Silence crashed over Silver Crest like a thunderclap after the sentence dropped.
Not the kind of quiet you find at night, either. The kind that warns you something violent is about to happen.
Rain hammered the fortress walls. Every wolf stationed along the battlements just stood there, frozen. No one tried to move or even breathe—staring out at the impossible thing they’d just heard, letting it sink in.
The Alpha Council had condemned Kael to die.
Seconds dragged by. And still, nothing.
Because nobody, not a single Alpha in modern history, had defied the council and survived to tell the tale.
Near the stone steps, Liana clutched at her chest, barely managing to breathe as she stared at the council’s enforcers. Cold fear gripped her tight.
This couldn’t be real.
Not this fast. Not l
