Aiden’s POV

The council chamber stank of fear.

I sat on the raised alpha’s dais, my fingers curled around the arms of the ancient oak chair that had been passed down through generations of Blackwood Alphas. The carvings dug into my palms, a grounding reminder of the legacy I was fighting to protect—and the one I might lose.

The elders had assembled in full regalia, their ceremonial robes a sea of black and silver. At the center of the room, Beta Rowan stood with his arms crossed, his normally composed face twisted into something ugly.

"She’s a danger to us all." His voice carried through the chamber, sharp as a...