Aldric answered before any of us could push it: “Gone. She claimed what she wanted and left the place - left us - burned and she laughed on the way out.” He rocked on his heels. “I told Varrick she would do what he wanted. I told him she would make us right. I-” He pressed a hand to his temple as if to stop the sound within. “I thought the ends would justify it. I thought I could pull him back to ash and then raise her up. I thought I could be at her side.”
“You thought you could trade lives for a crown,” I said, voice a blade. The Alpha compulsion was letting him confess, raw and defective. It exposed him, but it didn’t excuse him.
Aldric nodded like a condemned man. “Yes. I wanted her. I wanted this pack to be hers because she was the only thing pure about it. And Varrick… he was softe
