The council hall had never felt so divided.
The air itself seemed to carry tension, thick and metallic, like the moments before a storm breaks. Wolves filled the stone benches in restless clusters. Elders stood near the stage, robes brushing against marble floors etched with generations of claw marks and ancient sigils. The high windows let in a dull gray light that flattened every face into sharp angles and shadow.
Clay stood at the center.
I stood to his right.
But we were not standing together.
Torin struck his staff against the floor. “This council convenes—”
“It does not,” Clay interrupted sharply.
A ripple of confusion swept through the hall.
Torin blinked. “Alpha?”
Clay’s voice was calm but edged. “I did not call for a meeting.”
Silence fell, thick and immediate.
The elde
