Ravin's POV
I found out on a Wednesday morning and had Cord in front of me before the hour was out.
He was standing in the centre of the main hall with his jaw set and his eyes forward and the particular stillness of someone who knew exactly what was coming and had decided to face it standing up, which I respected even as I looked at him and felt the specific irritation of a man who had genuinely believed his beta had more sense than this.
"Tell me it is not true," I said.
Cord held my gaze. "I cannot tell you that, Alpha."
The hall was quiet. Sable and two of the senior warriors were positioned near the far wall, present because protocol demanded witnesses for something of this weight, and none of them were looking at Cord directly, which was its own kind of verdict.
"Alpha Ethan's
