The murmurs swelled, a rising tide of disbelief and confusion that threatened to drown the room.
"Silence!" Lord Jethro's voice rang out sharply and the noise stopped instantly. "If you wish to speak, excuse yourself." His words carried an authority that brooked no argument.
No one dared to move or speak.
"As I was saying," he continued once the silence stretched, "the number of packs will not change. The ancient rule of marrying into the weakest pack also remains. I will not break that chain. There is a reason it has always been this way, and I believe it is essential."
Grey's heart thudded against his ribs, panic and dread collided.
Alpha Norman leapt to his feet, eyes blazing. "My Lord," he called, disbelief lacing every word, "by saying this, does it mean… you are actually going to marry a man?" He asked.
"He will bear my last name," Lord Jethro said, "and he will represent his pack just like he is supposed to. I am giving this pack one last chance to prove itself. If it fails even after this, I will personally erase it."
The words landed like a thunderclap. Shock flickered across every face the moment Jethro said Grey would carry his name. Grey felt bile rise in his throat.
"What about an heir, my Lord?!" another Alpha demanded. "Isn't that what truly matters in raising a pack. Every emperor that is chosen by the goddess marries into the weak pack for that same reason. But can that happen, my Lord, if he cannot give even an heir? With all due respect, my Lord, you speak of upholding the ancient laws and honoring them, but what of the unthinkable act you are about to commit? In all of history, when has a man ever married another man, especially a leader such as yourself?"
"Saying he will bear my name does not mean I will be involved with him in that way." Lord Jethro's voice sliced through the tension, icy and deadly calm. "An heir? A strong bloodline? Is that all that pack can benefit from such a representation?!" His eyes swept over the room, as though daring anyone to challenge him.
"What about access to imperial trade, funding, protection? Resources, better governance? ...things that stabilize and strengthen a pack?"
The courtroom went completely still.
"This is the final time this issue will be discussed. He will move in today. Meeting adjourned."
He rose from his seat, every step radiating power. The bodyguards fell into line behind him like shadows.
The room remained frozen long after he left.. eyes were wide, mouths parted, and somewhere deep in Grey, a storm of fear filled him.
When the murmurs rose again after Lord Jethro left, they carried accusation this time, whispers spread through the room, questioning Lord Jethro's declaration.
Some said he must have lost his mind to even suggest such a thing, even after he made it clear he would not be involved with him in that way.
But no matter how much they murmured, Grey knew it would change nothing. There was nothing they could do, his word was always final.
He held absolute power over them all, it didn't matter that he was younger than most of the Alphas in the room.
Even a hundred Alphas together could never shake an Enigma. An Enigma's power was absolute. It was power given directly by the moon goddess.
The Enigmas were rare, in every empire, there was only one Enigma, chosen to rule over all packs within it.
No one ever understood how the moon goddess chose an Enigma. Many wished they would be chosen one day, they hoped the current one would anger the moon goddess by misusing power, so she would destroy him and make way for another.
But the choosing never followed logic. It always felt random. Someone could be standing beside you one moment, ordinary and unnoticed, and the next moment they would let out a howl- so powerful it struck the body before the mind could react.
That howl alone would involuntarily force everyone to their knees. Alphas, betas, omegas.. no one was spared. Even the strongest bowed without choice.
That was how the citizens of an empire always knew the new chosen Enigma.
~
Grey was still unsure of what to do or where to go when he overheard two Alphas whispering to each other... that perhaps it was a good thing Lord Jethro was making such a mistake, daring to give his name to a man, something meant only for wives and his children.
Perhaps the moon goddess would grow angry.
Perhaps she would punish him, destroy him, and bring him down for even suggesting that a man and a man could exist in such a bond.
Those whispers spread through the room.
The Alphas' expressions slowly changed, faces brightened as understanding passed between them.
They said among themselves that they didn't need to correct Lord Jethro, that they didn't need to argue anymore.
All they had to do was let him go through with it. Let him bind himself to a man, and then wait for the moon goddess to strike him down.
When that happen, a new Enigma would be chosen, someone else, someone who could be one of them.
For a brief moment, Grey found himself wondering if they were right. Marrying another man.. especially someone like an Enigma felt wrong in every way he had been taught.
Lord Jethro hadn't said he would truly marry him. But giving his name to someone who wasn't his child -meant marriage, no matter how it was explained.
And it sounded forbidden, unacceptable, something even the moon goddess herself might reject.
Grey's heart raced. What if that truly angered the moon goddess? What if it brought ruin down on Lord Jethro?
If that were the case, Grey would rather refuse it altogether. Lord Jethro seemed deserving of the throne. He was fair, thoughtful, and unlike the previous Enigmas and those of other empires, he did not misuse his power.
But even so, Grey didn't know the truth. He didn't know if it was truly a sin, and if it would be enough to make the moon goddess furious and bring him down.