Chapter 10
The next twenty-nine days were war preparation disguised as legal strategy.
Viktor assembled a team of Lycan legal scholars—ancient wolves who'd been navigating supernatural law since before the Council existed. They found precedents, loopholes, counter-claims.
But the strongest weapon we had was the truth.
"The Council weighs three factors in Dominion Claims," Viktor's chief advisor explained. "Blood, bond, and behavior. Kael can prove blood. But bond was severed by his own family's actions, and his behavior..."
"Was abandonment and abuse," I finished.
"Precisely. If we prove what happened to you—the imprisonment, the starvation, the silver chains—the claim collapses. The Council will rule him unfit and grant full Volkov custody."
"If," Viktor repeated darkly. "That means Serena testifies. Publicly. About everything."
I looked at my sons, playing on the floor of Viktor's study. Ash was trying to chew on Cade's foot. Cade was giggling—a sound so pure it made my chest ache.
"I'll testify."
Viktor nodded, but his jaw was tight. "There's something else. Our sources inside Bloodmoon report that Kael isn't the one driving this."
"Vivian," I guessed.
"And Mira." Viktor pulled up surveillance images on his tablet. "The 'son' Mira has been raising—the one she's been parading as Kael's heir—is now confirmed as a rogue hybrid. It seems their pack alchemist finally ran tests that Kael couldn't suppress."
I leaned forward. "The pack knows?"
"Not yet. But the Elders are suspicious. The child isn't developing correctly—too aggressive, too unpredictable. The marks of rogue blood." Viktor set the tablet down. "Mira's position as Luna is crumbling. If the truth about her child comes out, she loses everything. But if she can get YOUR twins—proven pure Lycan blood—under Bloodmoon's control..."
"She replaces her child with mine," I breathed. "Claims my sons as hers."
"The Luna who produces the true heirs maintains her crown." Viktor's expression was carved from stone. "It was never about Kael wanting his sons. It's about Mira wanting her throne."
Rage—pure, white-hot—flooded my veins. My wolf howled inside me, clawing to get out.
"I'll kill her," I said calmly.
"You'll destroy her," Viktor corrected. "Legally. Publicly. Permanently. And then—if you still want to kill her—I'll hold the door."
On the thirtieth day, we arrived at the Werewolf High Council.
The courtroom was a massive chamber—half amphitheater, half arena—filled with representatives from every major pack. This wasn't just a custody hearing; it was a spectacle. The supernatural world wanted to see what happened when a Lycan princess faced the Alpha who'd wronged her.
Kael sat at the opposing table, flanked by his pack lawyers and—to my surprise—Vivian. His mother wore white, as if trying to project innocence. Her eyes found mine across the room and I saw it—the flicker of fear she couldn't quite hide.
Good. She should be afraid.
Mira sat behind them in the gallery, her "son" on her lap. She was dressed modestly, playing the concerned mother. But her eyes were calculating, darting between the judges and me.
I sat with Viktor and Dmitri, wearing a simple black suit. No crown. No gown. I didn't need costumes. My power spoke for itself.
"All rise for the High Council Arbiters," the bailiff announced.
Three ancient wolves took the bench—neutral parties from packs with no alliance to either side. They were old enough to have seen civilizations fall. Their eyes missed nothing.
"Case number 7714. Alpha Kael Blackwood of Bloodmoon versus Princess Serena Volkov of the Lycan Sovereign Bloodline. Matter: Dominion Claim over minor children Ash Volkov and Cade Volkov."
The lead Arbiter—a white-haired woman with eyes like glaciers—looked between us.
"Alpha Blackwood, state your claim."
Kael stood. He looked like he hadn't slept in a month. "The children are biologically mine. I submit blood confirmation and request shared custody under ancestral pack rights."
The Arbiter turned to me. "Princess Volkov. Your response."
I stood. My voice carried clearly through the silent chamber.
"I reject the claim entirely. I request the Council declare Alpha Blackwood an unfit parent based on willful abandonment, complicity in abuse, and failure to protect his offspring from active harm."
Murmurs erupted. The Arbiter silenced them with a look.
"Strong accusations. You have evidence?"
