For several seconds, I let Liora tear at him. The lords watched in silence while her snarls and Kaelen’s pleas carried through the hall.
I raised a single hand.
Two Royal Guards seized Liora and pulled her from Kaelen’s throat. She kicked and shrieked between their armored grips.
Kaelen pressed both hands to his neck and wept on the floor.
“I will not have him killed,” I said. “Death would be a gift, and you have earned no gifts from me.”
I looked down from the dais.
“By royal decree, the Alpha title of the Thorne Pack is nullified. Kaelen Thorne is stripped of rank, authority, and claim.”
“His lands and assets are forfeit to the Imperial Crown as compensation for the plague his actions unleashed.”
He looked up when I stopped speaking. His shoulders sagged.
Then I continued.
“You
