5 years earlier
Destiny's POV
I looked at Alpha Dominic too stunned to speak. This man was offering me my lifes work on a silver platter. All I had to do was agree to marry this unknown son of his. That and align myself with one if the most cunning men I've ever met. Was it worth all the lives we would save?
"Make him prove it " Kayia demanded. "I don't want to give up on our chance of finding a mate based on a lie "
'Excellent point'
"What assurances can you provide me that would secure your side of this contract?" I asked pointedly.
Dominic gave me a grin, as if expecting that this question would come up. "Of course". He reached into the inside of his jacket pocket and pulled out a letter. "See for yourself " he stated as he handed it to me.
I took the letter wondering what exactly it was. My eyes widen as I read.
"To Alpha Dominic Ironclaw
By decree of the High Council you are hereby summoned and offered a seat among the Moon Council.
The Moon Goddess has watched you. In your strength, in your judgment, in your restraint. The Old Blood recognizes its own, and the pull of the moon calls louder for you now than ever before. The time has come for your voice to rise with the others. You will shape the laws that govern the Clans, the treaties that bind our packs, and the destiny that runs deeper than fang or fur.
Should your heart align with this calling, your acceptance must be sealed and returned by the next Full Moon. Thereafter, the Rite of Eclipse will be prepared, and you shall be invested with the Moonmark an eternal sigil of the Council's trust.
May your path be lit in silver and your decisions cast in clarity.
By Moonlight and Mandate,
High Chancellor Lucien Ashfurrow"
"You are a council member?" I asked. This was huge news. Once a council member was chosen they held the office for life. "Who died?"
"Carlos" my father replied looking pained. "An accident killed him while you were away. He was found at the bottom of a cliff dividing our territory. We think he may have slipped on the ice and was unable to change after hitting his head".
'There's something he's not telling us' Kayia said. 'We need to ask him when we are alone' one of Kayia's strengths was being able to tell when others were being deceitful. She could detect changes in the physiological conditions of a speaker. Only highly skilled wolves were able to do this. And only a few of those knew how to mask their humans reactions to protect from other wolves with the same talents. Kayia was that skilled and I relied on her heavily in situations like this.
"Alpha Dominic seemed like an obvious choice when considering the options " my Father continued.
A chorus of nods met this observation. Anyone could see Dominic had the skills and foresight to become one of the nine. He wasn't impulsive and routinely took a utilitarian approach in his packs. Recognizing the need to look at the greater good versus making individuals happy. His pack rivaled ours in wealth, health and security. I had to admit that the council had made a wise decision choosing him. And if he was on the council that meant...
"You need 5 votes to change the law. I know you have 4. Say yes and I will give you that fifth vote." Dominic leaned forward intently "we can end these barbaric practices ".
He was good. He knew exactly how to leverage the situation and I reluctantly admired how he had done it.
The Hybrid Law was an ancient law meant to prevent interspecies relationships. It was made out of fear if the unknown. Vampires, fairies, witches and werewolves were all forbidden to have anything other than a platonic relationship with one another. Even those were tolerated at best. All Otherworld creatures were absolutely forbidden to create relationships with humans.
The punishment for these offenses changed between the offending parties. Vampires were sentenced to continued reversion sessions. Fairies had their wings clipped. Witches were drained of their magic. Werewolves were placed in silver manicles preventing them from changing and sometimes caused the death of their wolves.
If any offspring was created during such forbidden relationships were sentenced to death. Babies were ripped from women's arms and slaughtered in front of them. They were called hybrids. Taking characteristics from both parents and had the potential to be more than what we were now. It was an effort to stall evolution.
There were different reasons why each council had chosen to implement this law. Fear of the unknown. The desire to keep bloodlines "pure". But the most common reason was power. If you stopped the cooperation between species they would never get more powerful than you. Greediness is what lead to this barbaric law.
It didn't stop it from happening though. Hybrids did exist, and they went to great lengths to conceal their identity.
I was one of them.
There was a reason why family and our witches were so close. It was because we are bound by blood. Angela is my father's sister, my aunt. My grandmother was a hybrid wolf that secretly mated with a witch. My aunt had characteristics more strongly associated with the Harem, and so at her birth my grandmother feigned a miscarriage and transferred Angela's care to her sister Agatha, also a hybrid, and had her raised as her own but under her birth mother's roof. My father's werewolf characteristics were stronger then his witches and was able to remain as my grandmother's offspring.
I took after my father, and my mother's pure wolf helped conceal the truth of me even more thoroughly. But I was a Mage wolf, specifically called to water in all it's forms. Including ice. And in the arctic where the weather was a terrible but beautiful thing, it helped keep our secrets. Most of our moments of weakness could be attributed to mother nature and her wrath and we were left undetected.
But we didn't want to hide anymore.
I looked at Dominic with interest, weighing my options. I wasn't sure if he knew the full truth of why I wanted to abolish this law, but he knew I held it dear. What was his purpose in this deal? Surely it couldn't just be stability of his own pack. There were other much less controversial ways to get that done. I narrowed my eyes at him trying to puzzle out what he was hiding.
"May I suggest..." Angela spoke for the first time, "that perhaps Destiny and your son meet before any decisions are made. I'm sure he is a very competent wolf, but he would be marrying into royalty. It would only be proper to see if he is up for the responsibility "
A surge if gratitude washed through me towards my aunt. It 100% was a stalling tactic but she did have an excellent point. I had my own people to think about as well. They were my first responsibility and if my partner could not hold his own, we would be weakened. Perhaps the reasoning Alpha Dominic gave was a just cover for his sons incompetence.
My father nodded in agreement. "Excellent suggestion Angela, what say you Alpha Dominic?"
Dominic looked like he'd rather not delay, but couldn't think of a good enough excuse not to agree to this counter proposal. He nodded his head "Splendid idea!" He tried to sound enthusiastic but couldn't quite mask his annoyance. "When?"
"We are having a Gala a week from today. Bring him along then. It should be plenty of time for him to arrive." My father suggested.
A look of panic crossed Dominic's face, but was gone in an instance. "That is suitable for. I will send for him right away"
Kayia growled low in me, "you saw it too?" I asked her.
Yes, why would he panic? What does he know?
Maybe he is worried he cannot prepare his son? He did say he hadn't told him yet after all.
Maybe...Kayia didn't sound convinced and frankly neither was I. Was it the timing? Or something else.
While I puzzled out potential explanations, my father continued to work out logistics of Dominic staying with us for an extended period. My father was insisting on changing his accommodations to something more suitable for an Alpha of his stature, especially for an long period of time.
"It's would be our pleasure to know you have appropriate accommodations for your entire family. We will give you the east suite and assign staff to your quarters. You and your family should feel right at home."
Dominic extended his hand to my father, "Thank you for kindness, Alpha Riker. My wife will be thrilled to experience Artic Moons hospitality to the fullest. I will leave you now, as it has been a long day". He inclined his head to each of us in farewell before turning to leave.
Suddenly a thought crossed my mind "Wait!"
Alpha Dominic stopped and turned to me expectantly.
"What is your son's name?"
Dominic gave me an impossibly sweet smile. Clearly he was fond of his offspring. "Caleb," he said, "His name is Caleb Ironclaw"
And with that he turned and left.