BloodMoon: Captivated by the Forbidden Lycan Alpha
Chapter 246: SHADOW BENEATH

Chapter 246: SHADOW BENEATH

{"The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies."}

The sun was rising by the time we emerged from the Sanctuary, and the stone doors closed behind us with a sound like finality, not an ending, but a sealing. I looked back once. The hearthstone still pulsed behind those walls. Fenrath’s howl still echoed in my blood. Spark reached for my hand without a word, our fingers clasping like instinct. No one had spoken yet, but I could feel it in the threads of the bond; he knew something in me had changed.

We did not return home. Not yet and instead, messengers found us halfway down the cliffside path, breathless and pale-faced. The Coven Council had been summoned. Emergency session. No delay. Full circle attendance. Spark demanded from the guards to know what had happened, and they informed us that I was being challenged since the Bay Shifter pack had learnt that I was an Omega, and even so, the Guardians of the Omegas.

Spark stiffened beside me. "Let me speak for you."

"No," I said quietly. "I’ve hidden long enough."

The council chamber stood in the high court tower, open to the sky. Twelve stone thrones formed a crescent, each marked with the insignia of their pack, their bloodlines. Some faces I knew well. Others had always looked at me with barely veiled suspicion.

And there he stood. Tall. Golden. Cold-eyed and my Deputy Enforcer, Kael Thornclaw. He stepped into the conference hall with a predator’s grace and addressed the council loud enough to carry over the crowd gathering just beyond the walls.

"I move for immediate review of Enforcer Wave Bolt’s leadership eligibility," he said, voice clipped. "It has now come to light that he is not just bonded, but Omega bonded."

"Say it clearly, Kael," I said, voice steady. "You mean to say an Omega cannot lead."

He did not flinch. "An Omega can serve. Can support. But not command. The enforcers demand discipline, control, and strength. Not scent-marked softness—"

"Enough." Spark’s voice cracked like lightning. "You forget you speak of my mate."

Thornclaw smirked. "I speak only of facts."

I raised a hand gently toward Spark. Let me. I turned to the Council, spine straight. "For years, I upheld the law, bled for the balance of our kind. You never questioned me when I brought in rogue Alphas, or when I stood against shadow packs that threatened our borders. But now that you know what I am you hesitate?"

No one answered, and I spoke again. "Then let me be clear. I did not become less by accepting my truth. I became whole. And if that truth challenges your comfort, then maybe your comfort was never strength to begin with."

Spark stepped beside me, voice calm but unshakable. "And if anyone here believes an Omega cannot be feared, trusted, or followed... then I invite you to face him in the ring and test that theory."

I met Kael’s eyes and asserted, "I didn’t ask to lead," I said quietly. "But I earned it. And I will not step aside because your pride cannot bear the shape of my strength." And for the first time, the council looked uncertain not about me, but about everything they thought they understood.

The council chamber had gone still, the kind of still that was not silence but the pressure before a storm, before something irreversible was spoken into the world. I could hear my pulse in my ears. Could feel the weight of Spark’s presence beside me, a quiet wall of support. He said nothing now. He did not need to.

High Elder Crystal Tiger stood up and stated, "You have served this council faithfully for nearly a decade," she began. "And your record as an Enforcer is unmatched." "But this challenge brought forward by Deputy Thornclaw raises an ancient precedent... that no Omega has ever held the position of Head Enforcer. Until now." Another murmur swept through the gathering. I stood still, and Crystal turned slowly, looking at the council one by one. "And yet, none here can deny his record. His victories. His loyalty."

She paused and then continued "The law does not restrict an Omega from leadership," she said clearly. "Only tradition does."

Kael stepped forward, jaw tight. "Tradition is law. If we abandon it for sentiment, what is to stop chaos from spreading through the ranks?"

I took a step forward. "Strength is not exclusive to Alphas. And fear does not equal leadership."

"We will cast the ruling," Crystal announced. "By oath of blood and bond."

One by one, the council stepped forward, casting a vote in the all ancient rules of Bay shifter pack and by the time we were done, my mother looked irritated and I could see that she was holding back from attacking Kael and there was a smirk on General Mortas, while Bella and Troy seemed to be annoyed and irritated.

