The silence that followed Silas's reading of the ultimatum was thick, heavy, and suffocating.
I stood in the center of the Great Hall, my knees still weak and my lungs still burning from the residual silver dust. Hundreds of eyes were locked onto me. I could feel the sudden, violent shift in the air. Only moments ago, they had been looking at Marek with disgust for his treason. Now, they were looking at me with a cold, desperate calculation.
I was no longer the brave Omega who had exposed a traitor. I was the target on their backs. I was the reason their mates and pups in the outer villages might be burned alive by silver fire.
Silas stood tall beside me, his large hand resting protectively on the small of my back. I could feel the low, warning vibrate of a growl deep in his chest. His
