Chapter 358
[ 927 words ]
Nolan’s POV
Talia glared at the Alpha, clearly offended, and I felt a low growl rumble in my throat.
“Mind your tongue,” Solon warned, his voice icy and low. “You’re a guest here. Accuse me again, and you’ll regret it.”
“Why shouldn’t I? Where is this excellent healer everyone talks about? Luna Leslie is the best, or so we’re told. Convenient she’s missing tonight, of all nights. Maybe her ability is just a story. Maybe she’s run off like the rest, too scared to face what’s coming.”
“Enough!” I was on my feet before I realized it. “You have no idea what Luna Leslie risked so your people could keep breathing. Say one more thing about her, and we’ll settle it outside. Just you and me.”
He fell silent, but the mood in the room had already shifted. Fear was spreading quickly.
“Leslie, your Queen of Silverfang, didn’t fail anyone. The antidote can’t be finished unless we have the Rogue King’s blood. No cure was ever possible without it as I knew not long ago,” Solon said.
“How? How is that possible?” an Alpha asked.
“Because I told them,” Camilla stated. The Alphas turned toward her and visibly tensed at her presence. There were murmurs about why a witch was here.
“Mind your manners,” Solon ordered. “Headmistress Camilla is here to help us against Morgana. She is the reason why Luna Talia will be able to face her. She is our ally.”
“Until she turns on us,” one of the Alphas yelled. “How can we trust her?”
“Because Morgana has harmed my people as well. We have a shared enemy now,” Camilla responded.
The room grew quiet. I watched realization settle on each face as they understood what we were facing. One Alpha at the table even closed his eyes, as if he regretted coming.
‘Cowards,’ my wolf said, and there was contempt in it. ‘They came this far to lose their nerve at a table.’
The murmurs started up again, quieter this time, but with more unease.
Solon finally stood with a sigh.
“Anyone who wants to leave can go. No shame in it. Return to your own packs and defend them.”
Two Alphas immediately pushed back their chairs and rose.
“Go, then.” Talia’s voice cut through the room, cold and steady, stopping them in their tracks.
“But make no mistake about what’s waiting for you at home. Do you really think the Rogue King will spare you and your packs? You’re fools if you think that is the case. Leave tonight, and you gain a few weeks, hiding behind your own walls. That’s it. If Silverfang falls, nothing stands between him and your territory except the days it takes him to reach your gates. This isn’t the safety you’re choosing. It’s just deciding when your turn comes”
‘Our mate… spoken like a true Luna and Alpha Princess,’ my wolf said, satisfied.
The two who had stood hesitated for a moment, then sat back down. They exchanged glances and looked at the floor before one finally spoke, his voice rough with regret.
“We crossed a line. That wasn’t right. I apologize, my King. We’ll stay.”
Solon exhaled slowly and gave them a respectful nod.
“This is how it’s going to work: When the battle begins, Nolan and I will lead. Every pack follows our orders. We act as one,” Solon advised. “Luna Talia, and Headmistress Camilla have a single task: Morgana. No one interferes with that. The rest of us hold the field so they can reach her.” He looked around the table, locking eyes with each Alpha. “We stay united, or we fall.”
No one argued. After that, no one felt like eating, and the hall soon emptied.
Talia and I went back to our rooms, but neither of us could sleep. She lay against my chest, and I could feel her awake.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Leslie has been dreaming of Solon covered in blood. She thinks it’s a warning,” Talia replied.
“It’s exhaustion and a pregnancy and a war three days out,” I said. “Anyone would be dreaming about blood right now. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“I know. I told her that, too.” She was quiet for a long time. Then she shifted, sitting up to face me in the dark.
“Something else on your mind?” I asked.
“I need you to promise me something, Nolan. And I need you to mean it, not just say it to make me feel better.”
“What is it?”
“If I get bitten and I turn.” Her voice didn’t waver, which made it all the more difficult
to hear. “You end it, right then. No waiting, no letting me become one of those things that could hurt the ones we’re protecting. You have to do it. And if it’s the other way around, I’ll do the same for you.”
Everything in me pulled back from it. “Talia.”
“I’m not asking you to want to. I’m asking you to promise.”
I thought of every excuse to refuse her, but they disappeared when I saw her eyes and realized she was serious. Her quiet determination reminded me of her father, who had shown the same composure when he made me promise him this. A quick death from someone who cared was a mercy.
“Nolan, I know it is a lot to promise, but we have to be realistic about this. We don’t know how everything will turn out, and I want to make sure we are well prepared,” Talia continued.
“Okay,” I said at last. It was the hardest thing I’d ever agreed to. “If it comes to that, I promise. You have my word. And you’ll do the same for me.”
“I do the same for you,” she said.
She lay back down beside me, and neither of us slept.
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