Chapter 329: _ Chaos
The silence only lasted a second or maybe two. Long enough for my last words to settle like ash on the glossy floor of the council chamber. Long enough for me to lock eyes with Esteban and see, just for a flicker, that I’d shaken him.
And then, the shouting started all at once.
It wasn’t like a crescendo, or like a murmur building into a storm... no. It hit like a thunderclap. One second, there was silence. The next, the entire council chamber erupted.
"You have no right to accuse us of this nonsense!"
"This is slander!"
"She’s trying to poison the pack against its own leaders!"
"Emotional theatrics! That’s all this is!"
"This is defamation—!"
"She’s unwell, clearly delusional!"
"How dare she bring witchcraft into this room...!"
"Unverified claims!"
Voices overlapped. Spit flew. Parchment slapped against tables. One of them actually stood up and pounded the edge of his chair like some kind of medieval toddler.
I stood there, reeling, the echo of my own words still ringing in my ears.
Esteban slammed the gavel so hard I thought it might splinter. "Order! Order in this court!"
But there was no order except for frantic outrage.
I gripped the edge of the table, my knuckles going white. Every cell in my body felt like it was vibrating, humming with energy and anxiety. I’d struck a nerve, and they were desperate to cover it up. That was how I knew I was winning. That was how I knew they were afraid.
But goddess, it was loud.
Somewhere near the back, a chair toppled over. Someone snarled—I couldn’t tell who. One of the guards had to physically restrain Councilman Rafael when he threw himself forward, his face blotchy and furious.
"You think you can walk in here and accuse us of blood rituals and treason without consequence?" Rafael bellowed, spit flying. "You’re just your sister’s mirror—rotten to the bone!"
I flinched. That one stung more than I let show.
Axel immediately stepped protectively in front of me, arms braced, but even he couldn’t block out the noise completely. Álvaro hadn’t moved...he watched from the side, lips twisted in a smirk that screamed satisfaction. Like he’d been waiting for this.
Esteban’s face had gone red—boiling red. Veins popped on his neck. "You’ll regret this," he barked. "All of you will!"
I could barely hear him. Something was wrong. Everything was muffled like someone had thrown a blanket over the world.
The room spun slightly, then jolted back into place. My heart slammed against my ribs, irregular and panicked, like it was trying to break out of my chest. I blinked rapidly, trying to maintain my stance.
There were too many faces and too many lights. My knees buckled. I think I said Axel’s name. Maybe I just thought it.
Suddenly his hands were on me, steady and urgent, but I couldn’t stay standing. Couldn’t hold on. Then everything tilted sideways and the floor rushed up to meet me.
"María?" Axel’s voice was too far away. Too underwater.
My lungs forgot how to inhale. My heart thundered against my ribs like it wanted to break free. Someone was calling my name again and again, but it echoed down a long tunnel I couldn’t walk through.
I reached for the edge of the table but missed it. And then I was falling.
**********
I woke to soft and rhythmic beeping.
My eyes fluttered open to sterile white light and a scent of disinfectant laced with something oddly soothing like chamomile or lavender. The air was crisp, temperature-controlled, and too quiet to be anywhere near the courthouse.
Where the hell was I?
I blinked again and then, there were voices.
Two familiar ones.
"She moved—did you see that?!"
"Oh my goddess, go get the healer! Wait—no, wait... Señora María José?"
My head turned, slowly, like swimming through honey. "Carmen?" I croaked.
"YES! She’s awake!" Carmen nearly knocked over her chair trying to get to my side.
"Don’t sit up yet!" Lila warned, her face hovering into view next to Carmen’s, flushed with relief. "Goddess, you scared us."
I frowned. "What... What happened?"
"You fainted," Carmen said, smoothing my hair back gently. "Right in the middle of the hearing."
What? I fainted? Right in the middle of THAT?! Not when I was just...
"No—no, I didn’t." But the protest died on my lips. My body disagreed, muscles aching in a way that felt too hollow, too disconnected.
"You did," Lila confirmed softly. "You collapsed hard. Beta Axel caught you before your head hit anything, thank the goddess. But you’ve been out for hours."
"Hours?" I tried to sit up again, and my chest seized with something between frustration and fear. "I was about to bring them down. I had them—Lila, you saw them, they were panicking!"
Carmen began carefully, placing a warm hand on mine, "Señora, you were about to collapse for good. You can’t burn the whole forest if you’re already ashes."
"I was fine," I whispered, but I didn’t even believe myself.
My mouth was dry. My limbs ached. My skin felt too tight. "I just needed—just a few more minutes."
"You needed rest," Lila said. "You’ve been working day and night for three weeks. And you were under too much pressure. Emotionally. Physically."
Carmen made a face. "And magically. Whatever those bastards were doing with those witches... something about those spells—"
I cut in, "Where’s Axel?"
"The healer went to call him," Lila said. "He hasn’t left the compound. He was pacing like a lunatic before they made him wait outside."
My heart pulled. "Is he okay?"
"He’s fine. More worried about you than we’ve ever seen him. He tried to pick a fight with Esteban when you went down," Carmen said with a glimmer of pride. "Had to be held back by two guards. Scared Esteban so badly he needed a second coat."
Despite the circumstances, a small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. "Good."
As if summoned by fate—or maybe just the general chaos that followed us everywhere, Axel appeared in the doorway not ten seconds later.
The door creaked open. And then he was there.
Axel Montenegro. My mate. My husband. My storm and my center all at once.