The council did not wait long.
Power never allowed silence to settle.
Lyra stood at the center of the chamber this time not just present, but positioned.
The second seat was no longer questioned.
It was watched.
Carefully.
Kael sat beside her, composed as always, but Lyra could feel it
the pressure building beneath everything.
Reports had been coming in since dawn.
Missing patrols.
Disturbed borders.
And now
dead wolves.
Not from a known pack.
Not marked.
Unclaimed.
A message.
Selene stepped forward first.
Of course she did.
Her presence cut through the room, elegant, controlled, commanding attention without asking for it.
“This is not random,” she said, her voice smooth.
“This is strategy.”
Lyra didn’t interrupt.
Selene’s gaze flicked briefly toward her.
Then linge
