When we got to the compound, the streets were like a war zone. The smell of wet earth and sharpened steel was thick in the air as wolves moved in tight formations and warriors strapped weapons to their backs.

The compound was on lockdown.

After Lyra raised the alarm after the witches attacked again, the entire pack mobilized. I wanted to avoid this.

As we walked through the streets, whispers followed us. Their curious eyes were drawn to me. I was too soaked in magic, too tainted by tonight’s events, for them to not notice.

They knew something had happened, but they didn’t know what yet.

Marrick marched ahead, shoulders square, face dead serious. Damien walked beside me, always watching. Sharp eyes scanning rooftops, corners, anywhere there might be a threat.

As Lyra stepped closer, her golden eyes darkened with thought. But she didn’t say anything either. None of us did. Not until we reached the side entrance of the Alpha’s wing, where the guards straightened immediately at our approach.

Marrick turned to us. His voice was low so that only the three of us could hear him. “Don’t tell the council anything until we talk to Kael.”

Lyra let out a sharp breath. “They’ll ask.”

“Let them,” Marrick said. “We say nothing about the fight. Nothing about what you saw. We keep our mouths shut until Kael knows everything.”

I was the last one he looked at. They’d try to pin this on me first, even though they didn’t know anything about what happened.

Damien was quiet for a while, and then he nodded. “Understood.”

I rolled my shoulders back. “Fine.”

I knew the council’s game very well. They didn’t want the truth. They needed a scapegoat, and I was the perfect one.

As we entered the chamber, the heavy scent of burning wood wafted through the stone halls. The elders were already seated.

It was a panel of four tonight, all older than Kael.

Elder Marcus. The longest-serving of them all, with hair like silvered steel and a gaze that never warmed. Elder Ruth. The same cold, aloof attitude as always. Elder Tobias. Kael’s father’s closest confidant, and the one most invested in keeping Nightclaw under the Council’s thumb.

And then there was Elder Warren. Never once had he hidden how he felt about me. He always regarded me with thinly veiled disdain, his lips constantly curled into a sneer whenever I entered the room. Throughout my life, he had always seen me as a troublemaker who disrupted the order. As far as he was concerned, I was nothing more than a thorn in the council’s side.

Kael was standing, not seated at the table like the rest of them. He stood at the front of the room, arms crossed, eyes locked on Elder Marcus.

I knew that look in his eyes; he was already fighting them. We took our places, Marrick and Damien flanking Kael, Lyra and I behind them.

After a long silence, Elder Marcus exhaled. “Tonight’s disaster needs to be discussed.”

Marrick’s jaw clenched. “If you’re talking about the witches attacking our territory’”

He got cut off by Elder Ruth. “We’re talking about the reason they came.”

I arched my brows at her as her gaze darted to me.

“You know why they’re here?” I asked. “The gift of foresight must have suddenly descended on you or you spoke to them.” I spat.

Kael didn’t shift his focus from Elder Marcus. “The witches broke the truce. That is the only thing we are here to address.”

A sigh escaped Elder Tobias. “But you have to wonder, Alpha. Why now? After all these years of peace?”

My hands clenched into fists at my sides, because even a blind bat could see what was happening. They weren’t interested in strategy, just blame. And they were looking at me like they had already decided.

“Perhaps the fault lies within,” Elder Warren concluded. He looked at me. " It might be they were looking for something or someone.”

I kept my expression neutral. Inside, a storm raged. This constant barrage of accusations was starting to feel like fog. They were always sowing doubt and suspicion against me just because they preferred Selene. The whole thing was starting to really annoy me and I had to maintain my composure and bite my tongue.

Darkness crept into Kael’s eyes. “You should be very careful about what you’re implying, Warren. Baseless accusations like that come at a cost.”

A look of deep disdain crossed Elder Warren’s face as he exhaled through his nose. “Come now, Alpha. We all know the truth. That girl has been nothing but trouble since the day she was born.”

There it was. The bastard didn’t even try to pretend.

I stiffened up, fingers curling into fists, but before I could react, Marrick stepped forward.

“You know what?” He snapped with a voice sharp enough to turn every head in the room. I saw a fury in his blue eyes that reminded me of our dad. “I will say this once, Warren. And the rest of you relics better listen closely.”

Elder Ruth’s lips pressed together. Elder Tobias adjusted in his seat, while Elder Marcus watched, his silver gaze darting between us.

Marrick’s voice was deadly calm as he continued. “I’d advise you to keep your scheming against my sister to the facts. If you’re going to question the Goddess’s reasons for allowing anyone to be born, then by all means, let’s begin with you lot.” His eyes swept over the Elders with disgust. “After all, what could be more unnatural than a Council so desperate for power that they’d rather orchestrate their Alpha’s future through deceit than through merit?”

