Free Web NovelChapter 19: Summon The Council
The heavy crunch of boots against damp earth echoed through the canyon as Kaleb and his enforcers marched toward the towering BloodVeil border gates. His fists clenched until his knuckles cracked.
Suddenly—
"Stop right there!" The sharp command sliced through the mountain mist.
Kaleb snapped his head up, realizing they were already standing a mere ten meters away from the iron-reinforced gates and the stark, blood-red banner of the BloodVeil pack.
"State your name and your business!" another guard ordered from the catwalk above, the click of a crossbow resetting rattling through the silence.
Kaleb’s brow furrowed, his chest expanding as he took a dominant step forward. His eyes flashed a bright, warning amber, his inner wolf pressing hard against his consciousness. "I am here to speak with my uncle," he rumbled, his voice commanding.
"Who are you?" the voice demanded again, entirely unaffected by his tone.
Kaleb’s jaw hardened as he stared up at the sentry standing on the stone wall. Inside him, his wolf growled restlessly, clawing at his chest with frantic pride. His wolf snarled at the perceived insult.
"I am Alpha King Kaleb Duskbane," Kaleb snarled, his wolf’s feral voice bleeding directly into his human vocal cords, vibrating the very air between them.
An agonizing, heavy silence settled over the valley. Kaleb’s brows drew together sharply as the guards above didn’t budge.
"What are they doing?" Daniel murmured, stepping up to his Alpha’s shoulder, his voice raw with a warrior’s restrained fury. "They are disrespecting you."
"Remain calm. He is relaying my message to Adam, I am certain of it," Kaleb replied through a tight jaw, though his own patience was fraying.
Deep within the hidden cavern system beneath the fortress, Adam and Rhea had just slipped through the BloodVeil’s heavily guarded secret gates. The air down here was thick with the scent of sulfur, old stone, and the fierce, protective musk of Adam’s inner circle.
"Your nephew is standing at the main gates, requesting an immediate audience, Alpha," Adam’s Beta, Bernard, reported, stepping out of the shadows with a sharp bow.
Adam opened his mouth to give a command, but stopped himself mid-breath. He tilted his head, his dark amber eyes shifting to Rhea. A heavy silence filled the tunnel as he looked down at her. "What do we do?"
Rhea’s brows shot up in surprise. Instantly, every enforcer in the corridor shifted their weight, their eyes settling entirely on her. The weight of their attention made her pulse stutter, but she kept her chin parallel to the ground, her mind racing.
"Let them open the gates!" River growled venomously inside her head, her phantom fangs bared. "Let him come inside. I want to rip his throat out for what he did to our pup! I want to drink his blood!"
Rhea’s brows drew together, the anger in her chest cooling into something much more calculated, much more lethal. She exhaled slowly and turned to Bernard.
"Send him away," Rhea said, steel threading through her tone. "Do not even grant him a conversation. He is an Alpha King accustomed to submission; being ignored like a common rogue will cut his pride deeper than any silver blade."
Bernard looked at Adam, who simply offered a slow, wicked smile, his eyes glinting with admiration for his new partner. The Beta gave a respectful nod and hurried down the corridor to execute the order.
Rhea watched him go, a sudden hunger sparking in her veins. She turned back to Adam, her eyes flashing a sharp silver. "I want to watch him get turned away. I want to see the exact moment his humiliation sets in."
Adam’s smile widened, his gaze lingering on her face for a heartbeat too long. "As you wish, my lady," he murmured, bowing his head slightly as he extended an arm toward the stone steps. "After you."
Rhea exhaled slowly, her heart drumming with anticipation as she climbed the winding stone stairs leading to the Alpha’s private overlook. The moment she stepped onto the high balcony, the high-altitude wind hit her face.
"There," Adam said, stepping up right behind her. He leaned over the stone guardrail, his massive chest nearly brushing her shoulder as he pointed toward the valley floor below.
Down at the iron gates, Kaleb and his small army looked like ants against the massive stone fortifications. Rhea’s jaw instantly tightened, her fingers gripping the cold stone of the railing until her knuckles turned white.
