Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
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seer to
I was more than stummed when Ruby announced that my presence was required at the council meeting I needed no se tell me I was in trouble. Normally only the Alpha and elders were always present at the council meeting and any one other than that always went there to get their punishment or sentence As I made my way out of the room, I couldn’t stop the different thoughts that rushed through my head.
Did I push things too far? Should I have just remained quiet instead of tackling Devlin and the Alpha? What if I was going there to get another banishment? 1 shook my head, that’s not going to happen. They need me more than I need them.
Every day, more wolves were falling ill, and the whispers about my supposed healing powers weren’t helping. Devlin had been planting seeds of doubt everywhere she went, and now I’d have to face them all–the Elders, the Alpha, the entire council. What if she’d poisoned their minds the more about me
Finally, the guard stopped in front of the chamber.
I took a deep breath as I pushed open the heavy wooden doors to the chamber. Inside, the room was dimly lit by a single row of torches lining the walls. The long, polished table at the center of the room gleamed under the flickering light. Council members were already seated–some faces I’d come to know while 1 worked as a slave in the vineyard and some that were really unfamiliar to me but they all had one thing in common. A cold and distant look.
My eyes went to Alpha Dawn who was seated at the head of the table and he wore a blank expression. His beta, Mareo stood beside him, looking more tense than usual, he’d always smiled at me even while I worked in the vineyard whenever he visited without the Alpha but this time, his expression was unreadable. I couldn’t even read anyone’s look let alone guess reason Id been summoned.
the
The Elders sat along the table’s sides, their eyes filled with curiosity and skepticism as they glanced my way. Devlin stood near the back, her arms crossed, a smirk on her lips as if she already knew how this meeting would end. Why was she even allowed in?
I wasn’t sure of what to do but since there was an empty chair beside Lyon and as the Luna, I supposed it was best to take my seat beside him. I swallowed my nerves and headed towards the chair, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me that I feared I would trip but thankfully, I successfully took my seat beside him
Dawn’s voice broke the silence. “This meeting has been called to discuss the growing illness in our pack and the rumors that have been circulating about Iris’s abilities.”
I flinched at the way he said my name–so formal, so detached.
A male elder obviously the oldest of the council, leaned forward, his silver hair glowing in the torchlight. “Luna, it’s been said that you have healing powers,” he began, his tone cautious but firm. “If this is true, why haven’t you used them to help. the sick?” he inquired and I bit on my lower lip. They all knew the reason yet they decided to call a meeting over it.
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, Devlin’s voice sliced through the room.
“Because she only cares about her friends,” she sneered, earning murmurs from several members of the council. “Isn’t that right, Iris!”
I clenched my fists under the table as I dashed a scowl at her. “That’s not true,” I said, my voice steady.
She let out a scoll,
Oh, really? Then how did you wake your dead friend
She accused, venom dripping from her tone and I creased my brows.
“I don’t know how she woke up. She was never dead in the first instance, you all just jumped into conclusion. It happened by accident, she probably gained consciousness and it was coincidentally the time I touched her,” I explained and Devlin
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Chapter 18
huffed.
“An accident?” Elder Rhea, Devlin’s mother, raised an eyebrow. Do you expect us to believe that you suddenly healed one person and not the others by pure chance?”
“Maybe she’s hiding something,” another Elder muttered under his breath.
I shot a glance at Alpha Dawn, hoping for some kind of support, but his expression remained blank, his gaze fixed ahead. The silence stretched on, and I felt the room closing in on me.
“I haven’t gained to power to heal yet,” I said firmly, turning my gaze toward the Elders. “I don’t know why my friend woke up, but it was purely coincidental.”
“And you expect us to believe that?” Devlin sneered and I scowled at her. Why the hell was she present in this meeting?
“You’re the Luna,” one elder said, his voice rising. “The seer told us you’d be the one to save us. But so far, we’ve seen nothing.”
The tension in the room thickened. I could feel their disappointment, their mistrust, and it cut deep. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want this responsibility, but it had fallen on me all the same.
“That’s enough,” Alpha Dawn’s voice finally rumbled, his eyes narrowing.” If the seer’s prophecy is true, her abilities will manifest before the lunar eclipse, the seer is coming with a solution.”
Devlin’s smirk widened. “Or maybe the prophecy was wrong. Maybe she’s not the Luna we were promised after all”
My heart pounded in my chest, but I forced myself to remain calm. I had to stay composed, hard to show them I wasn’t weak.
“That would be the most terrible thing, one elder commented and I sighed.
“Anyway, the council has decided to give you an ultimatum,” the oldest elder said and my ears perked. I had a feeling it was something bad.
*If the seer does not return with good news of your divine healing powers by the end of the day, you will be subjected to the Ritual of Cleansing. It is a punishment reserved for those accused of blasphemy and lying about sacred prophecies, it will purge you of all rank, honor, and power. The ritual will be public, painful, and if you survive, you will be stripped of your Luna title, left powerless, and imprisoned for life,” he revealed and my jaw dropped. I stared at him in shock and turned to Alpha Dawn for answers but he didn’t say anything, he didn’t even take a glance at me. I didn’t sign up for this. We weren’t even certain if the seer would be returning today.
Alpha Dawn stood, signaling the end of the meeting. “This meeting is adjourned, he concluded like they hadn’t just announced a death sentence for me. Why did I think he would stick to the rules? I didn’t even have the power or money to call him out on what he was doing.
The council members began to rise from their seats, their faces still filled with doubt. As I struggled to leave, Devlin’s voice approached me, low and dripping with malice.
“Don’t think you can fool them forever, Iris. The pack is watching, and when you fail, they’ll turn on you. You’ll be punished tomorrow. I can’t wait to watch you go through the ritual, it’ll be so fun,” she laughed horribly before sauntering off
I didn’t respond, but her words lingered. I’d never witnessed the ritual of cleansing and I had no idea of how painful it was
something I didn’t forget was that if I survived it, which means there was a high chance I wouldn’t. Thinking about it again, my legs wobbled. If the seer doesn’t return tonight then I’m so good as dead.
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