Ethan walked into the chambers with so much pride and courage, "Rory's mine" he whispered to himself with so much boldness.
The flickering torches of the council chamber cast long shadows as Ethan stepped into the light, his face was calm but his eyes sharp with determination. The elders, cloaked in their usual silence, looked up at his approach. The central elder, the same one with silver-threaded hair and eyes that held the weight of centuries, steepled his fingers once more.
"I take it the trial is over," he said.
Ethan nodded. "I made contact with the beast. I understood it. Communicated. As requested."
The elder's gaze deepened. "And did you capture it?"
"No," Ethan replied, voice steady. "I let it go."
A murmur passed among the other elders. The silver-haired one raised a hand, silencing them. "You let it go?"
"Because I gained its trust. That was the true challenge, wasn't it?"
Before the elder could respond, the chamber doors slammed open. The remaining three Alphas stormed in, each with a distinct mix of frustration painted across their faces.
"You're not declaring him the winner, we also communicated with the beast" Alexander growled, striding to the center of the room like it belonged to him. "He didn't capture the beast. That was part of the challenge. We all saw it."
"You communicated? Liar! I had it in my net," he added.
Maverick rolled his eyes. "Which it broke out of in seconds. Let's not pretend your little trap was impressive."
"I communicated with it" Ethan shouted
Alexander turned sharply toward him. "We all did, after you left, better than whispering sweet nothings and getting ignored."
Lachlan remained silent with his arms crossed, his expression was unreadable.
The elder raised his voice over the bickering. "Enough!" The chamber fell still.
"You were all witnesses. You all communicated? Strange, this is not something we take lightly."
Alexander's laugh was bitter. "So we're giving medals now for staring contests with monsters?"
"I spoke to it," Ethan said, stepping closer to him. "We all did. There's a difference."
"Yeah, well next time I'll whisper to it too. Maybe it'll tuck me in for the night," Alexander scoffed in mockery.
Maverick sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You're always talking like you've already won. You don't see what's actually happening."
Alexander raised a brow. "Oh? Enlighten me."
"Rory," Maverick said softly, his voice suddenly carrying a weight none of them expected. "She's the real challenge. Not the beast. Not these games. Ethan left, but atleast you heard what the beast said"
The room went quiet at her name. Even Ethan glanced sideways, surprised by the sudden shift in Maverick's tone.
"I don't care what any of you say," Maverick muttered, almost to himself. "She's out there... alone and changing, hurting. And we're here playing power games."
The elder's eyes narrowed, intrigued. "You speak with feeling, Maverick."
He nodded. "Because I feel something for her. You want honesty? There it is."
Alexander scoffed again, clearly uncomfortable. "Rory is mine."
Maverick didn't rise to an arguement with Alexander. Instead, he stepped back, pulled a small slip of parchment from his pocket, and began to read softly under his breath. A poem. The words were raw and unpolished, but laced with a deep ache.
"After a long promise made,
Nature had its way of playing.
You were fire and fury,
A storm I could never tame.
A scent I could never hold off.
But in your silence, I hear your name,
Again.
And again."
Alexander stared, clearly stunned, though he quickly masked it with a laugh.
"That's adorable. Shall I fetch you a harp, too?"
But Maverick didn't reply. He tucked the parchment back into his coat and walked past them toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Lachlan asked, finally speaking.
"Food," Maverick said. "Something tells me this isn't over. And I don't plan to face what's next on an empty stomach."
Lachlan gave a small nod. "I'll come with you."
The two of them exited the chamber, leaving Ethan and Alexander behind with the elders.
"I hope you're enjoying the spotlight," Alexander said quietly to Ethan.
"I'm not here for the spotlight," Ethan replied. "I'm here for her."
Alexander's lips twitched into a smirk.
The forest was still as Maverick and Lachlan moved through the underbrush in search of food. The moon overhead cast a silver hue across the trees. The crunch of leaves under their boots was the only sound until a low, familiar hum filled the air. Both men stopped.
"You hear that?" Maverick asked.
Lachlan nodded slowly. "Yes. Like… a pulse."
And then, it came again. A voice that sounded deep, ancient, laced with something primal, echoed not through the trees but inside their heads.
"You seek nourishment for the body… but what of the soul?"
Maverick froze. "That's… the beast."
Lachlan's eyes scanned around. "Where is it?"
The voice was unmistakable calm, yet commanding. It wasn't just speaking. It was knowing them.
"You fight for one who has already chosen… though she does not know it yet."
Lachlan's mouth tightened. "What does that mean?"
"The one you all seek is not just a prize… she is prophecy."
Maverick's chest tightened. "Rory…"
They looked at each other, stearing at the same fear that grew behind their eyes.
Alexander stood near a burning grass, very close to what looked like a hut, his reflection rippling in the dark water. He stared at it for a long moment.
"You won't win her," he murmured to himself. "She's mine. She has always been mine."
And then, like a whisper carried on the wind, the voice went into his mind.
"Possession is not love, Alexander." He jolted with a wide eyes, he had also heard the voice of the beast from where he was.
"You see yourself as her savior… but would she see you as her captor?"
His fist slammed into a tree. "Get out of my head."
Alexander's pulse pounded in his ears as the presence faded just as quickly as it had come.