The room held its breath as Commander Bella stepped forward to do the count, and then Crystal turned to me, voice ringing with finality.

"Wave Bolt, Omega-bonded and Keeper-marked—you are hereby affirmed as Head Enforcer of the Bay Shifter pack. By your strength, your service, and your bond, this council recognizes your authority."

A stunned silence followed, but Spark exhaled softly beside me, pride shimmering in every line of his body.

Kael Thornclaw’s eyes narrowed but he kept silent, and his body showed defiance. I turned to face the council and inclined my head not in deference, but acknowledgment.

"I accept your ruling," I said. "And I will continue to serve. Not despite what I am but because of it."

We finally left the council hall, and we had not even reached the gates of the compound when we heard it. A low, rolling rumble of dozens of boots shifting, people standing in formation. I froze at the base of the hill. The enforcer barracks lay just ahead, flags fluttering in the late afternoon wind. Spark stood at my side, his hand brushing mine, a quiet signal that whatever waited, we would face it together.

I knew their faces. Some had fought beside me. Others I had trained myself, and none of them moved.

Until Enforcer Kerris, old, scarred, and blunt as a Warhammer, stepped forward.

He met my eyes. Then dropped to one knee. "Enforcer Wave Bolt"

The word hit harder than any title, and then the second row followed. Then the third, and in moments, the entire guards and army had bowed not to a rank, not out of obligation.

But to me and to who I was, and Spark exhaled sharply, like he had not dared believe it would happen. I felt his pride blaze through the bond, warm and fierce. One of the younger enforcer scouts named Riin stood, eyes glimmering. "We shall always follow your lead, even it leads us to danger."

That drew a few quiet laughs, tension softening, and I stepped forward. "You follow because you trust me. And I trust you. That has not changed, and it never will."

A howl broke the silence, one of respec,t and it echoed along the pack lands. As the chorus faded, Spark leaned in close, his voice warm at my ear.

"They see you now."

I turned to him, a slow smile curving across my face. "Then let’s show them what we can be."

By the time we got home, the compound was quieter now, and the evening had rolled in, and the courtyard had long since cleared. But the weight of the day still lingered in my bones, raw, electric, grounding. I stood on the upper terrace outside our quarters, watching the stars begin to break through the twilight haze. Spark was beside me, his arm brushing mine as we leaned against the railing. Not saying much.

There was a knock at the door, and we all turned as it opened. "Sir?"

It was Kerris again, this time out of armor, carrying something wrapped in thick linen cloth. Behind him stood Riin and two others, Tash and Dren, a medic I had once saved from a collapsing ravine.

"Kerris?" I said, straightening. "Everything alright?"

He cleared his throat. "We—We-uh. We do not normally do things like this. But after today... after what you stood for... we needed you to know."

Tash stepped forward and unwrapped the bundle, revealing a thick, dark leather mantle. Its shoulders were reinforced with silver-threaded embroidery shaped like howling wolves, while the left side bore a symbol I had never seen used in formal enforcer gear before:

A spiral moon wrapped in a protective claw, and it was the Omega Keeper’s mark.

"This was made for you," Kerris said quietly. "Commissioned it the moment we heard the council was gathering. Did not know how they would rule, but we knew where we stood."

Riin shifted beside him. "It is bonded leather from the heartwood packs of Ragar Mountain. Enchanted to channel protective wards. It will not stop a blade, but it will remember the one who wears it."

I reached out slowly, running a hand over the stitching, and it was a legacy piece and a declaration.

"You gave us something today," Dren said, stepping closer. "Permission. To be more than roles. To believe we are not less because of who we are. That deserves to be worn."

I swallowed hard, voice thick. "I don’t know what to say."

Spark stepped forward and helped lift it to my shoulders. It settled around me like a second skin, familiar, heavy with meaning. He smoothed the collar gently, eyes soft.

"You say thank you," he murmured, "and you keep walking forward."

I looked at the four of them, my chest tight. "Thank you. For believing in me before I knew how to believe in myself."

Kerris smiled. "Always, Enforcer Wave.

Then they left us there, quiet, wind in our hair, stars overhead. Spark’s hand found mine.

"You carry them well," he whispered. I looked down at the symbol over my heart. "I carry the Bay shifter pack.

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