Freya
Ihaven’t attended a Council Hour in months. But the whole truth is that Kade has taken fewer sessions recently. And from what I have heard, he rarely consults his Small Council before declaring justice and offering resolutions, or even before embarking on conquests. It is only Izel who whispers in his ears. Only she influences his thoughts and decisions.
Now he sits tall on the dais, flanked by his Small Council members and by Izel in pale pink silk.
Wolves crowd the floor—warriors, house-wolves, elders, betas, omegas, all waiting.
The omega who just finished explaining his troubles waits patiently on his knees with his head bowed low, listening to the Alpha’s justice. When he rises, his face doesn’t hide his dissatisfaction. Regardless, he expresses his heartfelt gratitude to Kade and joins the crowd once again.
Kade glances toward Jax. “Next.”
Jax nods, and his eyes find mine in the crowd. That’s when I move. My boots echo softly as I step from the shadows at the back and walk toward the center of the hall. The low murmurs of the crowd fade as heads turn. Izel’s smile dies on her lips.
“Luna Freya,” someone breathes, the title almost a question.
I keep walking. My diadem feels heavy on my forehead, but it feels right.
‘Show them our power. Show them we’re not meek,’ Nyx growls within me.
Kade shifts on the throne. “Freya—”
But I speak over him. “I come to address a false decree issued under my name.”
The crowd gasps. Izel’s hand tightens on her skirts.
“False?” Kade repeats the word.
I pull a scroll from my sleeve—one of the parchments Jax brought to me days ago. “This document claims I ceded all household authority to you, Alpha Kade. That I gave up the title of Luna in favor of ‘Lady Izel.’ It bears my seal. And my handwriting. Except both are forged.”
The room stills. Jaws fall open in shock—of the council members and common folk alike.
Kade’s jaw flexes. “Freya, you will explain yourself.”
“I just did.” I cross the dais and place the forged decree before him. “That seal is a copy. The real one hasn’t left my possession. Now, a seal may be forged, but how does one forge one’s handwriting? It must take years of practice, perhaps? Or something… unnatural.”
I let the accusation of witchcraft linger without saying it outright.
“You don’t remember receiving such a decree from me, do you? I have never handed over my powers.”
Izel laughs, brittle. “You’re mistaken. Perhaps you’ve forgotten—”
“Forgotten?” I cut her off. “You mean when you poisoned me, kept me weak, and whispered to the pack that I’d lost my senses,LadyIzel?”
Several gasps resound in the air, murmurs drowning the room.
Kade barks, “Silence!”
Izel lifts her chin. “Careful, Freya. Accusing the Alpha’s consort of treason is—”
“Consort?” I repeat with a mocking laugh. “You wear pearls and call yourself lady, but you were never bound to him by the Moon. Your union was never blessed by a Soulbinder, let alone the Moon Goddess, if I can call what’s between the two of you a union at all. You are nothing more than his mistress.”
Kade stands, voice sharp. “Enough, Freya.” The room falls quiet again. His eyes flick from me to Izel. “This is not the place—”
“It is exactly the place,” I say softly. “Every wolf here deserves to know and decide who leads this pack. The one who forged decrees? Or the one wearing the Luna’s crown?”
Kade’s nostrils flare. “You challenge her standing publicly?Inamed her Lady of the House. You go against my orders?”
“Yes.” I lift my head. “Under Moon Law, a false Luna may not claim title, property, or voice in court. She may obviously not forge decrees. Or poison anyone in the pack. I demand you strip her of itnow.”
