Blood And Silver:Rise of the Alpha’s Rejected Mate Novel

AURORA

The sun had barely cleared the horizon when breathless Raven burst into the packhouse, his expression very serious.

“Luna Aurora,” he began, the strain in his voice apparent. “Some news from the Orion’s pack.”

I straightened my back and picked up on my pulse. “What is it?”

He did stop and then looked aside. His glance fell on the council chamber. “They have put them in deadline mode. They shall withdraw their force if only. if Alpha Dane submits to what

Kaida demands.”

I clenched fists hard enough to almost break my palms. The air inside the room was still without the warmth the morning had, but I saw a tangle of anger and impotence inside. “That’s all? Have you heard more?”

The scout swallowed hard. “They have given us little time again, which is dawn tomorrow. If there is no response by then, they will take whatever they want with force.”

I nodded to him and headed to the council chamber.

The council was already seated. Piper and Warrick were sitting on each end of the table with tension etched across their faces as there was a tension in the air. Trajan and Evelyn stood by the map of our territory, his arms folded.

“What do you mean, an ultimatum?” Piper asked me when I told her the scout’s message. “What does that even mean ‘Submit to their terms?‘ That sounds like a trap.”

“It’s not a trap,” Evelyn said, her voice calm but firm. “It’s

a show of dominance. They want us to surrender, plain and simple.”

“And you think we should?” Warrick shot back in incredulity. dripping from his every word.

“No,” Trajan said, his unyielding eyes pinned on them. “But we have to think about what happens if we say no.

I slapped my hand on the table, silencing their bickering. “Enough!” I said sharply. “We don’t have time for this childish argument. Dane is fighting for his life, and now our whole pack is on the line.”

“Well, what do you propose?” Piper asked with an attitude. “You’ve been pretty quiet on a plan.”

“I think we should stand our ground,” I said, my voice firm. “We have faced worse than this. If we give in now, we will never regain our strength or our dignity.”

Trajan stepped forward. “Aurora is right. Negotiation is a gamble, but outright submission will destroy us. We need to be strategic about this.”

The tension in the room eased a little, but uncertainty still lingered.

Later, I went to check on Dane. He was pale and his breathing