LOGINTHIRD PERSON POVThe chamber was so quiet that one could hear the torches on the wall breathing.Donald sat forward in his seat and looked at the room one more time. "Let's start with the elders," he said.Every elder in the room straightened."Every elder who sat in this chamber and watched the Queen be judged and banished without my seal, you are hereby removed from your positions, effective from this moment." His voice did not rise. It didn't need to. "Your robes, your titles, your seats in this council, none of it belongs to you anymore. You will be escorted out of this chamber today, and you will not return to it until I have appointed new elders to replace you. That process will begin in the coming days."Some of the elders closed their eyes.One of the lesser elders, the one who had been bold enough to speak the truth during Rowan's questioning, shifted in his seat.Donald noticed."The elder who spoke honestly today," Donald said, "will remain. His seat is not touched. Coura
THIRD PERSON POVNobody spoke when Donald walked to the front of the chamber.Rowan stepped aside without being asked. He moved away from the Alpha's seat quietly and stood to the left, his hands behind his back. His job was done. He had held the room. He had gathered everyone. He had kept them seated and accounted for through the long hours of the night.Now it was Donald's turn.Donald did not sit down immediately.He stood in front of the seat and looked at the room. He took his time looking at every corner and everyone in the room, the way a man does when he wants everyone in the room to feel the full weight of his attention before he says a single word.The elders did not move.Nobody coughed, shifted, or adjusted their robes or chairs. Then Donald sat down.He rested his hands on the arms of the seat and looked forward."One of the reasons I traveled was for the benefit of this territory," he said in a calm voice.. But it filled the room completely. "I left Rowan in charge. I
THIRD PERSON POVThe hour moved slowly.It was beginning to make the minds of all those who were seated there, do things they shouldn't.Damon had been sitting in that chair for so long that his legs had started to go numb. He shifted quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself. His eyes moved around the room the way they had been doing since he sat down — not obviously, not in a way that looked like he was planning something. Just small, careful looks.The guard to his left had moved.Not far. Just a few steps to the side to speak quietly to another guard near the wall.Damon looked at the gap.He looked at the door.It was locked. He knew that. But there was a side door near the back of the chamber, half hidden behind one of the large pillars. He had seen it when they brought him in. He had been looking at it ever since.His heart started beating faster.He told himself not to do it.He told himself to sit still, to stay calm, to wait, and see what happened.But Damon had never
THIRD PERSON POVKali sat down.He had no choice.The room was locked. Guards stood at every exit. And every single person in that chamber had just watched Damon point a finger at him.There was nowhere to go.Rowan looked at him calmly. He was not in a hurry. He had all the time in the world, and everyone in that room could feel it."So," Rowan said. "Let's talk."Kali said nothing."I'll make this simple for you," Rowan continued. "I'm not going to ask you many questions. I only have one. Who told you to go to the human world and bring Damon here?"Kali's jaw was tight. His eyes moved briefly to Seraphina, then back to Rowan.Rowan caught it."Don't look at her," Rowan said quietly. "She can't help you right now. Look at me."Kali looked at him."I'm going to ask you one more time," Rowan said. "And I want you to think very carefully before you answer. Because the Alpha will be here in less than thirty hours. And when he arrives, he will ask the same question. If your answer to me a
THIRD PERSON POVThe council chamber was quieter now, and it wasn't the kind of quiet that meant peace. It was the kind that meant everyone in the room had finally understood what was coming, and not one of them had the courage to speak against it.Rowan sat with his hands folded, his eyes on the door.He was waiting for Kali.The elders sat stiffly in their seats, robes that had once swept into that chamber with dignity now feeling like burial clothes. Some of them stared at the floor. Some stared at their hands. One or two of the lesser elders had their lips moving in what looked like silent prayer.Seraphina sat in the chair that had been brought forward and placed directly before Rowan. Closer than anyone else. Close enough that she could not look away, could not pretend she was not the center of everything happening in this room.She did not cry. She had decided she would not cry. Crying would be an admission, and she was not ready to admit anything more than what had already bee
THIRD PERSON POV"I won't be talking anymore. I've gotten all the information I need. Based on everything that everyone has said, Seraphina was the perpetrator of all that happened to the Queen, am I correct?" "Yes," Kira replied. "Okay. Are all the co-conspirators here, or am I missing anyone else?""They're all here, except you also want to bring in the disgraced elders." Kira answered. "Yes. Bring them in."-------------------After former elder Magnus and former Councilman Thalos had been brought it, Rowan also called for a guard to bring two more seats and place in front of him."We seem complete now, are we?""Yes, beta Rowan, we are," Mashik replied. "Did you bring us here to embarrass us again?" Elder Magnus asked, running his mouth.Rowan looked at him and smiled. "Very correct. The one you received from the Alpha must've been too small for you, hence the misbehavior. If you were as smart as your years, you would've known and understood that once the Alpha makes a decree,
Donald's POV I burst through the estate gates like a storm breaking, my wolf lathered in sweat, and my paws throwing up gravel that scattered the guards like startled birds. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the courtyard, but I barely noticed. My mind was a whirlwind. I hat
THIRD PERSON POV—Rowan and Donald.Rowan woke up first, to the smell of hot cake.It drifted through the pines like a memory he didn’t know he was hungry for. The smell was sweet, buttery, edged with cinnamon and the faint char of a stone hearth. For one disoriented heartbeat, he forgot where they
Rebecca’s POVThe day slipped away in a gentle haze of color and sound. After having what I would call my first real meal in three days, I wandered the paths of the Fountain of Beauty with Alessia at my side, her arm linked through mine like we’d known each other for years instead of hours. Childr
REBECCA’S POVInside the Fountain of Beauty, time seemed to move slowly and softly, like honey poured for a Queen. Every corner of the valley held something that mesmerized me. I was amazed at the way sunlight caught in the spray of the central fountain and turned into tiny rainbows. I loved how th







