The meeting did not end.
It unraveled.
Not loudly.
Not all at once.
But in the way tension lingers after truth has been spoken and no one knows how to move forward from it.
No one returned to their seats.
No one resumed control.
The Alphas remained where they stood, the space between them charged, uncertain, fragile.
Nyx did not move.
She remained standing where she had chosen to stand, her silver cloak falling still around her, her presence unchanged despite everything that had just been said.
Ronan stayed at her side.
Elira slightly behind.
Watching.
Always watching.
Magnus spoke first.
Not to command.
To steady.
“We did not gather to turn on each other.”
His voice carried, grounding the room just enough to hold it together.
“We gathered because something is spreading
