Jamie's POV
Ann found us by the eastern wing, just where the moonlight poured through the broken windows of the war hall. Her face was pale, her voice quieter than usual when she spoke.
"You've been summoned to the Council Chamber," she said, eyes flickering between me and Andrew.
Andrew's jaw tensed. "Is my father aware?"
She gave a single nod, one that felt too heavy for what should've been a simple answer. And though she didn't say much after, I saw it—the stiff way she held her shoulders, the small glimmer of pity in her eyes when they met mine.
"What is it, Ann?" I asked gently.
She didn't reply. She didn't have to.
I already knew something was wrong.
We walked in silence toward the Council Chamber, the air between us tight with unspoken fears. Andrew reached for my hand. Warm. Steady. Comforting. He held it tightly, and for a moment, I pretended we were just two boys walking through a peaceful village, not down a corridor thick with tension, toward a chamber that had the power to tear us apart.
Guards lined the path. Their stares burned against my skin. I glanced at Andrew, giving him a What are you doing? Look. His lips curled into that familiar, defiant smirk. I don't give a fuck, it said without words.
But at the great doors, Ann paused. She looked at Andrew and gave a warning tilt of her head. He hesitated… then slowly let go of my hand.
The loss of his touch felt sharper than I expected.
The Council Chamber was massive, colder than I imagined, and far more ancient. Carved stones towered over us like watchful gods, and torches burned low against blackened walls. At the far end, Alpha Jackson sat in a high-backed chair that looked like a throne built by ghosts. His posture was better, stronger, but the pallor of his skin betrayed his recovery. I wondered if Rufus's bite had been laced with something darker.
My eyes flicked across the chamber. Elder Maelin. Elder Oona. Several others I didn't recognise. And then—
Her.
My grandmother.
I nearly stumbled.
She sat among the witnesses, regal and fierce in a way only grandmothers can be. Our eyes met, and something in me calmed. But only briefly.
I was told to step forward.
Standing in the centre of the room felt like standing on trial before gods and wolves alike.
"Jamie," Maelin began, "you've been summoned to answer a few questions. Please answer honestly."
His voice was low, but I didn't trust it. Not with the way Oona watched me, eyes sharp as blades.
"What is your relationship with Alpha Andrew?" he asked.
My heart pounded.
I didn't know why, but shame crept in. Maybe because Andrew had kept us hidden. Maybe because I knew the truth would cause chaos. So I swallowed the ache and said softly, "Nothing is going on between us."
A hiss cut through the room—Lilith. I hadn't even seen her until now, cloaked in black at the far end like a shadow waiting to strike.
Maelin snapped, "Lies!"
Alpha Jackson growled low. "He will not be threatened in this chamber."
Oona's turn. She leaned forward, smile tight, voice like velvet dipped in poison.
"Have you been feeling… changes lately, Jamie? Something shifting inside you, especially when Andrew is near?"
My breath hitched.
Yes. Every time he touches me. Every time his eyes find mine. But I couldn't give her that satisfaction.
So I said, "I have… but not because of Andrew."
Murmurs rippled through the Council like thunder crawling beneath stone. I looked toward Andrew. He was staring at me like he was about to explode.
Oona stood. "You are lying," she said softly. Not accusing—knowing. As if she'd already known the answer before she asked it.
Then she added, "Shall we prove it?"
From the shadows, someone stepped forward. Or… something.
She wasn't human. And she wasn't a wolf.
She was stuck somewhere in between—too long limbs, eyes too dark, skin marked with symbols that shimmered beneath her torn cloak. Her mouth was too wide when she smiled. Her voice was honey over rusted metal.
"She is a Seer from the Boundary," Oona declared, "one who senses bonds… and curses."
The creature's eyes landed on me. "There is a bond," she rasped. "And it is not blessed. It is twisted. Forbidden. Dangerous. It will bring death… and tonight's chaos is only the beginning."
Andrew stepped forward then, rage trembling through him. "That is not true!"
The room exploded into noise, but Andrew wasn't finished.
He moved toward me, hands shaking, voice trembling—but strong. "Jamie is my mate. Chosen by the gods. That is not a curse—it's fate. And I won't let any of you rewrite that."
He grabbed my hand again.
Right there, in front of everyone.
The chamber fell into stunned silence.
My heart stopped.
He had said it.
He had claimed me.
And it wasn't a secret anymore.
I didn't even know what I felt—love, fear, awe. All of it, crashing inside my chest like waves too big for my ribs to hold.
Oona, calm and cruel, said, "Then he must prove it."
Her smile widened. "If this bond is divine, then Jamie will survive the Trial of Becoming."
"The what?" I whispered, finally finding my voice. "What… what is the Trial of Becoming?"
The Seer turned to me. Her body shifted unnaturally as if bones bent beneath her skin.
Her eyes burned like dark stars.
"It is the crossing between form and fate," she said in a voice that no longer sounded entirely her own.
"It is agony. The shedding of weakness. The path where blood speaks louder than will.
You will face your spirit, and either rise into the creature you were always meant to be—
Or crumble into the dust of a boy who never was."
A pause.
"And most do not return."
A cold horror clutched my spine.
"I haven't even shifted," I said quietly, voice nearly cracking. "I'm not ready."
But they weren't listening.
They never listened.
Andrew tried to speak again, but Alpha Jackson stood.
And everything stilled.
"No word of this leaves this chamber," he said, voice sharp with authority. "If anyone leaks even a whisper, the consequences will be dire."
I couldn't breathe.
I wasn't a warrior.
I hadn't even shifted.
Now I was being sentenced to a trial designed to kill me… and the worst part?
They were cheering for it.
All to sever the one thing I'd finally found worth living for.