The chamber doors slammed shut, sealing me inside with the ones who would decide my fate. That was a bit over the top. The only thing they could do was what they could control, if I didn’t let them, they couldn’t decide my fate.

The elders” decision could brand me an outcast, a fate worse than death for a wolf. My future hinged on their judgment, and that was my real concern in all this. They didn’t scare me. They had my respect, but only on face value because they were so blatantly biased towards Selene. I just hated having to prove my worth to them in order to avoid this dire consequence, which they had always pushed because of Kael.

I sat still, spine straight, jaw locked, watching everyone settle into their seats. It was just a facade of protocol and formality. Everyone here had already decided what they wanted to believe about me. The look on their faces said it all.

Marrick was to Kael’s right, his jaw tense, his arms crossed as his gaze was fixed on me. Damien sat to the Alpha’s left, and his expression remained stoic.

Selene sat smugly on the other side, lips curled into that same condescending smile she wore all the time.

It made me want to rip it off. The fact that she was here meant she and her dad were up to something. There’s no reason she should even be here. I glanced at her father seated beside her briefly, then looked away.

Elder Matlock cleared his throat, his beady eyes flickering toward me with suspicion as he rubbed his nose. He was a thin man with a sharp nose and an even sharper tongue.

“Luna Baudelaire,” he began. “You stand before this council under grave circumstances.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“Let’s not waste time,” Selene interrupted impatiently. “She was found near the river, covered in magic.” She tilted her head, her smirk growing wider. “The only thing we need to determine is how deep her betrayal runs.”

I felt a muscle in my jaw twitch. Ah, so that’s why she was here.

Kael didn’t say a word, but his gaze moved to Selene in silent warning as his green eyes flashed his ire.

“I apologize for speaking out of turn, Alpha,” Selene murmured as she lowered her head.

“Why don’t we start at the beginning?” Elder Amara suggested. She was older and her face was lined with wisdom instead of arrogance like most of the other seven. I didn’t trust her, but at least she wasn’t foaming at the mouth like Selene.

Turning to me, she asked, “Luna, tell us what happened in your own words.”

I took a deep breath as I remembered that night. Even now, I couldn’t shake how easily their magic captured me, but my mate’s piercing ember eyes. My fists clenched on my lap, forcing myself to stay calm.

“I was scouting near the eastern border,” I said, keeping my voice honed. “There were disturbances in the area, movements in trees, the smell of something bizarre, so I decided to look into it.” I met Matlock’s stare dead on. “I found a coven mid-ritual. They knocked me out with a spell I couldn’t escape from. I woke up on an altar, surrounded by the entire coven of five. I distracted one of them long enough for a window to make a run for it. That is all.”

Marrick’s hands clenched into fists on the table, but he said nothing.

“Is it?” Elder Amara asked, appearing to reject my explanation. “We’re supposed to believe you escaped five witches without consequences, but what about the residual magic you’ve been carrying around with you?”

“I expect you to believe the truth,” I snapped, already irked by her brazen questioning. “Unless you’d prefer I make up some elaborate tale to satisfy your curiosity? Since you’re looking for one, that residual magic lingering around me is the consequence.”

Elder Marcus, a grizzled warrior with more scars than patience, narrowed his eyes. “That’s it, you just escaped.”

I shrugged. “Not every escape must be a grand battle, Elder. There was no way I could win against five witches, so it made sense to escape. You were once a warrior, wouldn’t that be your call as well?”

There was a scoff from Selene’s direction, but I ignored it.

Marcus continued. “What I would have done doesn’t matter. What kind of spell did they cast? Magic this strong can influence your thoughts and actions without you knowing.”

“Just what are you implying?” I asked.

“Here’s what I learned after reviewing the Gamma’s debrief and inspecting the site,” Marcus said, and I glanced at Damien. “Witches crossed the river. You interrupted a ritual, and they tried to take you. They didn’t kill you—just took you. That’s suspicious. There is still residual magic on you. Only the magic of a High Priestess can do that, and only the magic of a High Priestess can cross the river and bring a coven along.”

“That’s absurd.” I scoffed.

