CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 99: THE ALPHA HALL

Aeron’s POV~

The hallway felt endless as I walked, each step echoing in the silence. My jaw stayed tight, my hands curled at my sides, but I didn’t slow down at all.

At the end stood the doors to the council chamber, a place they called the Alpha Hall—a room meant for power, filled with nothing but wolves who thought they ruled the world.

Even before I touched the door, I heard their voices reaching my sharp ears.

"He’s too arrogant at such a young age."

"Thinks he’s above us all, not even giving us face."

"Overconfident bastard."

"Blinded by his own power."

I kept walking, my face cold, but my ears caught every word. They thought they were bold when my back was turned, when I was still a step away from the door.

And then... silence.

The moment I set my hand on the handle, their voices died. Not a whisper, not a sound. Like they had never dared to speak at all.

Cowards, I murmured in my mind.

The doors opened wide.

The Alpha Hall stretched out before me, filled with Alphas, Alpha Heirs, and their Betas. A long table filled the center, and countless Alphas sat around it, their eyes snapping toward me the instant I entered.

Behind many of them stood their sons and their Betas. The heirs were younger but already carried the same sharp arrogance in their eyes.

I stepped inside, my boots firm against the stone floor.

I moved further into the room, the weight of their stares pressing against me like chains. Yet I did not bow. I did not lower my gaze. I stood tall, steady, unshaken.

Because I knew the truth.

They could mock me when my back was turned. They could spit their words like knives when they thought I couldn’t hear. But face-to-face? Eye to eye?

They didn’t dare.

They did not say anything when I entered, probably waiting for my greeting, but I did not greet anyone. I just walked calmly, my steps slow, my face steady. I did not even glance at them.

That alone made many of them scowl. I saw anger flash in their eyes, but I kept walking, calm and unbothered.

I reached my seat and sat down quietly. I leaned back, not showing any respect to them, which they thought they deserved from me just because they were older than me.

The table shook as one of the Alphas slammed his fist down. His voice cut through the silence.

"Alpha Aeron, where did the witch go? The one you took responsibility for!"

I did not answer. I sat still, my face calm.

The silence only made him more furious. He slammed the table again, his voice rising.

"You cannot always be so arrogant! Even if you are the strongest among us at such a young age, power cannot blind you! You must respect your elders. We are your elder Alphas. You must show sincerity! You cannot always behave like an arrogant Alpha!"

His words filled the hall, and others nodded quickly behind him. Marcus and the other Alphas all agreed, even though they dared not argue with me like him—but they dared to support him.

I did not flinch. I lifted my face slowly, a mocking smile tugging at my lips.

"Elder? Last time I remembered, my parents had already died," I said in a calm voice, so that this word did not have an effect on me.

The room went silent again.

The hall was heavy with silence, but everyone’s faces turned livid with anger. It was as if smoke was coming out of their ears. No one had ever dared to speak to the elder Alphas like that—not in all their lives.

Yet I had done it with just one line, and it had shut their mouths completely. Behind the table, the Alpha Heirs stood stiffly, their jaws clenched, their eyes burning with fury.

They could not believe what they had just seen. In their whole lives, no one had ever insulted their fathers; no one had dared to mock them so openly. But I had done it—and directly told them that I didn’t give a fuck about their seniority. In my eyes, they didn’t deserve it.

The heirs were speechless, but inside, anger and jealousy twisted together like fire. They looked at me sitting in the chair calmly, as if I belonged there, as if the whole hall were mine to command.

They were the same age as me, yet their places were behind their fathers—nothing more than shadows, little assistants waiting for orders. They were forced to stand and obey, while I sat at the table of Alphas like an equal, like someone even higher, and dared to silence their fathers with one word.

Their pride stung worse than any wound. How could a bastard like me, with no parents, rise so high while they could only hide behind the power of their fathers? They could not understand it. They could not accept it.

Their eyes filled with jealousy because they wanted what I had. They wanted to sit on that chair, to be looked at with both fear and respect, and to speak and see the room fall silent. But it was not them. It was me. The one without parents. The one who grew up in blood and pain.

And that was what they had forgotten. While they had been living in warm houses, served with food and wine, my brother and I had been struggling in the wild, surviving with nothing but strength and rage.

We had carried the weight of vengeance, fought through hunger and cold, and built our power with blood. The heirs only knew comfort, while I knew survival. And now, it showed.

We had turned all that pain into power, and the sons of the Alphas could only glare at me with envy, wishing they were me, hating that they were not.

In my eyes, these Alphas have long forgotten what true power is. They’ve grown too comfortable ruling with their prestige—so used to their thrones and titles that when someone greater rose among them, they could do nothing. Not even one had the guts to challenge me.

And I haven’t forgotten. Every one of them sitting here laughed and stood with Alpha Eirik when my pack was butchered... when my claim was denied.