Chapter 336: _Diplomacy And Restraint
Elder Yune’s voice was quiet, but it carried the weight of a storm:
"Alpha King. Luna Queen. You need to see this."
Her words hit like stones in my stomach, tearing me away from Kaelos’ embrace.
I turned to face her fully, swallowing down the lump in my throat.
Yune’s expression was grave, her wrinkled face etched with concern deeper than the usual weariness of her years. Her hands clutched a sealed envelope letter so tightly the paper crackled.
Kaelos straightened beside me, his grip still firm on my shoulder as if to tether me.
His silver eyes sharpened with authority. "Speak, Elder Yune."
The old she-wolf’s gaze flickered to me before coming back to him. It was subtle, but I felt the hesitation... the weight of knowing her words would only carve fresh wounds into my heart which was already bleeding.
"It’s best you read it yourselves," she murmured finally, stepping forward to offer the envelope.
Kaelos accepted it without ceremony, tearing it open with a swift movement before pulling the letter out. His jaw clenched as his eyes moved across the letter.
Each line he read pulled a shadow deeper across his face until it hardened like carved stone.
’Oh, snap. What now?’ Sirena, who’s been more silent than usual since Caroline’s death, spoke up in my mind just then.
I couldn’t stop myself from asking Kaelos. "What is it?"
His silence stretched too long.
My heartbeat pounded in my ears, filling the throne room louder than the ghosts of Arachne and Nimue’s voices from earlier.
"Kaelos," I pressed, my voice cracking.
At last, his silver gaze lifted to me, and the fury simmering there made my skin prickle. "Some of the packs in the continent have declared rebellion."
My breath hitched. "Rebellion?"
Yune nodded solemnly, stepping closer. "It began as murmurs in the border packs around Canada, whispers of discontent. But now... several Alphas have formally withdrawn their allegiance to the throne. They publicly refuse to answer summons. They claim..." She trailed off, her voice tense.
Kaelos’ claws shredded the paper in his fist as he locked his gaze on her.
"They claim what?" His voice was a growl, the floor beneath him vibrating faintly with the power straining to be unleashed.
Yune’s eyes lowered. "They claim you have grown too lenient. That you’ve allowed chaos to thrive under your reign. That your Luna Queen—"
"Don’t," Kaelos cut her off, his voice sharp enough to slice air.
But the words were already crawling into my chest like fire ants. My lips parted, but no sound came. I knew where this was going.
Of course I did.
I whispered it for her after Kaelos stopped her. "They blame me."
Silence swallowed the throne room. Yune didn’t deny it.
Because it was the fucking truth.
The tears I’d been fighting since the coven trial minutes ago pressed hot against my eyes again, but I forced them back.
Not here. Not now.
I wouldn’t let them see me crack... not when that was all anyone seemed to expect from me.
Kaelos was pacing now, his aura silently lashing out in waves.
The guards lining the walls of the throne room all kept their gazes away from him as much as possible, as if they were afraid one wrong look would cause their deaths.
"Ungrateful cowards." Kaelos grunted. "I gave them peace. I gave them strength. And this is how they repay me? By dragging my queen’s name through mud to excuse their weakness?"
He was seething, but beneath it all, I felt the mate bond strumming.
There was rage, yes.
But it was threaded with fear. Fear of losing control. Fear of losing me...
"Kaelos..." My voice was soft, but it sliced through his fury. He froze, his head snapping toward me.
"They’re not just afraid of me," I said quietly, stepping closer. "They’re afraid of what I represent. The Vein. The prophecies. Ryker. Every shadow that has ever threatened to swallow them, they see it in me. And now with Caroline gone... with Marcellus..." My throat clenched, the grief tearing through me again.
"Everything looks like proof that I’m cursed."
He was in front of me before I could blink, cupping my face with both hands.
His claws had retracted, his touch surprisingly gentle for a man carrying so much fury. "You are not cursed. Do you hear me? You are mine. My Luna Queen. And I will tear every pack on this continent to ash before I let them speak otherwise."
