were specific in their fears? Or those who were too quiet? If even one person in this room were feeding information to the Wanderers, any strategy discussed here would reach them immediately. Every plan would be worthless. The war would be lost before it began. She could not risk that.
The powder she had once used to reveal corruption would not solve this. A spy would not necessarily show signs of transformation. They could remain fully wolf and still betray their people. She has to purge the council first. But she had no idea how.
The elders were still speaking.
Aveloria lifted her hand. "Enough," she said, her voice cutting through their voices.
The hall quieted again.
"This council is adjourned. We will reconvene when I have consulted the proper channels. But not today."
The elders exchanged looks.
"In the meantime, a rider will be sent to every alpha to strengthen their borders, increase patrols, and be vigilant. There will be no summit until I command it. And no strategies will be discussed publicly until further notice." She looked directly at them.
There were immediate protests, murmurs of discontent.
"Your Grace, delay is dangerous!"
"We must act!"
"We will act with knowledge, not in blind fear!" Aveloria said, staring straight at the speaker.
She turned to Thalrik. "You will see to it that Astrid is given a proper room. He is to be fed, given clean clothes, and seen by the healer. He will remain under my protection. Ensure he is treated with care."
Thalrik bowed. "It will be done, my Queen."
Thalrik signaled to the soldiers. They helped Astrid to his feet gently. Astrid avoided looking at the crowd as he was led out.
Aveloria faced the elders once more. "This council is dismissed. You will receive instructions soon."
The elders stared, confused and frustrated by the abrupt end. But they obeyed. They bowed their heads and began to file out in whispering groups. Their whispers were no longer about the ruins of Emberspire but about Aveloria—her hesitation, her coldness, her lack of experience and immediate action. Too young. Too indecisive.
Aveloria stood still at the center of the emptying hall, watching them go until only she and her mates remained. The heavy doors closed behind the last of them.
Aveloria let out a long, slow breath. Her shoulders, which had remained steady throughout the meeting, finally lowered slightly. She turned to face Galen, Lucien, and Theron.
"What should I do?" She asked, the word simple and utterly drained.
The question was not rhetorical. It was a genuine and desperate question. The fate of Lycanthria and perhaps every pack now rested on her finding a solution.
"If I call a gathering of Alphas, and one of them carries information to the Wanderers, we hand them our defenses."
Lucien nodded. "You suspect spies within the council."
"I cannot ignore the possibility," Aveloria replied.
Theron spoke carefully. "Then we investigate quietly."
"How?" she asked.
Galen considered. "Limit knowledge, like sharing different pieces of information with different individuals. Watch what returns."
Lucien gave him a glance of approval. "A controlled leak. If the information reaches the Wanderers, we trace it back."
Aveloria thought through it. "It would take time. And we don’t have the luxury of time to investigate every elder. We will need evidence." She said.
"You did well. I mean, the warning to the Alphas will strengthen their defenses. That buys us days, maybe weeks." Theron said.
Galen stepped closer. "And we place our own watchers within the city. Not elders. Not known guards. Wolves who owe loyalty only to you."
Aveloria looked at each of them. Her mind was racing, but her face remained calm.
"If the Wanderers are taking young wolves alive, then they are building something."
"They are building their armies. They are preparing for war." Lucien replied.
"I cannot allow fear to divide this kingdom. If most packs start doubting the kingdom’s strength, trust collapses."
"That won’t happen. We will build strong allies that will help protect our kind." Theron reassured her.
Her doubt did not disappear, but it settled into something steadier. "Galen, please assign men to Emberspire to help bury the dead," Aveloria said.
Galen nodded. "Alright. I’ll do just that."
