Chapter 20: Kustav’s Proposition
Kustav only spoke when our gazes locked, as though each word he uttered was meant to be measured against my reaction.
"Like the seers said, only a creature of both realms is capable of stopping the schism the Veil will become."
"A Marked Hybrid," Luna Melis scowled. "Many have come and gone. We have wasted resources, time, and energy on them, yet they never seem able to ascend to the Full Moon phase."
The Full Moon phase was the fourth and final stage of ascension. Only then would the hybrid possess the power required to mend a tear in the Veil without utter disintegration.
Kustav scoffed. "As always, they are stuck in the Crescent Moon phase."
Lilith’s phase at the moment.
Kustav gestured to me, and I exchanged a knowing look with Veronique from across the room.
"Luckily," he went on, "we have yet another possible salvation wrapped in skin—acquired by none other than the High Alpha himself."
The patronizing tone was unmistakable.
A few leaned forward in their seats, interest piqued. Others—those who knew Kustav’s manner well—sat back, eyes narrowing, waiting for the venom beneath his words to reveal itself.
"Alas, there has been a monumental discovery concerning the hybrid in question."
His gaze flicked to where his Beta sat. The man rose with a file in hand, which he distributed around the table.
I flipped through the file, already knowing what I would find inside. It didn’t take long for the first gasps of shock to ripple through the chamber.
Oria found her voice first, gaping, her head snapping up.
"The hybrid from the auction... is your biological daughter?"
Kustav smiled.
My lip twitched, though my face revealed nothing.
"She is mine. Her mother and I had a little fling," he lied, the words sliding from his lips like oil.
Oh yes.
A fling...
...What is the use of my miserable existence...
I already had my human realm connection. I had gathered every detail about the case. And though I knew exactly what Kustav was capable of—and knew Lilith was telling the truth—to expose the reality of her birth now would be more of a disservice than a victory.
I had watched her force those words out before... the pain in her voice when she spoke of what she was, how the world had always looked at her. That pain had not been for sympathy—it had been raw admission.
She would be the one to decide when that truth came to light. Not me. Not the Concord. Certainly not Kustav. Not when it worked in his favour.
Kustav stood, his eyes sliding over me, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips.
"Of course," he drawled, "this revelation changes everything. The High Alpha’s hybrid has a blood tie to the very weapon our seers have foretold. I think the Concord deserves to discuss... whether this hybrid remains in his possession—or whether her fate should be decided collectively."
A low hum of murmurs swept through the chamber like a ripple over dark water. Some Alphas leaned forward, eager at the prospect. Others looked wary, knowing full well what Kustav was doing—baiting me into reaction.
"The ascension we require," Kustav continued smoothly, his tone a deliberate blend of reason and challenge, "cannot be achieved in isolation. The seers have been clear—power alone is not enough. Bonds are the catalyst. Bonds are the fuel. Without them, the hybrid’s wolf will stagnate, and her power will rot inside her."
His gaze slid from one Alpha to the next, lingering on those whose packs had suffered most from the depletion of the Lunar Flux.
"Our world’s strength is born from the threads between us—familial, romantic, brother-in-arms. That energy flows through every wolf’s bond and fortifies their spirit. That is why we are in packs. A lone wolf is a dead wolf. Look to the omegas and runts cast aside into loveless homes if you want proof of what deprivation does. Their wolves are weak, sickly, or never come at all."
A few heads dipped in reluctant agreement.
"And yet," he went on, "we have here—by some divine irony—my own blood. A daughter who bears the mark we have sought for generations. Do you truly think a gilded cage in Wintercrest, locked behind High Alpha walls, will bring her to the Full Moon phase? Will she bond there? Will she be forged into the thing we need? Or will she wither, starved of what she needs most?"
Oria’s eyes narrowed. "You’re suggesting—"
"I am stating," Kustav interrupted, his voice sharp enough to cut the air, "that the environment for her ascension must be deliberate. The Nightbane Pack is not strong by chance. My Gammas, my sons—they are the most powerful in the Concord because they are raised in an unbroken chain of training and bonded loyalty. We do not produce wolves who falter."
"You’re asking the Concord to hand her to you," Luna Melis said flatly.
"I am asking the Concord to consider what serves the packs best," Kustav replied, spreading his hands in a parody of humility. "If she fails, we all fail. If she succeeds, we survive. The path to success is obvious—place her where her bonds will root deep, where she will be sharpened, not coddled or..."
What he implied was clear, though he lacked the courage to finish the sentence.
The chamber stirred again with murmurs. Some were clearly swayed by his argument; others were calculating the political cost.
Kustav smiled faintly. "And to show I act in good faith—once the Concord agrees, I will return the one billion the High Alpha paid for her... plus interest. A transaction for the greater good. Nothing more."
All eyes turned to me.
The trap was set—if I refused, I would be the High Alpha who kept salvation for myself. If I agreed, I would hand Lilith into the jaws of the man who would break her.
Kustav and I stared each other down from across the ring, the air between us charged.
I had to give it to him—when it came to manipulation, his mind was an immaculate blade. Every word was meant to ring with the selflessness he did not, for the life of him, possess. He was not appealing to reason. He was feeding their desperation.