Trying to stop him from saying something irreversible, Lyra reached for his hand. He didn’t even glance at her as he stepped out of reach.

I stared at him, stunned and awestruck. Marrick never lost his cool, at least not for me. The elders exchanged uneasy glances, each trying to gauge the other’s reaction before speaking.

With a low growl, Marrick continued, “I have had it with you all. Every single one of you, jabbing at my sister at every turn simply because she is a female Baudelaire.” His teeth clenched. “Your contempt blinds you to the most important truth in this room. She outranks you, no matter how peculiar her existence is.”

The chamber went deathly silent.

Marrick stepped away from Kael’s side to the centre of the room, standing apart from both the Council and the Alpha.

“And I take responsibility for that.” His voice was quieter now, but still powerful. “Until now, I have thought of her as an anomaly, and given you the chance to disrespect her when I should have protected her. That ends now.”

Like a final warning, Marrick’s gaze swept over them. “If Selene cannot secure a mate through her own merit, she has failed as a female and has no right to be the Luna of any pack. Nightclaw does not need an ultima Luna who schemes through the Council rather than proving herself worthy.”

The Elders stiffened, their facial expressions still neutral, but I could see their nervousness.

“As for you, you failed in your roles as elders. If you think I won’t punish you for abusing power, then you don’t understand how a pack works,” he growled, then turned to Kael who nodded as if to tell him to continue. “I’m beta to the alpha, a Baudelaire born and favoured by the goddess, and it is my duty to punish those who offend her, the alpha and the pack! How dare you shamelessly accuse a Baudelaire?”

They shifted slightly, exchanging wary glances as Marrick’s words echoed through the room. Seeing the severity of his reprimand and the potential consequences of his anger, Ruth, Tobias and Marcus bowed their heads in submission.

It wasn’t the absence of sound that shifted the silence in the room, but rather the slow, creeping realization that Marrick wasn’t just angry. The repercussions of Marrick’s punishment could be severe, potentially leading to a restructuring of the Council and a shift in power dynamics within the pack. The punishment may result in elders losing their positions, which will hurt their influence and respect.

Marrick let the moment linger, and the enormity sink in. Then, he issued his final command.

“Luna Baudelaire is the first female Beta born in our lineage, so she’s the highest ranking she-wolf throughout the Dominion of Anarion! Selene Duvall should be so lucky to be in her presence!” He said, slowly, more like a challenge than a command. “Pay her respects at once!”

Elder Marcus was the first to move. Slowly, stiffly, he inclined his head toward me—not deep enough to be mistaken for deference, but enough to acknowledge what had just been said.

Elder Ruth followed. The slight bow of her head was enough to pacify my brother.

In comparison, Elder Tobias was slower and more reluctant. His fingers twitched against the wooden table before he exhaled through his nose and dipped his chin.

Elder Warren was the only one who didn’t move. His lips curled, barely concealing the disgust tightening his features. Those cold grey eyes burned with something dangerous, playing out a silent battle between defiance and survival.

It would have been so satisfying to watch him choose wrong. To watch him let his pride rebel against Marrick, just so I could watch him burn.

But he wasn’t stupid. He knew he had lost. Marrick, Lyra and Damien far outranked him. And, as Marrick so aptly said, so did I.

Marrick stood still, waiting. Not pressuring, just waiting. That cold blue stare demanded his submission, whether he wanted it or not.

Warren’s jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring. He grimaced, muscles tensing like it physically pained him to obey.

But then he did it. A fraction of movement. A reluctant tilt of his head, stiff and almost imperceptible, but it was there.

And that should have been the end of it.

But Damien was already moving. I barely had time to register it before he strode past me, his movements calm, and merciless.

He grabbed Warren by the nape of the neck and shoved him to the ground hard.

The impact sent a shudder through the room, the sound of Warren’s knees hitting the cold stone floor sharp and I feared his bones may have shattered.

Damien didn’t let go, and Kael and Marrick did not stop him.

“If you can’t do it right, I’ll teach you,” he growled against Warren’s ear. “It is my job, after all.”

His silver gaze darted up, sweeping over the other Elders.

“Now.”

I nearly smiled when they dropped too.

Warren’s shoulders trembled with restrained fury, but he didn’t move, didn’t dare to.

Damien crouched beside him, his grip still locked around the back of his neck, his voice so dangerously low.

“Know this.”

Warren tensed.

“The only reason you and your flies have remained unscathed all these years is because Beta Marrick never officially named Luna as Beta.”

A deliberate pause.

“Now that that’s done, I will punish any disrespect toward the Baudelaire house.” Damien leaned in, his voice dipping into something deadlier. “Do you understand the words coming out of my mouth?”

The silence was deafening.

For a long moment, Warren didn’t answer. Then his head bowed lower.

I watched him break.

And I didn’t feel a single ounce of sympathy.