The war room was not the courtroom.
The throne stood at a distance looking intermediating .The windows were made with strong iron bars that seems like they kept as a reminder that one can not escape. A low fire that made shadows dance on stone walls illuminated the room . Maps of Wolflands lay scattered on a table, but Luther was not looking at them. He was looking at the door as it opened.
Zolan walked in. Head bowed.
Lucian closed the heavy door behind him and stood against it, arms folded. Guarding, not participating.
"You called her your Alpha in my court," Luther said. His voice was not loud. It was worse. It was calm.
Zolan knelt. "Yes, Alpha Supreme."
Luther circled him slowly, his ponytail swaying, his magenta eyes catching firelight.
"She is your Alpha," Luther said. "But I am your Alpha Supreme. Who do you obey when we both command, Zolan?"
The question hung in the air like silver.
Zolan's fists clenched on the cold floor. He knew this was a trap. If he said Glorious, Luther would kill him for treason. If he said Luther, he would betray the only person who ever called him more than a Beta.
He took a breath.
"I obey... the one who needs me more," Zolan whispered.
Luther stopped circling. A short, humorless laugh.
"The one who needs you more," he repeated. "And who needs you more? The princess who you do not understand? Or the Alpha who keeps this entire cursed land from falling into the sea?"
Zolan didn't answer.
Luther crouched, so they were eye to eye. Up close, his eyes were not magenta. They were tired. A hundred years tired.
" You're hiding something from me Zolan " Luther stated with full confidence
Zolan's head snapped up, unfazed.
"I know not what you speak of "
"I allowed you to stay with her because you are her Beta , and because I believe I can trust you to look after her , so tell me Zolan , what are you hiding "
" my Lady wishes to be Alpha and I am willing to support her "
" and if she dies ? " Zolan tensed , he turned his head to look elsewhere but Luther held his chin preventing him from looking away .
" I won't let that happen "
" I didn't ask what you will let happen , I asked what you will do if she dies "
" I will protect her with my life , I won't abandon her like the Beta Supreme " Zolan let out .
" careful Zolan , do not bring Damien into this "
" he was our mate , she shouldn't have left the way he did " Zolan let out voice cracking .
Lucian shifted at the door. Even he didn't know this.
Zolan's voice cracked. " he ignored us like we meant nothing to him "
" Now the Mad Demon Lord wants you " Luther said. He stood up and walked to the fire. "Which brings us to why you cannot stay."
The fire popped.
"The man chained beneath Bledri felt her return today. The moment she stepped her foot on Bledri's soil , the chains cracked. He smiled for the first time in ten years."
"I felt it too " Zolan asked, though he already feared the answer.
Luther stared into the flame.
"And you know what he wants ," he said. " I and my sister Glorious , I will never allow a wolf to mate with a demon , and definitely not to a Mad Demon Lord ,
Silence.
"If she stays, Bledri falls ,you fall everything crumbles ," Luther said. "If she leaves, he stays chained. So I will give you a choice, Zolan, because you love her and I... I owe you for keeping her alive."
He turned.
"Take her back to Recon tonight. Now. Never return. She will hate you for a while , but she will live. Or stay — challenge me for her, claim her as mate in front of my court , stand beside her to claim Alpha — and I will chain you next to the Mad Demon Lord, Same silver. Same darkness. And you will watch through stone as I marry her off to the Southern Kingdom to keep her far from here."
Zolan was shaking. Not from fear. From green light leaking from his palms without permission — his blood reacting to grief.
"That's not a choice," Zolan said.
"It is the only choice love ever gives," Luther said. He walked to the door. Lucian opened it. "Decide before dawn."
***
Zolan walked out of the war room.
Glorious was waiting in the hallway, exactly where he left her. Silver dress, bare feet, leaning against the wall. When she saw him, she ran.
"What did he say?" she asked, grabbing his arms. Her touch — warm. No flinch.
Zolan looked at her. Really looked at her. Memorized the loose hair, the silver sequins, the stubborn chin that wanted to be Alpha.
He forced a smile. It was the worst smile he ever gave.
"Well , he figured we are mates " he said. "We leave at dawn. For Recon."
Glorious frowned. " I should have known , my brother seems to be aware of everything around him "
" I assume " He said rubbing the back of his head awkwardly .
" and Damien ? "
" lost " she nod her head .
Zolan knelt, took her hand, pressed his forehead to it. Green light pulsed faintly, one last heal, one last gift.
"Rest, my lady. I will ready the carriage."
She watched him walk away down the empty hallway, white fur disappearing into shadow.
She wanted to know what was going on in the mind of the wolf , why has he suddenly agreed to leave ? What did the Alpha supreme say to him to make him like this ?
It didn't take long for her to see Avril and Sebastian walk into the courtroom .