Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 147: Catastrophic

Chapter 147: Catastrophic

"Until you understand that fighting the Alpha King will be catastrophic."

Lucas stepped forward but Dennis raised a hand gently, then asked calmly, "Do you have a mate, Councilman Eryx?"

Eryx blinked. That wasn’t the question he was expecting. He shifted slightly and nodded. "I do."

Dennis tilted his head. "And if she were taken? If she were locked in the North right now, under that psycho’s rule, what would you do?"

The older man hesitated. There was a softening behind his eyes, just a flicker. "I would move the heavens and the earth to get her back," he admitted.

Lucas stopped pacing. "Exactly."

"But," Eryx continued, eyes now hardening again, "you must also understand something. This council was forged for moments like this—for chaos, for crisis. We do not act based on love. We act for the greater good. We act for everyone."

Dennis stood. "And that’s the problem. You think love and strategy are opposites. They’re not. They’re what makes a good Alpha."

Eryx let out a sigh, tired and torn. "If you march to the North now, the King will retaliate. His aim has always been to take over everything. Young he may be, but he is insatiable."

Lucas stepped forward slowly.

Eryx met his gaze, he didn’t see the warrior, or the wolf. He saw the mate, the man. The kind of Alpha people choose to follow.

"So you think he is still not going to do the same whether we confront him or not? You are the biggest sect of fools I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with."

Councilman Eryx’s face tightened, the weight of centuries of tradition pressing down on his shoulders. "I feel for you both, trust me. I do. Our hands are tied."

Lucas’s eyes burned with fury. "I hope you plan on keeping us here forever because when I do get out of here, I am ripping your throats out."

Eryx sighed, a man torn between duty and empathy. "I am sorry," he murmured, before turning and locking the heavy door behind him.

*****

Kade arrived at the fortress. He had lost track of Dorian and was trying to get back on it when he received the call that everything had gone to shit.

But when he arrived and found out the alphas had been gone for days, a knot of worry tightened in his stomach. The soldiers had been waiting. They informed him both Alphas had gone to visit the councilmen for reinforcements, and they all assumed that was causing the delay, but it was taking too long already.

Kade’s jaw clenched. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Without wasting another moment, he headed to the High Council. He found the alphas’ car still parked in the garage, a testament to their presence. If they were still here, what was taking them so long?

Entering the grand foyer, Kade approached the receptionist’s desk, where a young woman sat, her fingers poised over a keyboard.

"I need to see the councilmen," he stated firmly.

The receptionist looked up. "You need an appointment," she replied.

"Then I would like to see my alpha. Alpha Lucas Raventhorn. He was here about two days ago with Alpha Dennis." Kade explained. The idea that Lucas was somewhere behind these walls and he hadn’t been seen or heard from in days made his blood curdle with fury and dread.

The receptionist raised a perfectly plucked brow. "Give me a minute." She stood and strutted down the corridor with a practiced air of indifference.

Kade stood still, unmoving as a marble statue. He sniffed the air, trying to catch any familiar scent, anything that would assure him Lucas was okay.

When the receptionist finally returned, she gestured for him to follow. Kade’s jaw tightened, but he walked. Patience, he reminded himself. Just long enough to get what you came for.

She led him to a conference room. Councilman Thorn sat at the head, dressed immaculately.

"Good morning, Councilman," Kade greeted, the words sliding off his tongue with the weight of practiced formality and zero respect.

Thorn blinked at him. "You are?"

"I’m Kade Livingston. Alpha Lucas’s Gamma General." He paused briefly, lips pressing into a thin line. "Or rather I was, before I was sent to the field. Nolan had taken over my duties. Now that he’s dead, that authority falls back to me." He let the words settle, heavy and sharp.

Thorn nodded slowly. "Your alpha is currently in holding."

Kade’s eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"To stop him from starting a war we will lose," Thorn said.

Kade’s composure cracked. "Our Luna has been taken, and you want him to fold his arms and do nothing?"

"Exactly," Thorn replied without a flicker of remorse, as though he’d just outlined the proper way to slice a cake.

Kade looked away, shook his head, chuckled in disbelief — and then turned his full fury on Thorn. "You are an utter disgrace," he hissed. "I demand the release of our Alphas. You have no right to keep them."

"They will be released in due time," Thorn said, lifting a golden pen and twirling it between his fingers as if this was all a game.

Kade slammed his palms down on the table. "You either release them now or when I come back, there will most definitely be a war and that war will start here."

"Attacking the High Council is treason."

"Imprisoning our Alphas is treason!" Kade roared back, and turned to leave.

"We are trying to protect the entire East. Challenging the Alpha King will only burn us!" Thorn shouted after him.

Kade didn’t even turn around. "Excuses, Councilman," he spat. He pushed through the double doors.

He wasn’t just walking anymore. He was marching. Back to his people. Back to the wolves who would stand beside him, claws bared, ready to bring hell to anyone who stood in their way.

*****

Dorian strolled beside King Herod across the palace courtyard.

The king had summoned Dorian, needing what he described as "strategic counsel," but what was really just a desperate, disguised cry for help. Dorian, as always, was composed — hands clasped behind his back.

"Alaric presents me with a problem, Dorian," Herod began. "Since you previously knew our guest, I thought you might have some insights."

"What troubles you, Your Highness?" Dorian asked, though he already had a decent idea.