POV: Caius

The tribunal chamber is fuller than it has been all week. Every seat along the gallery is taken. Alphas who spent the earlier sessions watching from the edges now sit forward. The air feels heavier, as if the room itself is waiting for the final weight to drop.

I sit with Ryker and Zane on either side of Ayla. She is still, hands folded in her lap, spine straight. The bond between the four of us runs quiet and steady. No one speaks. We have already said everything that needed saying.

Dorian stands at the center of the floor with his remaining lawyer. The polished confidence he wore...