Alpha Rolan's POV

It wasn’t supposed to end this way. For days, I had turned it over and over in my mind, hoping that somewhere there was a version of events where I didn’t have to stand in judgment over someone I once called my closest confidant.

But there wasn’t. The pieces had been set long before I realized the extent of the betrayal. I paced in the dim light of my chambers, the dull hum of the council gathering in the Great Hall beneath me.

They were waiting for my final decision, for the judgment that would define the kingdom's response to treason. The decision had already been made....