Even as I said it, I knew I messed up. I’d have to explain my scowl, and if I told them the truth, I’d get in trouble. First of all, the entire coven was male. There were no women, so there was no High Priestess. But how would they’ve crossed the river without a High Priestess? What kind of magic did they use to take me down?

The laws of magic were as rigid as the laws that govern our pack. Covens needed High Priestesses to call on the kind of power needed to break the river’s hold, to lead like our Alphas do. That coven didn’t have one. The only thing we knew about men being High Priests was that they were rare and frowned upon. My witch mate looked like the leader of that coven, though.

“What is?” Marrick asked, arching a brow.

My mind raced through everything I knew about witches, their covens, magic, and limits. There was only one rank a male witch could reach: Warlock, and warlocks weren’t supposed to be powerful by themselves. Without a High Priestess anchoring them, they shouldn’t be able to cross the river either.

I forced my breathing to remain even, but my hands curled into fists on my lap. So I was taken by a coven of warlocks and a possible High Priest? There was no way I could say that now.

“That a High Priestess could cross the river and this council or our Alpha didn’t notice,” I said, deflecting the blame on them. “I did my job and thank the goddess I made it out alive. Whatever else happened was a matter of your competence and ability to protect your pack.”

“Nice try, but there’s something you forget,” Selene said in a syrupy voice that drew all eyes to her. “They tried to take you when they could easily kill you to silence you. Doesn’t that seem calculated? Could Luna have been their target?

My jaw tightened. It’s no surprise she’d spin it like that. There was never a time when Selene didn’t sharpen her blade and point it in my direction. No matter what the truth was, she only cared about framing the story the way she wanted it to be. It’s a good way to make me look like a liability to say the witches were after me for some unknown reason, right?

I mean, she wasn’t completely wrong, but leave it to Selene to twist the knife and make it bleed in her favour. What a bitch.

“I understand why you’d think that, since your view of the world is as flimsy as your ambitions.” I laughed mockingly. “Taking my life would have been an act of war. Of course the witches know enough about us to know an Alpha would feel it when one of his own was taken. They weren’t stupid enough to risk it. Forget your agenda for a second and use your brain if you have one.”

As I met her gaze head-on, I worked furiously to pick apart my own words before she did. Truthfully, I was grasping for anything to dig myself out of the hole she was trying to dig for me.

“It sounds like you talked to them?” Selene arched a perfectly sculpted brow.

I lifted my chin. “Of course. Warriors aren’t just trained to fight, they’re trained to sort through the facts first. Words are needed for that.” Oh, but wasn’t that obvious? Hadn’t they assumed that?

“The report says you were knocked out and taken and then fled. There’s no mention of a conversation,” Elder Matlock pointed out.

“I didn’t think it was relevant to state something so blatantly obvious.”

Even though Matlock’s face didn’t change, the energy in the room did.

“This is an inquest, Luna Baudelaire,” Elder Marcus growled. “Everything is relevant to figuring out what these witches want. Tell us what was said. Oh, and where exactly were you taken?”

I stiffened. “What do you mean, where?”

Marcus’s gaze hardened. “Once the Alpha sensed your distress, he sent the Gamma and a few warriors to your scouting location. You were missing.” His tone was accusatory. “They found the ritual site, but it was silent until Gamma Damien found you near the river, soaked wet. Where. Were. You?”

I felt my pulse stutter. I guess they noticed that.

“Did they conceal you?” Lyra asked. “Is that what it was? A concealment spell to hide you in plain sight?”

“Beta! You’re giving her an out!” Selene exclaimed.

“Say nothing to me unless I tell you to, Duvall!” Lyra barked, slamming her hand onto the table with enough force to make the papers tremble. “Would you like me to teach you your place, since you seem to have forgotten it?” Lyra’s eyes flashed with anger as she glared at Selene.

“Forgive my insolence, Beta. It’s just that Gamma Damien found her near the river, soaked wet. She claims she was taken, but there’s no evidence of a struggle. What really happened out there?” Selene whispered.

