Mira's POV
The Council chamber was designed to intimidate.
Vaulted ceilings. Dark wood. Twelve seats arranged in a semicircle facing a lone chair in the center—the defendant's seat. Gallery seating behind for witnesses and spectators.
Every seat was packed.
Pack members filled the left side. Council supporters on the right. The tension was thick enough to choke on.
Mira sat in the front row of the gallery, Garrett and Estelle flanking her. Across the aisle, she could feel eyes burning into her—pack elders, wolves who'd known her as Luna, mothers from Brielle's school.
She'd dressed carefully. Professional black dress, heels, hair pulled back. Council dignitary's lover, not shamed pack wife.
Valeblack sat in the defendant's chair, perfectly still. He'd left her bed at
