Aya crossed the room, her bare feet silent on the stone floor. She wore simple clothes I'd provided, dark leggings and a loose tunic that couldn't quite hide the delicate curves of her body.
"The others will be here soon," she said, reaching out to straighten the collar of my formal attire. Her fingers brushed my neck, and I fought the urge to catch her wrist, to pull her against me.
"Are you ready for this?" I asked instead.
Her eyes met mine, determination hardening her gaze. "I've spent my whole life thinking I was alone. That I didn't belong anywhere." She took a deep breath. "I won't let them do that to anyone else."
I nodded, chest tight with a feeling I was still learning to name.
A bell tolled in the lower chambers, announcing the first arrivals.
"It's time," I said.
The council chamber beneath my fortress filled quickly with beings of shadow and darkness. Some took humanoid form like myself, while others remained as swirling masses of inky blackness. Representatives from the Nocturn Pack, the VoidWalkers, and even a delegation from the reclusive Blood Moon tribes had answered my call.
I stood at the head of the ancient stone table, Aya a step behind me. I felt the weight of curious gazes upon her, the only human in a room full of monsters.
"Brothers and sisters of the dark," I began, my voice carrying through the chamber. "I've called you here because a threat exists that endangers all our kind."
Elder Morokh, oldest of the shadow faction, leaned forward. His form was barely corporeal, age having made him more shadow than substance.
"Speak plainly, young Varkolak. Why have you brought a human to our sacred halls?"
I felt Aya stiffen behind me but continued.
"This human has helped uncover a conspiracy within the Integration Program. Director Umbra and his associates have been falsifying blood tests, separating true mates, and manipulating our bloodlines for generations."
Murmurs rippled through the gathering. I gestured to the evidence we'd arranged on the table, documents, blood work records, testimonies.
"I don't make these claims lightly. See for yourselves."
As I passed the evidence around, I continued. "The Integration Festival is in three days. It's our chance to expose this corruption to all the tribes at once."
"And risk open war with the human colonies?" challenged Lyra of the Nocturn Pack, her yellow eyes gleaming. "Humans already fear us. This could validate their worst suspicions."
"Humans are victims too," Aya spoke up, stepping forward. All eyes turned to her. "I was told I had no match, that I would never belong. How many humans have been denied their true mates? How many of us live alone because of these lies?"
She didn't flinch under their stares. Pride swelled in my chest.
Elder Morokh drifted closer to Aya, studying her. "You claim to be this shadow walker's true mate?"
"I am," she answered without hesitation.
The elder's gaze shifted to me. "And you, Varkolak? Do you claim this human?"
I moved to Aya's side, letting my shadows entwine with her fingers. "With everything I am."
Silence filled the chamber as Morokh considered us. Finally, he drifted back.
"I have lived nine hundred years," he said slowly. "And in that time, I have seen the pattern of true mates unmistakably. The energies don't lie." He turned to address the gathering. "This pairing is genuine. If Umbra has been interfering with such bonds, it is an abomination against nature itself."
Relief washed through me. Elder Morokh's support would sway many.
"What would you have us do?" asked Seris of the Void Walkers, his voice like gravel.
"We move at the festival," I replied. "We bring the evidence forward during the opening ceremony when all tribes are gathered. We demand a full investigation into the Integration Program."
Lyra shook her head. "Umbra won't just stand by and let this happen. He has allies in every faction."
