"This changes nothing." Kaleb’s eyes never left Rhea. "I don’t know what game is being played here, but I buried my Luna."

Rhea ignored him entirely. Keeping her chin high, she placed her hand into Adam’s outstretched palm. With effortless grace, he guided her toward his massive Alpha chair and waited for her to sit, claiming the power in the room before she even spoke a word.

Adam turned back to the frozen table, a smug smile cutting across his hard features. "I suggest you all pick your jaws up from the floor," he drawled, his deep voice cutting through the suffocating shock of the room. "Someone fetch me another chair, and then we can discuss why you dragged me here."

For a long, agonizing moment, nobody moved. The heavy, copper scent of pure panic filled the chamber as every Elder’s gaze locked onto Rhea. She kept her expression smooth, her silver eyes steady, completely refusing to look like a victim.

"Here you go, Alpha," a lower-ranked servant stammered, bowing so low his nose nearly touched the black granite as he rushed to place a second heavy chair right beside Rhea’s.

Adam let out a low, approving rumble in his chest and took his seat. He leaned back lazily, his broad shoulder brushing against hers as he scanned the table. Then his gaze dropped to the crushed crimson cloth Kaleb had thrown down earlier.

"Now, will someone tell me why my time is being wasted on such short notice?"

"I don’t understand this," Elder Rowan stammered, his brows knitting together as his ancient wolf instincts scrambled to make sense of the ghost sitting before him.

Rhea finally shifted her gaze, locking it directly onto Kaleb. He stood completely paralyzed across the table as he stared back at her, his breathing shallow. But the utter calm in her face made him question his own sanity.

There was no explosive rage in her silver eyes, no frantic weeping, just a cold emptiness that made his blood run cold.

High Elder Magnus turned a piercing, accusatory glare toward Kaleb. "You brought this Council a death certificate, Alpha Kaleb. You told us Luna Rhea died from the poisoned silver arrow on the battlefield. How do you explain her sitting in this chamber?"

Kaleb swallowed hard, his throat bobbing frantically. His mind was roaring so loudly with panic that the Elder’s words sounded warped, like he was underwater. He looked from his uncle’s mocking smile to Rhea’s calm face, his chest heaving.

"Alpha Kaleb!" Elder Rowan barked, his voice echoing off the stone pillars.

Kaleb jolted, his golden eyes snapping wildly toward the Elder. Beside him, Kat leaned in close, the scent of her sour sweat betraying her terror as she clutched her swollen stomach.

"Keep your composure, Kaleb," she hissed under her breath, her fingernails digging into his sleeve. "You are acting guilty. Fix it."

Kaleb gave a rigid nod, trying to force his inner wolf back into submission. He looked at Rhea again, but her face remained an unreadable mask.

"Are we here to audit my choice of companion, or am I meant to defend myself against the fairy tales my nephew is spinning?" Adam asked, his tone suddenly dropping into a dangerous register that made the entire table stiffen.

"How is she sitting here?" Kaleb finally choked out, his facade completely cracking as he pointed a trembling finger at her. "I watched her die. I saw her breath leave her body."

The blatant lie made Rhea’s jaw harden, her fingers curling tightly into the wood of her armrest. Deep within her soul, River went completely feral, her phantom claws scratching violently against Rhea’s ribs.

"Let me out!" the wolf snarled, a low, murderous vibration echoing in the back of Rhea’s throat. "Let me tear the throat from his body! I want his tongue on the floor for what he did to us!"

"That’s not Rhea." Kat’s voice shook. "It can’t be."

"Shut the hell up, you disgusting little traitor!" River barked savagely inside Rhea’s head, her claws tearing at their shared consciousness. "I should slide her throat open right where she sits! Let me shred her!"

Rhea didn’t blink. She kept the beast locked away, her expression smooth and unreadable. She simply leaned slightly forward, shifting her gaze to Kat, and let a small, slow smile curve her lips.

The cold promise of death in that look sent a shiver straight down Kat’s spine. Kat gasped, flinching backward and wrapping both arms protectively over her swollen stomach.

"Kaleb, you have some serious explaining to do," Elder Rowan demanded, his deep voice echoing off the stone pillars. "If your Luna died from a poisoned arrow on the battlefield, why is she seated here at the right hand of Alpha Thorne?"

Kaleb looked at Rowan, his golden eyes darting frantically around the granite table. Every single Elder was staring at him, their heavy, judgmental auras pressing down on his chest, cornering him like a stray dog. Sweat beaded at his temples.

Desperate, he slammed his fist onto the table and pointed a trembling finger across the granite. "He is the one who should be sanctioned! This is even bigger proof of my case! He dared to sneak into my territory and interfere in my pack’s internal politics. I am the Alpha King of Ironfang!"

"Your father spent his entire life stealing what he could not earn," Adam shot back, tilting his head. "I see the tradition survived him."

"Nonsense!" Kaleb barked, his face twisting with rage as his wolf fought to break through his skin. "You are just sour, old man! This crown belongs to me, and it will pass to my heir! You will never know what it feels like to rule this territory!"

Adam’s eyes instantly flashed a violent, predatory amber. A low, tectonic growl rumbled in his chest, his fists clenching so hard the wood of his armrest groaned under the pressure. The sharp, metallic scent of his pure alpha rage flooded Rhea’s senses.

Without hesitation, Rhea slid her hand over his forearm. Her warm skin brushed against his rigid muscles, sending a grounding spark of electricity through him. Adam froze, his blazing eyes snapping down to look at her.

Across the table, Kaleb’s jaw tightened into stone, his gaze ripping down to her hand resting on his uncle’s arm. The sight of her touch, the silent, intimate understanding between them, stung him deeper than any insult. "Look at them—"

"You are deflecting, Kaleb," Adam interrupted, his voice dropping into a dangerously calm register as her touch anchored him. He didn’t break eye contact with his nephew. "Why don’t you tell the Elders how Rhea is sitting right here? Wait. No."

Every brow around the black table furrowed in deep confusion.

Adam turned his head slowly, his hard features softening just a fraction as his amber eyes locked onto Rhea. The heavy, possessive warmth of his gaze swept over her. "Or perhaps you want to do the honors, Rhea? Maybe they would all love to hear the truth straight from the horse’s mouth."

Rhea let her silver gaze drift lazily around the room, leaning back in her chair. Her silver eyes settled on Kaleb, then Kat, and then the Elders. A slow smile touched her lips.

"Where should I begin? The poisoning? Or the execution?" she asked.