Isla's eyes widened when she heard what her mate just said. She immediately grabbed Elias' arm.
"What do you think you're doing? Elias, please stop this..." she whispered to her mate and then turn to Leland. She spoke apologetically. "I'm sorry, Leland, please don't fight my mate!"
Whether or not Isla agreed with Leland's decisions, she knew her cousin's reputation far too well. He was strong and ruthless. He had killed the most powerful warriors from each tribe when they were challenging his position
There was a great reason why the Obsidian Sand Pack was mostly neutral and didn't actively participate in wars and conquests while Blood River Pack did. She didn't want Elias to get harmed.
In terms of the power difference, not all Alphas were the same.
Elias gritted his teeth and shoved Isla away. His mate ended up falling on the sands but he simply glowered at her. "Do not interfere with my decisions, Luna. I am still the Alpha of the Obsidian Pack and your words do not negate anything I've said."
"I'm only doing this because I don't want you to get hurt!" Isla's eyes brimmed with tears. She clenched her fist and stared up at him. "Please don't make any rash decisions!"
"You've hurt my pride." Elias frowned and ignored the stares of the other packs on his back. "The Obsidian Sand Pack is not weak, Isla. Do not make it appear that we have nothing compared to the others."
"I…" Isla's lips trembled. "I didn't mean it that way, Elias. Please, look at it from my point of view. We've already lost my father, Elias. I can't lose you too."
The other packs were already looking at them with a much more scrutinizing gaze that irritated Elias. It was his first time coming here in the Lunar Gathering but instead of showing himself worthy of the title, Isla just made them look bad.
"Leave." Elias hissed at his mate.
"What?" Isla's mouth fell open.
"Do not make me do it myself, Isla," Elias growled.
He didn't want to push her away or make her leave because he still respected the fact that she was Alpha Zaros' daughter. However, what she did earlier was enough to make him lose face in front of so many Alphas, elders, and other packs' important leaders.
"Elias…"
Don't make me repeat my words," Elias said coldly.
Isla realized if she didn't want to aggravate her husband, it was better for her to leave and wait for him to cool down.
Isla immediately pulled up to her feet and quickly avoided the gaze of the other Alphas, except for Leland. She looked at her cousin pleadingly for a second and hoped in her heart that he wouldn't harm Elias.
"Isla!" Elias narrowed his eyes once more. He could see how his mate looked at Leland as if begging him to spare Elias. This hurt his pride even more.
"I'm sorry." Isla smiled sadly at her mate. Eventually, she ran away from the Lunar Gathering and quickly disappeared into the night's fog and mist.
Leland's gaze hardened at Elias' back. Whether or not he had any real closeness or blood ties with Isla didn't matter to him at all. As far as he could see, this was a worthless man.
How could he treat his mate like that? Leland had no respect for Lycans who abused their mates.
"Elias from Obsidian Sand Pack, are you finished with disrupting the meeting?" Suddenly, the Great Shaman spoke, clearly sounding displeased.
Elias gritted his teeth and eventually turned to look back at the rest of the packs in the gathering. It was clear that his little episode brought some shame to the Obsidian Sand Pack's name.
The Alpha of the Red Moon Tribe even stole the chance for him to reveal the betrayal done by Elder Brin. What else could he do? Elias didn't want others to simply think he was a battle-hungry person.
There was also the chance that the Blood River Pack would take it far too easy and even simply take a loss. If Elias won the fight now, others would assume it was because of Isla's intervention and not of his own strength.
"Alpha, please let us speak. This is what you brought us here for, right?" One of the ex-members of the Blood River Pack spoke in a low voice to Elias. "We haven't said what we came here for."
Elias smiled and realized what he could do. He turned back to the Great Shaman and said, "It seems that the Red Moon Tribe still failed to gather one vital piece of information, Great Shaman."
The Alpha of the Red Moon Tribe frowned.
Elias kept his gaze on Leland. "The reason why Elder Brin successfully managed to convince five hundred members to betray the Alpha of Blood River Pack is simply that Leland Salazar married a human."
"WHAT?!"
"Did he say human?!"
"Blood River Pack mingled with a human!"
If the other revelations before were still taken with some willingness to listen on Leland's side, this time, Elias' words shook the entire packs gathered that night. Even losing hundreds of lycans was still small when compared to betraying their own kind.
"Is there any proof in your accusation, Elias?" The Great Shaman barely held back the outrage of the rest of the pack.
"These men are from Blood River Pack." Elias gestured to the men he brought with him. "What can the Alpha say to that?"
"Sophia is the daughter of Anne and the granddaughter of the Lycan King Malachi," Leland said. "She is not fully human but has our blood as well. It seems like you simply believed the words of ex-members who have their vendetta, Elias."
"So she is half-lycan," The Great Shaman said and closed his eyes. "And the daughter of Anne. So it seems Elias' words have some partial truth in them. Does your mate accept our kind, Leland?"
"Yes, Great Shaman," Leland answered the older lycan. "The fears of the others do not have any warrant at all."
"Alas, it is hard to simply trust your words, Leland." the Great Shaman smiled sadly. "You mentioned that your mate has been poisoned so she is not here. However, I believe that we must still meet with your Luna."
"Shaman, that Luna must have been raised in the human kingdom!"
"Even if she has our blood, it doesn't mean anything!"
"He must have hidden her!"
"The Luna doesn't even know how to shift—" one of the ex-members of Blood River Pack spoke. Before he even finished his sentence, suddenly he felt a dark presence and aura.
He realized that Leland's gaze was on him and the courage he had immediately died.
Despite all of the accusations that Leland received on his ability to lead the Blood River Pack, the Alpha took it all without flinching at all. He didn't even care or bother because his beliefs were firm and resolute.
However, he couldn't accept the slander on Sophie's name.
"Enough is enough," Leland's gaze swept across the numerous packs. He spoke coldly. "If there is any lycan here who believes that the Blood River Pack is no longer trustworthy because of my mate, come step forward and challenge me now."
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