"I have scars," I said. "And I have witnesses."
Viktor assembled a team of Lycan legal scholars—ancient wolves who'd been navigating supernatural law since before the Council existed. They found precedents, loopholes, counter-claims.
But the strongest weapon we had was the truth.
"The Council weighs three factors in Dominion Claims," Viktor's chief advisor explained. "Blood, bond, and behavior. Kael can prove blood. But bond was severed by his own family's actions, and his behavior..."
"Was abandonment and abuse," I finished.
"Precisely. If we prove what happened to you—the imprisonment, the starvation, the silver chains—the claim collapses. The Council will rule him unfit and grant full Volkov custody."
"If," Viktor repeated darkly. "That means Serena testifies. Publicly. About everything."
I looked at my sons, playing on the floor of Viktor's study. Ash was trying to chew on Cade's foot. Cade was giggling—a sound so pure it made my chest ache.
"I'll testify."
Viktor nodded, but his jaw was tight. "There's something else. Our sources inside Bloodmoon report that Kael isn't the one driving this."
"Vivian," I guessed.
"And Mira." Viktor pulled up surveillance images on his tablet. "The 'son' Mira has been raising—the one she's been parading as Kael's heir—is now confirmed as a rogue hybrid. It seems their pack alchemist finally ran tests that Kael couldn't suppress."
I leaned forward. "The pack knows?"
"Not yet. But the Elders are suspicious. The child isn't developing correctly—too aggressive, too unpredictable. The marks of rogue blood." Viktor set the tablet down. "Mira's position as Luna is crumbling. If the truth about her child comes out, she loses everything. But if she can get YOUR twins—proven pure Lycan blood—under Bloodmoon's control..."
"She replaces her child with mine," I breathed. "Claims my sons as hers."
"The Luna who produces the true heirs maintains her crown." Viktor's expression was carved from stone. "It was never about Kael wanting his sons. It's about Mira wanting her throne."
Rage—pure, white-hot—flooded my veins. My wolf howled inside me, clawing to get out.
"I'll kill her," I said calmly.
"You'll destroy her," Viktor corrected. "Legally. Publicly. Permanently. And then—if you still want to kill her—I'll hold the door."
On the thirtieth day, we arrived at the Werewolf High Council.
The courtroom was a massive chamber—half amphitheater, half arena—filled with representatives from every major pack. This wasn't just a custody hearing; it was a spectacle. The supernatural world wanted to see what happened when a Lycan princess faced the Alpha who'd wronged her.
Kael sat at the opposing table, flanked by his pack lawyers and—to my surprise—Vivian. His mother wore white, as if trying to project innocence. Her eyes found mine across the room and I saw it—the flicker of fear she couldn't quite hide.
Good. She should be afraid.
Mira sat behind them in the gallery, her "son" on her lap. She was dressed modestly, playing the concerned mother. But her eyes were calculating, darting between the judges and me.
I sat with Viktor and Dmitri, wearing a simple black suit. No crown. No gown. I didn't need costumes. My power spoke for itself.
"All rise for the High Council Arbiters," the bailiff announced.
Three ancient wolves took the bench—neutral parties from packs with no alliance to either side. They were old enough to have seen civilizations fall. Their eyes missed nothing.
"Case number 7714. Alpha Kael Blackwood of Bloodmoon versus Princess Serena Volkov of the Lycan Sovereign Bloodline. Matter: Dominion Claim over minor children Ash Volkov and Cade Volkov."
The lead Arbiter—a white-haired woman with eyes like glaciers—looked between us.
"Alpha Blackwood, state your claim."
Kael stood. He looked like he hadn't slept in a month. "The children are biologically mine. I submit blood confirmation and request shared custody under ancestral pack rights."
The Arbiter turned to me. "Princess Volkov. Your response."
I stood. My voice carried clearly through the silent chamber.
"I reject the claim entirely. I request the Council declare Alpha Blackwood an unfit parent based on willful abandonment, complicity in abuse, and failure to protect his offspring from active harm."
Murmurs erupted. The Arbiter silenced them with a look.
"Strong accusations. You have evidence?"
"I have scars," I said. "And I have witnesses."