KNOX
The pack hall hummed with a low, ugly tension. Wolves filled every bench, shoulders squared, eyes sharp. The air stank of fear and sweat and anticipation… but all I could focus on was the woman sitting beside me.
Celeste sat unnaturally still, back straight, hands clasped in her lap. She was too quiet; No sarcastic commentary, no irritated side glances, no quiet-but-dangerous muttering about how council trials were “performative nonsense.” Just… silence. She was withdrawn as if someone had pulled her far away and left only her body behind.
I wanted to touch her knee to get her attention. I wanted to tilt her face up and ask what was wrong. I wanted, for the first time in my damn life, to leave a trial halfway and take a woman outside just to check on her.
But there were more impor
