1. Elisabed

1

Elisabed

The council chamber was colder than I expected—the kind of chill that sank into your bones and stayed there. I stood in the middle of it, wrists bound, the leather cutting into my skin every time I moved. A low-ranking omega like me didn’t belong in a place like this. These halls were for decisions that shaped packs, not petty squabbles.

But what I’d done wasn’t petty.

The six alphas sitting in judgment made that clear enough. Their seats were raised and carved with intricate symbols of power, dominance, and bloodlines. I’d seen these symbols in books and on banners but never up close. Not until now.

The semicircle they formed gave me no escape. My heart pounded as I met their gazes one by one. Weston, with his thin-lipped sneer. Leonard, the eldest, his disinterest evident. Marcus, regarding me coldly. And, finally, them —the ones I’d heard whispers about long before I stepped into this room—the youngest alphas to make the pact and join the council.

August Ramsey sat at the center of the infamous trio, his blonde hair brushed back neatly, sharp green eyes pinned on me as if calculating how much I was worth. To his right lounged Finnley Barlow, a scarred alpha with dark hair and pale blue eyes, whose smirk promised danger. On August’s left was Marshall Goddard, a redheaded alpha whose dark gaze was colder than the stones beneath my bare feet. To join the council that ruled over all known wolf packs signified a power so beyond my reach I couldn’t imagine it, and to join as such young alphas themselves showed an insatiable ambition.

“You understand why you’re here,” August said, his voice low and steady, cutting through the heavy air.

I understood plenty. I understood that I was standing trial for doing what none of them had the guts to do. I understood that my life was worth less than dirt to these men, just like all the other omegas thrown at their feet for unfair judgment. My jaw tightened as I met his gaze. I wasn’t going to cower. Not here. Not now. “Yes,” I answer.

“And do you stand by it? Your little rebellion?” a smooth, almost amused voice cut in. My eyes darted to Finnley. He was leaning back deep in his chair, legs stretched out like he owned the room. His scars caught the dim light, twisting over his tanned skin like stories etched in flesh. He grinned at me, but it wasn’t friendly—it was the grin of a predator toying with its prey.

My throat felt like sandpaper, but I forced myself to speak. “I did what I had to do to protect my family.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

“Protect your family?” Weston scoffed. “You assaulted your alpha—a crime punishable by death—and you call it protection?”

I clenched my fists, the cuffs digging into my skin. Their judgment wouldn’t change what Raol had done—or what he planned to do. Everyone let that monster do whatever he wanted to me and any omega unfortunate enough to catch his eye. From calling me defective for having difficulty shifting for him to taking my hard-earned money, I suffered through it alone. But that was me; it wasn’t supposed to happen to her .

“Raol Carlisle is a fucking predator. And if protecting my sister meant defying him, I’d do it again.” I snarled, trying to keep myself calm.

Marcus moved in his seat, his gruff voice cutting through the room with vitriol behind it. “Your alpha claims you attacked him unprovoked. That you were jealous of his attention to your younger sister.”

My lips pressed together as memories flooded my mind. Raol’s smug grin as he announced he was done waiting for my defective wolf to show up. The way he made sure I saw him look my sister up and down, eyeing her like she was nothing more than prey, like an omega for sale at an auction.

My hands had acted on instinct the moment he turned, but my heart had been ready to follow through.

“Jealous?” I ask, anger surging past my common sense. “He’s twice her age and wanted to mate her. She’s thirteen! That’s not attention. It’s disgusting .”

The room fell silent, the weight of my words sinking in. For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in August’s expression—Pity? Disgust?—but it was gone too quickly to be sure.

Finnley broke the silence with a low whistle. “Thirteen? That’s low, even for someone like Raol.”

“Disgusting,” Leonard muttered, though his voice lacked conviction.

I wasn’t surprised. None of these men stood for anything except their own power. That’s what this council upheld. Originally created to ensure peace between all packs, it now stopped anyone from fighting against disgusting alphas like Raol.

Weston didn’t even try to pretend to have a moral backbone. He simply sneered. “And you thought you’d solve this by challenging him? As if a lowly omega could stop an alpha.”

“Someone had to,” I said with a clenched jaw, my frustration bubbling to the surface.

They would never understand. This trial was proof I had no other choice. An alpha was the highest level of justice and authority in a pack. Only the council was above them, and time had only proven that this council was not interested in enacting justice in any way that mattered.

“Enough,” August said, his voice silencing the room. He turned his sharp gaze on me. “Even if your actions were justified, you broke pack law. That warrants punishment.”

I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. The law. As if the so-called law had ever protected someone like me. Omegas weren’t people in their eyes—we were commodities. Tools for alliances and breeding stock to be sold at auctions the moment we proved too much to handle. The council could pretend to act for the good of all wolves, but everyone knew they only served the top few.

My voice was steady when I replied, “Laws written to protect alphas, not omegas. You’d all look the other way if he destroyed her life—because that’s what we’re for, right? To be mated off like cattle?”

There. Let them choke on that. It’s not like they can dish out any punishment worse than death.

