ALPHAS’ COUNCIL

Amaya walked into the conference room alone, her eyes cold like the ice-sea abyss. She had come with Kane, her gamma, but had directed him to wait in the car while she handled them.

The moment she walked in, there was pin-drop silence as more than two hundred alphas and alpha kings from all over the world looked at her, their gazes judgmental and harsh.

She was dressed in her signature leather jacket, trousers, and leather boots, her hair held by a few fashionable weaves and gemstone pins, with the black mask in place, shielding the scarred part of her face.

Her eyes darted to the spot meant for the Alpha King of the Silver Fang territories and realized that another alpha was sitting in it. Her lips turned up in a cold smirk, and she took another step toward them.

Just then, the golden-haired man at the head of the table, who had been sitting lazily in a half-asleep state, looked up—and their eyes met.

The Lycan King, Ragnar Lunaris—the last golden emperor wolf in the world—a tribrid with the Lycan, Wolf King, and dragon bloodlines; ruler of both the Lycan and wolf realms.

He was not just another ruthless beast—he was the beast. A terror no one wanted to mess with. And this time, his sword had been pointed at Amaya’s throat.

Amaya held his stare for an entire minute, making the rest wonder if she was crazy. Holding the Lycan King’s gaze for more than half a second was considered an insult—a challenge—one which he would never condone.

Yet this audacious little girl who had just taken over her pack did it. What was she thinking? Did she believe defeating that waste Ethan meant she was powerful enough to offend the beast?

The corner of the Lycan King’s lips tilted up in a smile.

Interesting. Her wolf doesn’t cower at the sight of me. Is she also a bearer of an ancient bloodline? That hate and fire in her eyes—I like that. It will be so much fun breaking her. This is the first time a woman has impressed me—more so, one who is just twenty-two years old.

“If you’re done looking, you can sit. I know I’m truly handsome, but ogling me like this… aren’t you afraid I’ll misunderstand?” Ragnar asked, giving her a once-over with his eyes.

“I never thought our Lycan King would be an egotistical, vain, and self-absorbed one, giving in to delusions. Truly, today has enlightened me.”

Her words left everyone speechless, and the king’s guards immediately rushed to apprehend her.

“Does she have a death wish?” one of the alphas muttered, wondering if the rumors about Amaya’s mental instability were true.

The Lycan King laughed and signaled for the guards to stand down, allowing Amaya to walk to the spot that had once belonged to her father. Her action—going straight to the head of the table meant for alpha kings, instead of taking the empty chair at the edge among alphas of small packs—stunned everyone, except the Lycan King.

He kept watching her with interest, his lips curled up in a barely concealed smirk, while the rest either sneered or glared at her, waiting for her to be disgraced.

“Alpha Grayson, aren’t you in the wrong spot?” Amaya asked, smiling at the middle-aged alpha who had taken her father’s seat.

“Insolence! How dare you tell an older alpha to give up his spot?” the man shouted, and others joined in with harsh words of criticism.

“His spot? This place was never his. Generations of Silver Fang Alpha Kings from the royal Frost bloodline sat on this chair each time they came to the council. Even our logo is right on it. Who exactly is trying to take whose spot?” Amaya asked, her voice cold with barely veiled threat.

“That was before, not now. Another alpha will take this spot. You’re not qualified to sit as an Alpha King. Go to the edge where other alphas your level are sitting,” Alpha Grayson said, making no move to stand.

“And who exactly are you to tell me whether I’m qualified or not? I am Amaya Frost, daughter of Alpha King Howard Frost, and the current Alpha King of the Silver Fang territories. That makes you my subordinate. Your pack is under my protection—is this the respect you show your king? Have you forgotten all the favors my father did for you?”

“You were my father’s dog when he was alive. Since he’s dead, you will be mine. And good dogs don’t block the way. Step down from my spot now, or I will consider it treason. Are you intending to start a rebellion to become the next Alpha King? Are you another traitorous alpha?”

Her voice was firm and authoritative—nothing like that of a young girl.

Alpha Grayson’s face turned purple with anger, unable to stomach the humiliation.

The meeting had been meant to put the audacious chit in her place, keeping her on a tight leash so she wouldn’t dare step out of line ever again. But she had barely been there five minutes and was already causing a storm.

“How dare you speak to me that way? Who do you think you are?” Alpha Grayson’s tone was glacial, his eyes turning yellow as he summoned his wolf.

“Do you think summoning that puppy you call a wolf will make you something?” Amaya hit his shoulder, suppressing his wolf with one slap.

Alpha Grayson vomited blood from the backlash of having his wolf forced back by another alpha, making others infuriated.

The Lycan King’s eyes lit up with interest, and he felt giddy with excitement. He had been bored senseless the past few years; all his enemies were easy to swat to death, and the rest were terrified of him. This time, it seemed that someone worth watching had shown up.

“How dare you act that way before me? Do you want me to show you the consequences of disobeying your Alpha King? Grayson, get the fuck out of my spot. You’re not a Frost—you will never be one,” Amaya finished, icy and enigmatic.

“You have gone too far. This is the Alphas’ Council, and fights are forbidden here. On your first visit, you attacked another alpha—an elder—without hesitation,” an Alpha King shouted, standing up.

Amaya scoffed and looked at him with disdain. “Fight? Is he qualified to fight with me? If I were truly fighting, he would have been reduced to meat paste by now.”

Her words, dripping with arrogance, left the rest speechless. Alpha Grayson became livid. If he left the council without wiping away this disgrace from the little brat, he would never be able to raise his head again.

“Insolence! How dare you act so recklessly in the Alphas’ Council? Are you declaring war against the werewolves? Or do you think that no one here is your match? Do you even respect the Lycan King? How dare you act so ruthlessly in his presence?” an alpha close to Grayson shouted, rising to his feet.

The Lycan King’s eyes narrowed. The alpha’s words were a trap for Amaya, and if she continued in her overbearing manner, she would fall into it—and inadvertently declare war against the two hundred and fifty alphas present, alongside the Lycan King himself.