A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101

ALEXANDER

My heart had broken when I saw her in that dungeon.

The cold stone walls. The damp pressing in. Her figure small in that dark place. The sight was enough to carve me open from the inside out. She didn’t belong there. And I blame myself for not being there to shield her earlier.

I knew she was innocent. My wolf knew it too. I could feel it. The certainty was deep in my bones. All I needed was a way to prove it–to the elders, to the whole damned pack if I had to. But proof could come later. What mattered now was the insult, the audacity. The blatant overstepping that had been done in my absence.

They hadn’t even had the decency to place her in the regular holding cells. No. They had chosen the dungeon. The dungeon–reserved for actual traitors, rogues, the worst of the worst. And they had dared to put her there. Dared to treat her like filth over some stupid ring found in her purse.

That alone told me everything. This wasn’t justice, it was a plot. And I was going to root out every hand that played in it.

The anger burned so hot in my chest I could hardly breathe. My wolf, Aiden, pushed against me, prowling just beneath my skin, snarling for release.

By the time I reached the chamber doors, my anger was spilling out in every direction. My fists itched. My teeth ached with the urge to bare. I shoved the doors open with both hands, and they slammed against the walls with a crash that shook the chamber.

Instant silence.

The murmur of voices cut off like a throat slit. The rustle of parchment stilled. All heads turned. Every single elder looked at me, eyes wide, spines snapping straighter in their seats.

I stood in the doorway, chest heaving, eyes burning with a rage I no longer cared to hide. I let them see it. Let them choke on it. My gaze swept once across the chamber before it locked

on the man I wanted most.

Gerald. Cole had mentioned how he was the one who made the pronouncement.

He sat at the far end of the long table, chin tilted high, wearing that practiced mask of composure. Always pretending he was the voice of reason.

“How dare you.”

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Chapter 101

Claim

The words ripped from me. “How dare you take it upon yourself to send her to the dungeon.”

The word spat from my tongue like poison…. Dungeon.

A ripple went through the council, unease shifting their gazes. Some flinched. Some dropped their eyes to the table. But not Gerald. He rose slowly, deliberately, as though his measured movements could soften the weight of my fury.

“I see you’ve been informed,” he said. “Well…she was caught with evidence that-”

“I didn’t ask for excuses!”

The roar that tore out of me was raw, violent. It rattled the very air. Gerald’s mouth snapped shut, his composure cracking just a fraction more.

“You overstepped,” I snarled, taking a step forward. “You acted without my word. Without my presence. Without so much as informing me!”

Gerald faltered. Just barely, but before he could shape a reply, another voice piped up.

Vincent. Old fool. Always eager to prove his loyalty to whoever seemed most powerful at the moment. He stood, wringing his hands, his voice trembling though he tried to sound firm.

“Alpha, you must understand. The matter was grave. If she truly is what the evidence suggests, then we…”

“I don’t care if the moon itself came down with accusations in hand!” I snapped, whipping my head toward him. Vincent stumbled back a step, nearly collapsing into his seat. “No one takes action like this without me. Not Gerald, not you. Not anyone in this chamber.”

The silence after that was thick enough to choke on.

These were supposed to be the wise ones, the guiding voices of the pack. The ones who kept tradition, who upheld law. Yet here they were, staring at me with wide eyes like children caught stealing. They knew it. They knew they’d crossed a line.

”

Then Gerald finally exhaled, slow and deliberate, as if he thought he could steady himself. Alpha, our actions were not meant to undermine your authority. But the evidence was plain. The council could not sit idle in the face of such a discovery.”

“Plain?” The word hissed out of me like poison. “What’s plain to me is that you let your fear- or your ambition–blind you. You let whispers of proof turn you into executioners before a judgment was even spoken. You presume too much.”

Elder Marcellus, cleared his throat. “With respect, Alpha, the council acted for the safety of the pack.”

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