My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 196

Sera

Everyone was quiet. Thorne had said what was on everyone's mind, but no one had dared to voice it out until now. Vane and the other old traditional elders knew Fenris wasn't supposed to be Alpha—he was a warlord given a throne he didn't want. And to them, it looked like he was slowly handing it over to a Southern Princess.

They had never accepted this union. But the moment Kael had dropped his signature earlier before them, the others had followed because they thought the resistance had collapsed from within. Now, they were wondering if Fenris was allowing the South to take over the North through my influence.

Vane dipped the quill.

"She isn't blackmailing me, Thorne," Vane said, his voice heavy with a new kind of realization. He didn't sound happy. He sounded resigned. "She doesn't need to. Look at her. She’s already one of us. She’s got the blood on her hands, and she isn't even trying to wash it off".

Vane scratched his name across the parchment. He shoved the quill toward Thorne.

"Sign it, you idiot," Vane muttered. "Before the Alpha decides he doesn't need a council at all".

Thorne looked at the paper, then at Fenris. Fenris’s hand was resting casually on the hilt of his knife. The message was clear: the time for talking was over. Thorne’s hand shook as he took the quill. He signed, his signature a jagged, ugly mess.

"The meeting is over," Fenris stated.

The elders stood up. Bram stood with them, making sure to limp heavily on his 'bad' leg this time, catching the slip late but doing it with enough conviction that Vane just shook his head in pity. They filed out, their boots echoing down the hall. Thorne was the last one out, and he didn't look back.

The door clicked shut.

I collapsed back into my chair, the mask finally slipping. My heart was hammering against my ribs so hard I thought it would crack a bone.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify