Damon POV
The council hall had gone still, the air thick with the weight of Rayna’s words. I sat at her side, silent, though every muscle in me hummed with a readiness to bare fangs if one Alpha dared step too far.
She didn’t need me to speak. Just to be present.
Her voice rang steady, her wolf’s dominance curling like lightning through the chamber, and I watched the ripple it caused - some Alphas shifting uncomfortably in their seats, some bowing their heads, some looking away rather than meet her eyes. Pride swelled in me so sharp it almost hurt.
This was what the Goddess meant for her. Not just my mate. Not just my queen. My life, my fire. It is odd how quickly it had all changed in last weeks - since the day Lira told me to go find and protect Rayna.
The older Alpha - the one wh
