|| VIKTOR's POV ||

As the pack members gathered around me, their eyes filled with anger and resentment, I braced myself for the onslaught of accusations and reproach that I knew was coming. They had every right to be upset—I had put their trust in me to the test, and now they were paying the price for my actions.

"Viktor, how could you do this?" one of them, a burly Lycan named Rolf, demanded, his voice thick with anger. "Mercery may have betrayed us, but she's still one of us. Putting her in prison is a betrayal of everything we stand for."

I sighed heavily, running a hand through my...