A tense silence descended over the council chamber in the wake of Alpha Damien's ominous pronouncement. Diane felt her heart hammering against her ribcage as her father's penetrating stare bored into her. The weight of his words seemed to leach the very air from the room, replacing it with a suffocating miasma of dread and foreboding.

At last, Elena found her voice, shattering the oppressive quiet with a tremulous question.

"Alpha, what...what are you saying?" Her gaze flicked between Diane and Damien, eyes wide with trepidation. "Surely you don't mean to imply there are traitors within our own ranks?"

Damien's expression was inscrutable, his features carved from ancient granite. When...