Lyra
The heavy oak doors to the hall groaned shut, sealing away the echoes of judgment and gasps of the pack outside. I stood still, breathing in the silence that followed the public hearing as if it were a balm. Damon and Selene had been dragged away in chains. Their trial would continue later, but for now, they were caged, powerless, finally beneath me.
For the first time since I was reborn, my shoulders loosened. The weight of survival, of hiding, of pretending, began to lift. I had won. I had lived long enough to see Damon shackled and humiliated, his tongue silenced by the Alpha’s command.
I had won in this life.
Killian’s hand brushed mine as the guards filed out. The brief contact steadied me. He hadn’t said much during the proceedings… he hadn’t needed to. His presence had been
