Chapter 9 - The Cleansing of the Frostpeak
The silence that blanketed the foothills was absolute, broken only by the crunch of frozen slush beneath the paws of the White Luna. Evelyn did not look down at Harrison as he knelt in the mud. Her amber eyes swept across the gathered representatives of the twelve northern packs, noting the trembling shoulders, the averted gazes, and the sudden, profound understanding that the old era of brutal, unbridled dominance had ended.
Stand, Harrison, Evelyn’s mental voice resonated directly inside the minds of every Alpha present, cold, clear, and unyielding as glacial ice. The reckoning of the summit is finished. But the northern borders remain broken.
Harrison swallowed hard, hauling his aging frame up with stiff joints. He did not dare meet her eyes directly. "The... the Frostpeak territories are leaderless," he murmured, his voice cracking slightly. "Donovan’s inner circle fled when he fell. Without an Alpha, those packs will tear themselves apart by winter’s end."
"They will not tear themselves apart," Evelyn replied aloud, her human voice carrying a deep, resonant timbre that commanded instant obedience. "They will be restructured."
She turned her gaze toward the jagged northern horizon, where the smoke of the Frostpeak strongholds still smudged the slate-gray sky. The death of Donovan had left a power vacuum, and left unchecked, a civil war among the northern tribes would spill blood across every border. The White Luna’s first decree was not punishment; it was order.
"Nathaniel," Evelyn called softly.
Nathaniel stepped forward, his bandaged shoulder held stiffly beneath his traveling cloak. Despite his injuries, his eyes were sharp and resolute. "I’m here."
"Take a delegation from the Blake pack and the loyal remnants of Sophie’s lineage," Evelyn commanded, her gaze softening slightly as she looked at her childhood friend. "You will ride to the Frostpeak halls. You will secure the perimeter, dismantle the blood-culls, and establish a council of elders to govern by consensus rather than cruelty."
Harrison flinched. "An Alpha council? A single bloodline has ruled Frostpeak for three centuries—"
"A single bloodline built its throne on cruelty and fear, and it died in the snow," Evelyn interrupted, her golden eyes flashing with a cold, absolute light. "The old ways are dead, Harrison. Adapt to the new law, or be left behind with Donovan."
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Sophie stepped up beside Nathaniel, her hand brushing his good arm in quiet solidarity. "We’ll secure the halls before nightfall, Eve," she said firmly.
With a final, parting nod, the White Luna turned her back on the assembly, her white coat shimmering under the pale sun as she bounded toward the high timberline, accompanied by the silent, obsidian shadow of the Firstborn.