The conviction in his voice burned, but Yune’s voice cooled it immediately.
"With all due respect, Alpha King, burning them will only prove their point. That you rule with rage instead of reason." Her words were steady, almost too calm. "If you meet rebellion with unchecked violence, more packs will follow. Fear spreads quicker than fire."
Kaelos turned on her like a predator, his aura surging. But I grabbed his wrist before he could take a step, grounding him.
"She’s right," I whispered, even though the words scraped my throat. "This isn’t just about us. This is the continent. If we don’t handle this carefully, Ryker won’t even need to make a move. The packs will destroy themselves."
The mention of Ryker thickened the air. It always did.
Yune’s gaze lingered on me, softer than usual. Almost pitying.
"Some Alphas whisper that Ryker waits for the Alpha king to falter." She said, "That he watches, biding his time to strike when we are weakest. With Beta Marcellus gone, his shadow looms greater. Whether he commands them or not, his name fuels their rebellion."
I flinched, swallowing hard.
There it was.
The ghost of Marcellus, haunting me even in death. He was gone, and yet his absence was loud enough to crack the continent in half.
Kaelos’ voice was thunder. "Let them whisper. Let them wait. I will silence every tongue that dares defy my reign."
But my chest ached with something heavier than rage.
"And if they won’t be silenced?" My voice was a tremor, my fists clenched at my sides. "If they rise, Kaelos... it won’t just be them. It’ll be their packs, their mates. Their children. Innocents caught in the crossfire."
The words tasted like ash. Because wasn’t that what I was? Innocent once, caught in the crossfire of wars bigger than me?
And look where that had led.
Kaelos’ jaw tightened, his thumb brushing against my cheek as though trying to soothe me. "What do you suggest?"
The weight of it nearly crushed me.
Me, suggest? When I could barely breathe without guilt clawing at my ribs?
But I forced myself to straighten, to lift my chin. If I didn’t, everything Caroline fought for would be for nothing.
"We don’t fight them," I said slowly. "Not yet. Instead, we listen. We go to them. Show them that their king isn’t just a tyrant sitting on a throne waiting for their obedience. Show them you hear their fears."
Kaelos’ eyes narrowed. "You want me to bend the knee to traitors?"
"No," I snapped, sharper than I meant to. "I want you to remind them why they swore allegiance to you in the first place. Not with threats. Not with blood. But with strength they can trust. With leadership."
The silence that followed was heavier than anything Arachne or Nimue had thrown at me.
Kaelos searched my face, his silver eyes burning with conflict.
Finally, he exhaled, the sound rough. "You ask me to be more patient than I am capable of."
I almost smiled. "Then let me be patient for both of us."
Elder Yune cleared her throat, her eyes flicking between us. "The rebellion is not yet unified. Some Alphas hesitate, waiting to see what the Alpha King does next. If you move swiftly—and wisely—you may still sway them back."
Her words carved a path I hated but knew we had to take.
Diplomacy and restraint.
The two things Kaelos loathed most.
But for me... for us... he would try.
I reached for his hand, threading my fingers through his. His aura hummed beneath his skin, wild and untamed, but when he looked at me, it steadied.
"Then we move swiftly," Kaelos said at last, his voice still edged but firm with resolve. "Summon the loyal Alphas. We will call a Convergence. If the rebellious packs want to test me, they can do it standing before every Alpha on this continent."
Yune bowed her head. "As you command, Alpha King."
As her footsteps retreated from the chamber, the throne room fell silent again, but this time it wasn’t suffocating.
Kaelos turned to me, cupping my cheek once more. "You should not carry the weight of their hate, Odessa."
"I already do," I whispered, leaning into his palm. "But maybe... just maybe... I can turn it into something else."
His lips pressed to my forehead, the vow unspoken but searing all the same: whatever storm came, we would face it together.
Even if the continent itself rose against us.