There he was. The man who had promised to love her, the man who had stabbed her in the dark, and she was about to watch him break. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"Traitor!" River’s voice was a feral snarl that vibrated violently within Rhea’s ribs. "He should be killed where he stands! Let me down there! Let me paint the rocks with his blood!"
Rhea’s hand drifted to the knife at her side. This was the first time she had seen him since he buried that blade in her stomach.
Down at the iron perimeter, Bernard stepped onto the outer catwalk, his posture rigid and radiating the unyielding authority of BloodVeil’s high ranking.
"Kaleb," Bernard called across the canyon. "My Alpha declines your request. You must leave BloodVeil territory immediately."
Below, Daniel’s fists clenched, his knuckles whitening as his posture shifted into a lethal crouch. "How dare a mere—"
Kaleb hoisted a rigid hand, cutting his Beta off before the insult could leave his mouth. He stepped forward, his chest rising and falling hard against his leather vest. "I am Alpha King Kaleb Duskbane," he declared, trying to project his sovereign aura against the fortress.
"You are Alpha King in Ironfang." Bernard folded his hands behind his back. "This is BloodVeil."
Kaleb snapped, his composure fracturing as his wolf pushed violently to the surface. "You will turn around, go inside those walls, and bring Adam to me!"
"Alpha," Daniel hissed suddenly, nudging Kaleb’s arm and pointing toward the far right end of the high fortress wall.
Kaleb’s gaze snapped upward, his eyes instantly flaring amber. He narrowed his eyes as he caught the silhouette of a massive frame standing against the gray sky, and a second, more slender shadow standing right beside him.
Kaleb tilted his head, desperately straining his wolf’s vision to pierce the heavy mountain gloom, but the darkness was too thick, the distance too great.
"Alpha Thorne!" Kaleb roared, his voice echoing off the jagged rocks. "I came to your gates in person, and I expect the same basic courtesy I am extending to you! I demand to speak with you!"
Up on the isolated balcony, the wind whipped violently around them. Adam’s jaw tightened, the muscle pulsing in his cheek. But before any sound could leave his chest, Rhea reached out. Her small, warm fingers wrapped around his large hand, squeezing firmly.
The physical touch sent a sudden, electric spark up her arm, and Adam froze, his blazing amber eyes snapping down to look at her.
"Do not give him an answer," Rhea whispered, her silver gaze locking onto his, intense and pleading. "Do not even give him the satisfaction. Trust me."
Down below, Kaleb’s frustration was morphing into desperation. He held up the shredded piece of BloodVeil fabric, waving it toward the balcony. "You need to explain what your uniform was doing on my land on the exact same night an intruder breached my inner vault! You either answer for this provocation, or you face the consequences!"
Adam’s wolf growled, a low vibration that rattled Rhea’s bones, his fists clenching hard enough to draw blood. But the steady look in Rhea’s eyes kept him anchored to the stone floor. He forced a sharp breath, looked down at Bernard, and gave a single nod.
Then, he turned his gaze back to Rhea, his expression softening. "Let’s go."
"Go home, Kaleb!" Bernard’s final command echoed from the catwalk.
Kaleb’s heart hammered against his ribs as he watched the massive silhouette on the balcony smoothly turn on his heel. "Do not walk away from me!" he barked, his voice cracking with humiliated rage. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
But Adam didn’t even pause. He kept walking, his broad shoulders cutting through the mist, completely ignoring the sovereign of Ironfang.
"If you walk away from me now, you will bring down a wrath you cannot contain!" Kaleb screamed into the empty air.
No answer came. The absolute silence from the fortress stung deeper than any physical blade ever could. Kaleb stood paralyzed in the mud, his chest heaving as the realization of his insignificance in his uncle’s eyes set in.
He spun around to face his Beta, his features twisted into a mask of pure fury. "Summon the Grand Council!" Kaleb ordered, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and rage. He cast one final, venomous look back up at the empty balcony. "If he refuses to give an answer to me, then he will surely give one to the Council."
