Jolie POV
The Council chamber was carved from living stone, walls smooth and ancient. Torches burned in iron brackets, casting dancing shadows across faces I didn't recognize. Powerful alphas from every major pack in the region, all here to watch me.
To judge me.
My boots echoed on the stone floor as I walked to the center. Ryder was behind me, his presence a solid wall at my back. The whole Iron Fangs pack had come, flanking us like an honor guard.
Or a funeral procession.
The Council sat on a raised platform, seven alphas arranged in a semicircle. I recognized Alpha Dominic from the Steelheart Pack in the center. My father's old friend. The one who'd looked the other way when Nightshade Pack turned me into their punching bag.
"Jolie Rys." His voice boomed through the chamber. "You