A murmur rippled through the room, the alphas exchanging glances. I couldn’t tell if they were impressed or disgusted, but I wasn’t about to backpedal.

“You’re either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid,” another voice interjected—colder, sharper. Marshall Goddard’s dark eyes were fixed on me, making my skin tingle. “Defiance against an alpha sets a dangerous precedent. If we don’t handle this harshly, others will think they can do the same.”

“She didn’t act out of defiance,” Finnley intervened, his tone mocking but his eyes unreadable. “She acted out of desperation. She’s the only omega who has ever landed a hit, let alone a deadly one, on an alpha. A tiny thing like her wouldn’t be able to do that in normal circumstances.”

“And that’s supposed to excuse her?” Marcus snapped. After all this, I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked for my head. He was close friends with Raol, and he was probably seething at the sight of me after what I’d done. Raol thought his council connections made him invincible, and maybe he would continue to think that once they got rid of me. The council couldn’t erase the nasty scar I’d inflicted on him, though.

“No, I’m not suggesting we excuse her,” Finnley drawled.

“She needs to be punished, Finnley,” said August.

Finn nodded. “I know that. Punishment, certainly. But death? Perhaps not,” he said.

He paired his stunning statement with a shrug, and judging from how the other alphas gaped at him, I knew they were as surprised as I was. I knew the consequences when I’d attacked Raol; I’d been fully prepared to go to my death to protect my sister.

The idea that I might not...was terrifying. Interesting—but mostly terrifying.

“There is no consequence that meets the crime other than death,” Marcus snapped, glaring at me. “An example must be made.”

The other alphas on the council were looking at me with renewed interest now, though. Leonard cocked his head to the side. “Perhaps she could serve manual labor? A year, say?”

The thought made my insides squirm, but I kept silent. I wasn’t built for manual labor; I might take the death penalty over that. It’s where I would end up anyway.

August shook his head, gesturing at me. “She wouldn’t last a day working labor. Look at her.”

The derisiveness of his voice made me bristle, but I stayed quiet. The longer they talked, the longer I lived.

The alphas continued to bicker and squabble, and I tuned them out. I wasn’t interested in everything they suggested I couldn’t do. All I needed to know was what I was actually going to do.

My answer came when Finnley finally cleared his throat, grimacing a little at his fellow alphas. “Look. I think it’s clear that we won’t reach a consensus on the type of punishment that her crime warrants.” He glared at Marcus, who was still staring at me as if I were a bug under his shoe. “But you have to admit...the fact she was able to take on an alpha with little injury...”

The other alphas furrowed their brows as they tried to figure out what Finnley was suggesting, and he elaborated. “I’m not saying that she doesn’t deserve a consequence. But it makes her...interesting. That’s all I’m saying.”

His voice was suggestive, and goosebumps rose on the back of my neck. I shifted back and forth between my feet as I listened.

Leonard raised a weathered brow. “What exactly are you suggesting, Barlow?”

Finnley leaned further back, stretching like a predator after a successful hunt. “I’m suggesting we don’t waste her.” His eyes flicked to me, gleaming with something dark. “She’s strong enough to defy her alpha. Imagine what she could do for the council with the right...guidance.”

Weston barked a laugh. “Guidance? She’s an omega, not a warrior.”

“Sometimes warriors come in unexpected packages,” Finnley replied, his gaze lingering on me. “And sometimes the fiercest flames come from the smallest sparks.”

August exhaled slowly, his piercing green eyes narrowing. “You want to claim her.”

Finnley shrugged. “Why not?”

Their words were just noise. My pulse thundered in my ears, and I kept my breathing steady. I was such a fool to think the worst punishment was death. I couldn’t afford to show weakness. I couldn’t let them see the trembling under my defiance or the fear coiling in my gut.

I opened my mouth to intervene, but a sharp glance from August made me fall quiet.

“You’ve made your case, omega. Now it’s time to decide.” He rose from his seat, silencing the entire room with his presence alone.

“You’re keeping her, then?” Leonard asked, his tone skeptical. Next to him, Marcus tensed at his words, his hands curling into tight fists. With how hard he was glaring at me, I was sure he was imagining how he’d punish me with his own hands. How he’d make me scream like Raol always threatened to do...

I shook my head, unwilling to let past threats affect me now. The past was the past, and I had new problems to worry about, ones I never imagined.

“Yes. Finnley, Marshall, and myself,” August said, his tone brooking no argument. “She’ll leave with us at dawn.”

Finnley grinned. “No need to pack, omega. You won’t be needing clothes for long.”

My face burned, but I refused to look away. This was the last thing I expected, and my brain couldn’t process my warring emotions. I wasn’t going to die today, but I had no idea what living meant from now on.

Marshall stood, his expression unreadable. “You’ll learn what happens to those who defy alphas,” he said coldly. “And it won’t be pleasant.”

The three turned, their decision final.

My fate may not have been death, but it wasn’t freedom either.

I had no choice but to follow them, but I swore to myself that no matter what they took from me, I’d find a way to hold on to the one thing that mattered most, the thing no other alpha had been able to take from me.

My fire.