Meek

The council hall loomed ahead beneath the pale morning sky, its tall stone pillars casting long shadows across the courtyard. Wolves had already gathered near the entrance, their voices low with curiosity and quiet anticipation.

Word had spread quickly through the pack.

The Alpha had called a court.

And the reason for it was walking slowly toward the doors.

Liora looked nothing like the girl who had stood in the mating ceremony the night before.

The hospital had only released her hours earlier. Her body still carried the weakness of what had happened. Her face had lost its color, pale against the dark strands of hair falling loosely around her shoulders. The exhaustion in her eyes made her seem smaller somehow, fragile in a way that the wolves around her noticed immediately.

Beside her walked her mother, Jissele, holding her arm carefully as though Liora might collapse at any moment.

On the other side stood Tessa.

Unlike the quiet tension between mother and daughter, Tessa’s stance carried something else entirely—defiance. Her shoulders were squared, her gaze alert as she scanned the courtyard, silently daring anyone to say something cruel.

The three of them stopped a few steps from the council entrance.

For a moment, none of them spoke.

Then Liora gently slipped her arm from her mother’s grasp.

Jissele turned to her immediately. “Liora?”

“You should go stand with Dad,” Liora said quietly.

Jissele frowned. “No. I’ll go in with you.”

Her voice carried the firmness of a mother unwilling to leave her child alone.

But Liora shook her head.

“You can’t.”

Her father was the Beta of the pack. The Beta’s family had their place inside the council hall.

Liora did not.

“I’ll be fine,” she added softly.

Jissele clearly didn’t believe it.

Tessa stepped slightly closer to Liora then, reaching for her hand. She gave Jissele a calm, reassuring nod.

“I’ll stay with her.”

The gesture was simple, but protective.

Jissele hesitated.

Her gaze moved from Tessa to Liora’s pale face, lingering there with quiet worry. Finally, she sighed softly and brushed her daughter’s cheek with her hand.

“Alright,” she said.

Reluctantly, she turned and walked toward the side entrance where the Beta family would enter the hall.

The moment she disappeared through the doors, a voice cut through the quiet courtyard.

“Well, this is disappointing.”

Selene.

The Gamma’s daughter stood near the steps with two of her friends, their attention fixed squarely on Liora.

Their eyes traveled over her slowly.

Taking in the pale skin.

The weak posture.

The hospital bracelet still hidden beneath her sleeve.

Selene’s lips curved with faint amusement.

“So the wolfless girl survived the rejection.”

One of the wolves beside her laughed quietly.

“I’m surprised she’s even able to stand.”

Selene took a step closer, studying Liora openly.

“I guess the hospital managed to patch you up well enough,” she said casually. “It would’ve been awkward if the Alpha’s little problem died before the court even started.”

Tessa shifted slightly in front of Liora.

Not aggressively.

Just enough to make her position clear.

Protective.

Selene noticed immediately, her smile widening.

“Oh relax,” she said lightly. “Everyone already knows why she’s here.”

Her eyes flicked toward the council hall.

“The Alpha called this court because of her.”

One of her friends scoffed softly.

“The wolfless girl who thought she could become Luna.”

A quiet ripple of laughter followed.

But this time Tessa spoke.

Her voice was calm.

Almost bored.

“Funny,” she said lightly. “For someone who wasn’t chosen, you seem awfully obsessed with the mate bond.”

Selene blinked.

The laughter around her faltered.

Tessa tilted her head slightly, her expression cool.

“Then again,” she added, her gaze sliding over Selene with quiet mockery, “I suppose watching someone else be chosen must have been difficult.”

The color drained from Selene’s face for a split second.

Her friends shifted awkwardly.

Embarrassment flashed across her expression before she quickly masked it with anger.

But Liora didn’t react.

She didn’t argue.

She didn’t even look at them.

Her gaze remained fixed on the tall doors of the council hall ahead.

After a moment, she gently squeezed Tessa’s hand.

“Come,” she said quietly.

Tessa glanced at her, then nodded.

Together they walked forward.

Past Selene.

Past the quiet whispers of the gathered wolves.

Past the mocking smiles that followed them.

And without stopping, Liora stepped through the council hall doors.

Straight into the court that would decide her fate.