Olivia’s POV
The hall was too bright. Torches lined the stone walls, flames licking upward as if eager for the drama they were about to witness. Wolves filled the room—elders, soldiers, families who had once bowed their heads in reverence when Lucas entered. Now, their eyes followed him with a blend of uncertainty and hunger, waiting for a man to either defend himself or crumble.
The whispers were louder tonight. Words like murderer, beast, unfit. They stung, though none of them were aimed at me. Still, I felt each one as if it were carved into my own skin.
Lucas stood at the center of it all, shoulders squared, jaw set. To everyone else, he looked carved from stone—Alpha through and through. But I knew him. I knew the tightness in his posture wasn’t pride, but control. I knew his hands
