Jaxson tightened his fists. “Savannah is part of my pack. She is under my authority, not yours.”
“By tradition, an alpha who sits on the council accepts the council’s decision!” shouted a man I didn’t recognize. “Are you above our law now?”
“Only if the law no longer stands for what is right.”
The gray-haired alpha raised her eyebrows. “Is that a yes, Laurent?”
“The Dark God is loose,” Jaxson growled. “We’ve done everything we can to stop him. You can waste time accusing us of crimes, but you’ve also seen what’s at stake. The threat he poses. We are all in peril. Stopping him is the only thing that matters.”
Jaxson’s father gestured at me. “We are in peril because of her. She’s the twin-soul who was prophesized to set him free. She’s corrupted you and released the Dark God from his prison, can’t you see that? She’ll take our souls and make us weak before him. We must deal with her here and now to protect our packs and families!”
Jaxson snarled, but before he could lunge at his father, I seized him and pulled him toward me, trying to soothe his rage through our bond.
“I am a wolf. I must stand for myself here,” I whispered to him. We both knew it was true.
Slowly, the bloodlust drained from his eyes, and he nodded.
I looked to his father, my eyes hard and accusing. “Yes, I’m a twin-soul. And yes, I released the Dark God. I was trying to stop him, but the game was rigged.”
Furious conversation erupted around the circle, but I held up my hand, and the crowd soon grew silent. “Victor Dragan conducted a ritual to bring back the Dark God. It required the sacrifice of a twin-soul. Once the spell was complete, the die was cast.”
I looked around the assembly, trying to meet the gaze of every wolf there, even as I came to confront the truth of what had happened myself. “At the time, I didn’t realize that it didn’t matter which one of us died, just that one of us did. Had Dragan killed me instead, the Dark God would have been released all the same, and you’d be up against Dragan as well.”
“You say you’re trying to defeat him, but the Dark God said that you are his chosen. What evidence do you have that you’re not his puppet?” someone accused.
I unslung my backpack from my shoulder and set it on the ground. Pulling out the glowing moonstone, I raised it high for all to see. Even just holding the orb, I felt the goddess’s power in me, calming my fear, giving me strength. “The Moon herself gave us her power to use against him. We fought the bastard in the Dreamlands, and when he returns, we will fight him here.”
A stunned silence fell over the crowd
Suddenly, a white-haired man leapt to his feet. “This is preposterous! The Moon?”
The loremaster rose. “It is true. The moon mother came to us at Delos. Not in all my years did I imagine I would see that happen. She pledged to help us. To help Savannah. We are not alone.”
Shocked whispers swelled around us, but Jaxson’s father stood and scowled at the changing tide of emotion. “Whether this story is true or not, we cannot overlook the threat. The prophecy says this woman will steal our souls!”
I spun on him. “That will not happen. The Dark God sought to control me through my wolf, but I bound her to stop it. That means he can no longer take control of me.”
An enormous man rose at the corner of the ring. “You admit to this sinister magic? That you and Jaxson purged your wolf? I don’t think this council has ever faced a more perverse act.”
Roars and accusations erupted all around me as vibrations of outrage filled the space, and the tide of sentiment shifted.
“We will have order!” Camila shouted, and she glared until conversation faded away to silence. “This is a grave act for which there is no precedent. Tell us, what, exactly, have you done to your wolf?”
My voice quavered more than it should have, but I dug my nails into my skin and set my chin in defiance. I would not be judged. “My aunt and I used sorcery to bind my wolf. Once this is over, I will release her again.”
“This is the LaSalles’ dark magic,” Jaxson’s father spat. “You know what these monsters are capable of!”
Renewed murmuring broke out through the crowd, and someone growled, “We should have wiped out those sorcerers years ago.”
Another shouted, “Fiend!”
Though they didn’t move from their spots, the council of wolves seemed to press in all around me as they hurled accusations. I could smell their rage and fear and horror.
All because of me. What I had done.
Anger twisted through my veins. Maybe once, I would have cowered before them, but not now. My wolf had made me stronger than ever before, and that spirit hadn’t gone away. I let the strength of my own presence lash out. “Listen up!”
Their words died in their mouths.