Xander’s POV
The tension in the council chamber was palpable, a suffocating mix of suspicion and unease that clung to the air like smoke. My mind replayed the events of the hearing again and again, searching for any angle, any detail that could have predicted the interruption.
And yet, there he was.. Alpha Gaius.
He stood beside me now, a towering figure draped in the kind of authority that demanded attention without effort. He was a living legend, feared and respected in equal measure, yet an enigma. His return to the council was as unexpected as it was unsettling. Gaius had disappeared from these gatherings years ago, refusing to acknowledge the peace treaty. Rumors swirled, speculating that his discontent stemmed from personal loss, but no one had dared to question him directly.
Until now.
“I found her,” Gaius said, his voice low but steady.
The words hung in the air, heavy with implication.
I turned to face him fully, frowning. “Found who?”
“My daughter, silly” he replied simply, the weight of those two words striking me like a thunderclap.
For a moment, I couldn’t form a response. I studied his face, looking for any hint of deception, but his expression was unyielding, carved from stone.
“How? I sent emissary to Silver Moon but they didn’t find her” I finally managed, my voice cautious.
He didn’t hesitate. “I found the woman who took her. She’s here, and she’s ready to testify.”
The revelation hit me like a punch to the gut. My thoughts raced, trying to connect the dots. “And this… this somehow connects to my case?”
His eyes burned with the kind of fury only years of betrayal could fuel. “Yes, Kane. The pack you attacked is the same one that destroyed my family, treaty or no treaty.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the sound of the gavel echoing through the chamber silenced us both.
“The hearing will now resume,” the head Alpha announced, his voice ringing with authority.
I took a steadying breath and returned to the stand, my mind whirling with questions I had no time to ask. Gaius followed, his presence commanding the room without effort.
The head Alpha, a man whose sharp features mirrored his equally cutting demeanor, eyed Gaius with barely concealed irritation. “Alpha Gaius,” he began, “you’ve interrupted a formal hearing. I hope you’re prepared to explain yourself.”
“I am,” Gaius said evenly, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade.
The head Alpha leaned forward, his gaze narrowing. “Then tell us, why are you moving for the dismissal of this case in favour of Alpha Xander Kane?”
Gaius folded his hands behind his back, his posture unyielding. “Because this case is a farce,” he declared. “The council has become a playground for deceit, and the treaty has been a weapon for those who could secretly plot a sabotage of their rivals.”
A ripple of murmurs swept through the chamber.
The head Alpha’s lips thinned. “You’ve not hesitated to show your disdain for the treaty abundantly clear in the past. Fifteen years ago, as clerk, I received your claims that Silver Moon Pack attacked your pack and that your daughter went missing same day. But you had no evidence then to support your claim, and the case was closed.”
“and Fifteen years later I finally have evidence to defend my claim,” Gaius countered. His words, though calm, carried a simmering intensity.
The head Alpha raised an eyebrow. “And what evidence might that be?”
Gaius tilted his head slightly, his gaze unwavering. “A witness. She’s here.”
The murmurs grew louder, the Alphas exchanging glances filled with doubt and curiosity.
The head Alpha considered him for a moment before nodding curtly. “Bring her in.”
The doors opened again, and all eyes turned to the woman who entered. She was frail, her body bent slightly with age or hardship… perhaps both. Her gray-streaked hair framed a face lined with exhaustion, and her movements were slow, deliberate. But there was something about her eyes.. sharp, haunted, and brimming with unspoken truths.
As she approached the stand, the head Alpha spoke again, his tone clipped. “State your name and pack for the record.”
Her voice trembled slightly, but she held her head high. “My name is Lydia. I have no pack. I’m a Rogue.”
A rogue. The word carried a weight that hung over the chamber like a storm cloud.
“Proceed with your testimony,” the head Alpha instructed.
Lydia clasped her hands tightly, her knuckles white. “Years ago, I was taken in by Alpha Gaius’s wife after I was exiled from my own pack. In her kind heart she assigned me to become the nanny to Baby Maureen.” Her voice cracked at the name, and she paused to collect herself. “One year into my duty, I was approached by Alpha Lucian… Kendrick’s father, though not directly at first, he approached me through a guard km the castle”
The mention of Lucian’s name sent a chill down my spine. I had heard the stories.. legends of his ruthlessness, his penchant for manipulation, for one his son was a clear opposite, a cowardly version of his father.
“What did Lucian want with you?” the head Alpha prompted.
Her grip tightened further, and I could see her fingers trembling. “He… he told me to hand over Baby Maureen to him. He said he only wanted her as leverage, to force Alpha Gaius to sign some documents. He promised me a position as his Beta’s mate if I complied.”
Gasps filled the room, and even I found myself leaning forward slightly.
“And did you comply?” the head Alpha pressed.
She nodded, shame clouding her features. “I did, I became greedy. Not contented with what I had been offered by Alpha Gaius’s wife, But Lucian betrayed me. He attacked Crimson Pack, took Baby Maureen from me, and told me that if I ever returned to Alpha Gaius, he would kill me before I could say a word.” Tears glistened in her eyes now, but she kept speaking. “I ran. I’ve been running ever since, hiding as a rogue… until Alpha Gaius recently found me.”
The chamber fell into stunned silence.
The head Alpha leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. “Do you know the identity of the child in question? Because if you cannot identify the child and a DNA carried out to prove you are right, then your testimony would be useless as it’s your words against that of the late Alpha Lucian. ”
“Yes,” Lydia said, her voice firm despite her trembling hands. “When I heard about Alpha Lucian’s death, I secretly returned to Silver Moon to investigate. I discovered that Baby Maureen had been taken in under the disguise of being an eternal slave to the Silver Moon Alphas. She was renamed to be Alison and made to believe that she was an orphan, found wandering about within their boundaries, so they took her in as one of them, this lies made it possible for little Maureen to become indebted to Alpha Lucian for life, hence making it easier to control her.”
The room erupted. Murmurs of disbelief, anger, and confusion echoed off the walls.
But I couldn’t hear any of it.
The words struck me like a thunderbolt, each syllable reverberating in my mind. Alison. It sure couldn’t be My Alison.
“No,” I muttered, my voice barely audible over the chaos.
My vision blurred as the world around me seemed to spin. This couldn’t be true. It wasn’t possible.
But Lydia’s words played on repeat in my head, each one tightening the noose around my thoughts.
“It’s just not possible,” I whispered, shaking my head as if that simple act could undo everything.
But deep down, something inside me… the part of me that had always known Alison was different, that she was more than a normal she-wolf, began to stir.