I barely heard them as I tried to think of an answer that wouldn’t get me exiled. I’d have trouble explaining how I got back if I admitted the witches took me across the river.

I glanced at Damien as a thought struck me. When he found me, I was completely soaked from being in the river, but he didn’t ask about it. Did he just assume I couldn’t have been in the river or did he already suspect it?

Elder Amara sighed. “I’d like you to clarify these things for us so we can move forward.”

“What else is there to learn? Shouldn’t your priority be to bring down the coven that’s in our territory?” I shrugged. “What’s the point of this expedition?”

“We can decipher what they want and how to handle them if we learn what they said,” Elder Marcus replied.

“I seriously doubt it. I only spoke with one of them, and he told me to kill myself. That was all he wanted.”

“Alpha, council, I don’t think that’s it. Luna said that before, and yet, we’ve got more details,” Selene sneered. “I think she’s hiding something.”

Fury blazed in my eyes as I looked at her. “You need to stop talking before I make you. I’m getting fed up of your constant chiming in for someone not qualified to be here! Don’t push it, Selene Duvall! I am a Baudalaire, in case you forgot, and you’re nothing more than a glorified spoilt brat!”

Selene’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment, her eyes narrowing into slits. She crossed her arms defiantly, refusing to back down. “Maybe you’re right about my qualifications,” she retorted, “but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong about Luna.”

As I raised an eyebrow, I asked, “Since when are your opinions of any importance to me or anyone else here? It’s time you stopped deluding yourself. You’re not the Luna of this pack.”

Her jaw clenched, and her breathing grew shallow as she fought to maintain her composure. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for allies among the council members.

Marrick exhaled sharply. “We’re losing focus here,” he said with a huff. “Let’s get back on track. Finding their hideout is the first priority. Tell the court where they took you, Luna.”

My mouth dried up. I had nothing. There was no lie to prepare, no way out, and Damien saw it.

He got up so fast that his chair scraped the stone floor. “Alpha. Beta. This inquisition is done.”

An incredulous scoff escaped Selene’s lips. “What?”

Damien didn’t spare her a glance. Moving quickly, he came around the table toward me. His hand closed around my wrist—not rough, but firm enough to say, move. “Luna will answer to me. As her commander.”

Selene’s head snapped toward him in outrage. “But you can’t just take her!” she said with more desperation than authority. Under the table, her dad reached for her hand, a silent warning not to push her luck with Damien.

She might be the Elders” favoured, but even they knew when to pick their battles. And Damien was not a battle she or they could win.

Damien turned his searing gaze on her. “Shut. Your. Mouth.”

Selene flinched, her spine going rigid, and even in my current predicament, I almost laughed. Damien was the third highest-ranking male in the pack, and he didn’t waste his breath on anyone who wasn’t Marrick or Kael. Especially not Selene. She had spent years draping herself in status and influence, manoeuvring within the Elders” favour, but none of that mattered to Damien.

He saw right through her, and worse, he didn’t even find her worth the effort of pretending otherwise.

Kael blinked once, then sighed. “Gamma’”

“The Elders have all the information they need from this inquisition, Alpha,” Damien interrupted. “This has gone beyond questioning. If they wish to challenge me, they are welcome to try.” His gaze swept across the room, daring anyone to speak. None did.

He turned his attention back to Kael. “Luna is under my command, and I will not sit here while they tear her apart to satisfy their paranoia or to cater to her.”

His gaze locked onto Selene, the meaning behind his words very clear. She had spent the entire inquest inserting herself where she wasn’t needed, wielding every opportunity to undermine me. But now, with Damien’s eyes burning into her, she couldn’t speak. Her lips parted as if she wanted to argue, but she said nothing.

And in that silence, Damien had already won.

“The Gamma has the right to question his ward, and since there is no opposition to his request,” Kael said. “Take her, Damien. But bring back answers.”

Damien’s jaw clenched, his gray eyes flickering toward me for the briefest second.

Then, without another word, he tugged my wrist, and pulled me toward the door.

I had no idea what was coming next.

But judging by the way his fingers tightened around mine, Damien had put the pieces together.

And he wasn’t letting this go.