The chaos at the summit lasted exactly thirty seconds.
Then the Council's guards moved in, weapons raised, surrounding both Reign and the Shadow Alpha. The lead elder's voice cut through the noise.
"Silence!"
The crowd obeyed, but barely. Reign could feel the tension, see the divided loyalties. Some wolves looked ready to fight for her. Others watched with cold calculation.
"Reign of Glaciara," the elder continued. "You were brought here in chains to answer for your crimes. Instead you choose defiance?"
"I choose honesty." Reign's voice carried across the gathered wolves. "The Shadow Alpha didn't capture me through strength. She poisoned my water, sent assassins disguised as refugees, used the Council's resources to wage a proxy war."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. The Council elde
