Zephyrine


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    That noon I arrived at the Wolf Fortress with my personal maid, Blue. I believed they had made preparations as I expected, but when the massive gate of the fortress opened, the sheer number of carriages and horses filling the courtyard froze me in my tracks.


    I stayed seated in the carriage, swallowing hard. Why…? Wait. With the immense divine powers surrounding the ce, there was no question. Alphas had been summoned. But to witness what?


    Atst, my carriage stopped. I stepped out only to see the ce heavily guarded, more than yesterday.


    ‘Stay in the carriage,” I told Blue quietly, but she reached for my hand. I looked at her. “It’s fine. It’s safer in he carriage.”


    pulled free from her grasp and headed into the hall. Each step I took filled me with something heavier, something far more immense. The guards who once bowed to me now stood with their swords drawn, as hough ready to strike me down at the smallest misstep.


    The Council hall doors opened wide, and the moment I stepped in, I understood.


    This wasn’t preparation to pull Ash Pack from the Imperium Council’s rule. No. This was a trial. A cruel, deliberate n to disgrace and strip down a legacy that once stood unshaken. One that had brought peace and justice to this empire.


    Seated on long rows of chairs, before massive tables, were all the Alphas of the shifter empire. Their eyes urned as I entered, and at the far end, seated on their high chairs, the Imperium Council watched in silence.


    For what seemed like an eternity, I stood frozen, holding my breath. If I had known this was what awaited ne, I would have brought my de and ridden in on my white horse.


    ‘You are here.”


    Ka’s voice shattered the silence as she stepped out from the shadows, an authoritative scroll in her hand. She walked towards the Council members and handed it over to Ran, and my heart clenched tighter.


    Ka.


    The envoy of so-called peace. The messenger between the demon realm and the shifter empire. She had been the one to deliver the sealed letter that finalized the death of my family. And now, here she was again, carrying something else, something just as damning.


    A lump rose in my throat as I watched her step aside to stand by the Council, her lips curling into a wicked,


    victorious smirk.


    “Zephyrine Ashmere.”


    Lady Sylvara’s voice rang out, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Ka.


    “Blood of the fallen Ashmere line, you are hereby used of colluding with demons. Your family, Vale and


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    Seraphine Ashmere, were found guilty of bribery and secret dealings with the fiends who brought war upon our kind. You stand here not as Alpha, but as traitor to the empire and to the blood you swore to protect.”


    Silence fell, thick and suffocating, and I felt the weight of hundreds of eyes burning into me.


    “After the analysis of scrolls, reports, and testimonies,” Lord Osmir continued, “your forefathers, your father’s very name, have been disgraced. Their victories were bought with bribery, their loyalty a lie. They colluded with demons to bring us down. And for this, you will pay. Zephyrine Ashmere, you are herebymanded to relinquish your seat as Alpha of Ash Pack within the next seven days. A new candidate, one worthy, shall be chosen to lead in your ce. Failure toply will…”


    “I refuse.”


    My voice cut through the chamber, quiet but razor-sharp. I shifted my gaze to Lord Eryndor, my heart pounding in my chest. “You twist the truth.”


    I should have seen iting. They had sidestepped every line, every warning. They had set their trap and forced me into it. Now, they were three steps ahead.


    It was they who colluded with demons to bring Ashmere down, and yet here they stood, spinning the lie that we were the traitors. That our victories had been bought. That our honor had been forged from corruption.


    The weight of it pressed down on me. My ancestors, safe in their tombs must be restless. My parents’ spirits must be screaming from the afterlife.


    “You refuse to obey the order of the Council?” Ka’s voice cut through. “Then you dere yourself a rebel. For that, you will be prosecuted…”


    Is this the price you were paid?” I turned on her, matching my steps toward her. “Is this the true mission of your peace envoy? Delivering messages to demons, forging death warrants for the Ashmeres? This is your peace?”


    Murmurs rippled through the hall, quickly silenced by Ka’s scoff. She smirked, dangerously.


    ‘You’re losing your mind, Zephyrine Ashmere. Step down. Let another woman take the Alpha seat. Someone capable of leading Ash Pack.”


    ‘Like you?”


    The words fell from my lips as tension coiled tight in the room. I mounted the steps slowly, my gaze


    locked on hers.


    “You think you can handle being Alpha? You think you can win this battle?”


    Her lips curled higher. She leaned close, whispering against my car.


    “I won when I stole your first mate and threw him aside. I won when I took ckbridge Pack and ruled through my father. I won when I carried the death warrant of your family down to Demon Realm and now, I win again. Look around, Zeph. Listen to the decree. I have already beaten you.”


    Goosebumps crawled my skin.


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    Then I heard it. The footsteps behind me. I turned to see Ran, carrying the authorized scroll, stepping forward. A sword hung at his side.


    1 froze when I saw it


    Varyn’s sword.


    Slowly, I descended the steps toward him, my gaze locked on the de, I reached for it, but he pulled back, holding it firmly in ce, eyes glittering.


    “The de belongs to an Ashmere. How did you acquire it?” I whispered, my voice trembling with fury


    and awe.


    He smirked.


    “You fool. If only you had agreed to be my whore. While the Ashmeres were busy making pacts with demons, I was sent with my armies to eliminate them. You should have seen your brother’s face when…”


    His words died in his throat.


    In a blur, I ripped the sword from its sheath and, in one clean motion, severed his arm.


    Blood sttered across my face. Gasps filled the hall.


    The world went cold, Silence descended, heavy and unbroken.


    He had dared… dared to brag of ughtering my family in my presence.


    I trembled with fury. Slowly, I turned toward the three Council leaders, their faces pale with shock. I stepped closer to their table, exhaling shakily.


    “Before seven days pass,” I said quietly, my voice calm, precise, “the three of you will pay. Do you know why?”


    1 leaned in, my eyes sharp.


    “Because you are dealing with the very, very wrong person.”


    1 let the words sink into them, then turned, locking eyes with Ka for one heart-stopping moment before walking out, Varyn’s sword in my hand.


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