POV: Elara
The air in the council chamber was heavy, the wolves gathered around the table radiating unease. Merris’s betrayal was still fresh, her actions a wound that hadn’t yet begun to heal. Though she was confined and under watch, the damage she had done lingered in every whispered doubt, every distrustful glance. It was like a festering wound, threatening to infect the fragile unity of the pack.
I sat at the head of the table, my hands clasped tightly together. My mind raced as the voices of the council swirled around me, each one tinged with fear or anger.
“We should have seen this coming,” Miriam said, her voice sharp. “How could she turn against us so completely?”
“She didn’t just turn against us,” Osric said grimly, leaning forward. “She handed Silas our weaknesses. She knew o
