Dax looked around, again and again.
But nothing changed. Where the bodies of the Bloodfangs were supposed to be , there was only smoke and ash. The earth was charred and the grass dried up... burnt. No trace of any bodies, at all.
The stillness after the storm was eerie.
Dax’s heart thundered in his chest as the robed Council members stepped on the ground and surveyed the battlefield themselves. Councilor Fenric took a slow step forward, his sharp cobalt eyes scanning the blood soaked ground, his expression unreadable.
"You claim Bloodfangs attacked," he said quietly, hands tucked behind his back. "But I see no Bloodfang corpses. Only your own fallen,Beta Dax.Perhaps you moved the bodies somewhere?" He asked
Dax clenched his fists. "They were here.Right here when you came. We moved nothing from this ground.You know they were. We fought...damn near bled for this territory tonight!Just take a look at our casualties!"
"Hmm," Councilor Maelis,the one with the raven black braid,arched an eyebrow. "Strange, isn’t it, Beta? For such a ferocious battle, your enemies seem to have... evaporated. Conveniently so."
Dax stiffened. "Are you implying we staged this?" he bit out, voice low with restraint. "You think we slaughtered our own?"
"No one said that," Fenric replied, ever calm. "But the facts are curious. No enemy remains. No survivors from their side. Just yours. And a field of carnage. It looks... internal."
"That’s bullshit!" Mango snapped, stepping forward. Her staff glowed faintly, and her healer robes were stained with Kieran’s blood. "We were invaded. You can still sense the dark magic if you stop playing politics and actually look."
Fenric gave her a disapproving glance. "Mind your tone, Healer. You forget who you speak to.We don’t entertain witches speaking to us with that atrocious tone! "
"I know exactly who I am speaking to," she said through gritted teeth. "I also know what I saw. What we all saw. Bloodfangs twisted by something dark. And our Alpha..."
She stopped herself, too late.
Maelis’s eyes flicked to her. "Yes. Your Alpha. Who seems to be curiously absent."
Dax stepped in front of Mango protectively. "He is being treated. He sustained a serious wound during the attack."
"During the attack," Fenric repeated, voice silky. "So these handful of Bloodfangs,barged into your pack, took down your Alpha and dozens of your pack?Did I understand that correctly?"
" Or was your Alpha sick before that? "
Dax’s lips pressed into a thin line.
"How long has your Alpha been unwell?" asked another councilor, a shorter, broad shouldered male whose hood shadowed half his face. "How long has Blackmoon territory been functioning under questionable leadership?"
"You are out of line," Dax growled.
"No," Fenric said smoothly. "We are exactly in line. If what we suspect is true, your Alpha is not just injured. He is unstable."
Maelis took a step forward. "We demand to see Alpha Kieran. Now."
Dax did not move. "He is unconscious. And bleeding. You can’t just storm in and interrogate or talk to a man half dead from defending his pack."
"You forget yourselves, Beta Dax," Maelis said coldly. "The Council oversees all territories for a reason. And when the Alpha of one of the most strategic borderlands shows signs of losing control...when we receive distress signal from his pack and his ’supposed’ enemies vanish into thin air and his Healer speaks of dark forces...we will investigate."
"You don’t want to investigate," Mango said bitterly. "You want to slither into his pack in his absence...you sly little..." Dax elbowed her just in time to make her shut up. No one knew what else she was going to utter.
However,Fenric did not deny it.
"Blackmoon has always been... volatile. Remember Kieran’s father? We tried to give you people some time to settle, some time to heal," he said softly. "But now? With hints of dark magic in the air, we can sense a demotic aura as well and an Alpha who slaughters his own like a possessed beast?" His gaze sharpened. "We have seen signs before. In fallen Alphas. In the corrupted."
"Alpha Kieran did not slaughter his own. Get your facts straight! You don’t know what you are talking about," Dax snapped. "He is not corrupted. He is a warrior. And he saved all of us!"
" Oh! So you do admit that he is unstable! There... I knew the news was not false! "
Dad bit his lips. " Shit!" He cursed under his breath.
"Yes," Maelis murmured. "He saved you. By tearing apart every enemy down to the marrow. And conveniently left no one to verify it.Or you just stood by and watched him mangle your own pack and said nothing...favouritism at its limit. We also have reports of you killing a Gamma in your pack unfairly because he said something to one of your favourite whores! "
" That’s ridiculous! I killed Gerrick because he tried to molest Alphas’s... " He paused, weighing his words well. Mentioning Autumn and the mate bond was a no no at the moment! " Gerrick received a disciplinary punishment! He went out of line despite repeated warnings. How the hell do you even know about such trivial pack matters? Alpha was right about the Council having spies in our pack! Pathetic! "
"Where is the blade?" Fenric asked suddenly.
Mango stiffened.So did Dax.
"What blade?" Dax asked,trying to play dumb.
Fenric’s smile did not reach his eyes. "The one that wounded your Alpha. The one said to carry demonic essence. We know about it. There were whispers."
Dax hesitated. "We don’t know what you are talking about."
" We do! We know your Alpha was stabbed by a demon blade and we all know where things go from here! Hiding his body in this pack is a criminal offense. You risk contaminating the entire pack with his demonic aura. It already took the lives of so many of your warriors and you still try to defend him? "
" Where is the blade, Dax? " Fenric flared his nostril, stepping closer.
Dax took several steps back, fairly intimidated.He raised his hand as if in surrender. " I... I don’t know! We only found Alpha! Wounded! We never saw the blade that wounded him! "
Dax could feel the Council men were using forbidden compelling spells on him to get their answers. He could feel it but could not fight it. This was a serious situation!
Maelis’s nostrils flared. "So it just vanished too? How convenient."
"Enough games," Fenric snapped, dropping his polite mask completely now. . "We will see the Alpha. Now. And pending his condition...we will decide whether he is still fit to lead or be exterminated.Step aside witch if you want to breathe. Kieran already gave too much preferences to shits of your kind.Things are about to change. MOVE."
"You can’t just strip him!" Mango cried out loud as they shoved past her. "You don’t understand what’s at stake...if you..."
"What’s at stake is the entire werewolf world if your Alpha loses himself again or contaminates us all!" Fenric snapped. "What if he is already possessed and is planning his next move. Move.We need to get him before he creates more mess. No point trying to cover up! "
"I won’t let you take him," Dax said, voice dangerously low. "He hasn’t even opened his eyes properly,yet he came for us. He saved us. I know what I know. And if you try so much as to lay a finger on him, we will revolt. Mark my words, we love our Alpha too much even though there are rotten scoundrels amongst us. You will not be able to get out of our pack if the entire pack attacks you as one. Don’t you dare..."
"Then we will take over the territory until he is fit," Maelis said. "We are within our rights. Or would you like to test that as well?"
The tension in the air cracked like lightning.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Mango stepped forward, her voice calmer this time. "He needs rest. You want the truth? Fine. He will give it to you. But if you press him too soon, you might not get words...you will get whatever was on that battlefield. And this time..." She looked them dead in the eyes, "You won’t walk away with just questions."
That made Fenric hesitate.
Dax exhaled tightly. "Give us three days. If Alpha Kieran doesn’t wake... or isn’t stable... then we will hand over the pack."
Maelis exchanged a glance with Fenric. The tension remained, but a subtle nod passed between the two.
"Three days," Fenric agreed. "But if we sense one more ripple of instability...even a single..."
The Council turned, fading back into the trees like wraiths.
Only once the last cloak disappeared did Dax finally breathe out...a heavy sigh!
Mango exhaled hard beside him. "They are going to come back for him."
"I know," Dax said grimly. He knew he had a lot of work to do!