Alpha Will hesitated, the bravado draining from his face. "I—" he stammered, clearly taken aback by the Alpha King’s request.
"You heard me," Alpha King Elijah said quietly as he stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
Until there was barely any space left between them.
Elijah stood so close that Alpha Will could feel his breath, and the heat of his presence pressing into him. He did it deliberately. A dominance move no wolf in the room failed to recognize.
"Yes," Elijah continued evenly. "Tell me. Do you want the throne?" His lips curved slightly. "Say the word, and it’s yours. After all, I’m clearly no longer a competent king."
He shifted forward again, his chest brushing Will’s, forcing him back and Alpha Will had no choice but to step away.
A low murmur rippled through the hall at the scene.
"That’s enough," Irene said sharply as she stepped between them. "I’m sure he’s gotten the point, your majesty."
Elijah’s gaze snapped to her and for a heartbeat, the room held its breath.
Irene didn’t flinch. She met his stare head-on, her expression unyielding. She wasn’t challenging him—but she wasn’t backing down either.
Finally, Elijah straightened.
"Very well," he said coolly, stepping away from Alpha Will. He turned to face the gathered wolves, his voice carrying easily through the hall. "Then I take it everyone here still wants me as their king."
No one said a word.
As Elijah walked back to his previous position, Irene shot a hard glare at Alpha Will. He looked away immediately, his jaw clenched tight. The fucking fool wasn’t smart enough to control his temper.
"Well," Alpha King Elijah continued, his voice steady, "on the bright side, it appears the Goddess has not abandoned us after all. The humans intended to use Ignis as a weapon against us, but whatever Patrick altered in that drug has turned against them instead. And now, there is a virus loose in Aster City."
Another round of murmur echoed across the room.
One of the sub-alphas raised a hand. "Are you saying it affects only humans?"
"So far," Elijah replied, "there have been no reported infections among were kind whether full wolves, or half-breeds—none. It appears to target humans alone." He turned his head. "Am I correct, Alpha Caspian?"
Caspian cleared his throat. "Based on all current reports, yes. Hypothetically speaking, werekind possess a far stronger metabolism and regenerative system than humans. Immunity is... plausible." He paused. "However, to confirm this conclusively, I would need access to one of the infected subjects."
That statement sparked murmurs again.
A sub-alpha from the back let out a harsh laugh. "Isn’t that fucking amazing?" he said. "For once, humans will be the ones watching their loved ones die, helpless."
A few wolves snickered but the sound was cut short.
"Are you fucking stupid?" Alpha Ezra snapped, facing them.
The laughter died instantly.
"Have you never watched footage from the old world?" Ezra continued sharply. "Have you not seen what happens when creatures like that are allowed to spread unchecked?"
He swept his gaze across the hall. "Yes, we might be immune. But those things survive on flesh. And when the humans are gone—" his lip curled, "—who do you think they’ll feed on next?"
The sub-alpha who had laughed shifted uncomfortably as heat crept up his face.
Leon spoke up, "We do not celebrate the suffering of humans because chaos does not stop at species boundaries. If this virus spreads unchecked, it will become everyone’s problem."
No one argued this time.
A sub-alpha raised his hand, unease clear in his voice. "So what do we do this time?"
Before Alpha King Elijah could answer, another sub-alpha spoke up, louder and more confident.
"Why don’t the wolves in Aster City return to their packs? We fortify our territories, build our numbers, and fight those things when they eventually come for us."
A few nods followed only for Irene to laugh at them, mockingly.
Irene sneered. "So your solution is to sit back and let the monsters multiply?" She shook her head. "Sometimes I genuinely wonder how some of you even became alphas of your tiny packs."
The sub-alpha flushed, his jaw tightening, but he said nothing. Low conversations resumed around the hall, everyone with their own opinion.
Alpha King Elijah lifted his hand, and the noise gradually receded.
"Thank you," he said, "for all your contributions. This is precisely why we are gathered."
He stepped forward, his presence commanding attention.
"Our first objective is clear," Elijah continued. "Patrick Elias Turner must be captured alive. President Roy has made that demand as well. He believes Patrick is the only one capable of reversing this disaster."
A ripple of skepticism moved through the room.
"He has avoided capture so far," Elijah continued, unbothered, "but I have requested assistance beyond conventional means. By tomorrow, Patrick Elias Turner will be in our custody."
That drew attention but Elijah went on.
"To prevent further escalation and to reinforce cooperation between humans and werewolves, each pack will release a number of warriors to assist in eliminating the infected currently roaming Aster City."
The hall erupted.
"What?"
"Absolutely not."
"You expect us to risk our people for humans?"
"They started this!"
The uproar grew louder, but Elijah kept speaking, his authority cutting through the noise like a blade.
"Werewolves are immune to the virus," he said firmly. "That gives us an advantage. One we will use."
One alpha barked angrily, "We are not even certain of that, and you want us to throw our warriors into a city crawling with monsters that aren’t even our responsibility!"
Elijah’s gaze snapped toward the speaker. "Then we will remove uncertainty. Alpha Caspian will receive a captured infected and conduct immediate testing. If immunity is confirmed, and all current data suggests it is, then we proceed."
The reaction was instant.
"This is madness."
"They killed one of ours."
"You expect us to protect them?"
Anger pulsed through the hall, raw and unchecked. Ken’s death still burned in their chests, and now they were being asked to fight the consequences of a human war.
That was outrageous.