Violet

My mind struggled to catch up with what was happening.

This was the daughter of the woman I had killed.

And she was defending me?

I had braced myself for hostility from her. For cold silence at best. For a political performance that protected Nal’s interests while leaving me exposed.

Not this.

Also, what exactly did she mean by her appearance not being a mistake?

The hall had gone absolutely still, every wolf frozen in their seat as Fana continued to speak.

"With everything she has mentioned so far. They’re things my mother was capable of. For example, my mother has imprisoned me inside my own mind from time to time. She spoke with my mouth, looked through my eyes, and walked in my skin while I screamed in a cage no one could see."

The way she had said all that with a straight face greatly unsettled me.

"My mother was not what any of you believed her to be," Fana continued, her voice hardening. "She was ancient. She was cruel beyond what any of you have witnessed. And I believe she was more than capable of the things Violet Rector has described."

She turned to look at me, and her gaze was steady.

"I cannot confirm what my mother did to Lycans in centuries past. I was not alive for it, and she did not share those details with me. But I know what she was. I know the depth of her cruelty. And it is easier for me to see that Violet acted in self-defence against a wolf who would have killed her without hesitation or remorse."

Her voice dropped lower.

"Nal does not contest the death of Supreme Alpha Palisa. She hunted her down with quite a number of wolves, not the other way around. It seems odd that we are not addressing that."

Fana dipped her head in a small nod and the hall went deathly silent.

No one moved. No one argued. No one so much as shifted in their seats.

Calder sat motionless, his weathered hands folded before him. The other Supreme Alphas were shocked. Even the ones who had been hostile at the start looked like the ground beneath them had crumbled.

I swallowed hard, steadying myself.

Fana had confirmed what she could. But the centuries of persecution... the memories Palisa had forced into my mind, she couldn’t verify those.

I would not let this moment pass.

I had proof he couldn’t just wave away. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Even with what she has shared," I spoke up, my voice cutting through the stillness, "I understand you may still doubt what I had seen, but I have proof. My wolf can provide it."

Calder’s eyes sharpened on me.

The tension in the room spiked immediately. Several Supreme Alphas stiffened in their seats. Fana’s eyes widened with surprise from her table.

"I would like permission to summon my wolf before this council," I added.

Calder frowned. "Summon? You want to bring a wolf into this hall. A Lycan wolf that none of us have ever encountered."

"Yes."

"And why should we allow that?"

"Because she can communicate directly with your wolves. I am aware every Supreme Alpha carries their wolf consciousness within them. Mine exists as a separate entity. She can open a direct link with each of your wolves and communicate with them. With you both. And through that link, you will be able to discern for yourselves whether she is telling the truth."

Wolves were capable of lies yes. But that was only while in their shifted forms with their Supreme Alphas.

The wolf spirit itself cannot lie.

"If you think I could lie, or what I am saying is untrue, your own wolves would just get a direct answer from mine."

Calder studied me, suspicion carved deep into every line of his face.

One of the other Supreme Alphas leaned forward. "And what exactly would—"

He stopped mid-sentence. His expression shifted, his eyes going slightly unfocused for a moment before snapping back.

His wolf had just spoken to him.

I had seen it happen enough times with Kael and Rowan to recognize the signs.

"There is an even better option. Tell them I can show them."

I faltered as Zephyr’s voice echoed in my mind. "Show them?"

"I can share my memories directly with their wolves. Everything I witnessed. Everything I lived through. They will experience it as I did. It is faster than words, and they will not be able to deny what their own wolves have seen and felt. They, in turn, will witness what their wolves have witnessed."

My pulse quickened. "You can do that?"

"It is a trait of our kind, Violet. One of many you have yet to discover." Her tone was gentle but firm. "Let them see the suffering for themselves. Let them feel what was done to us. No argument you make with words will carry the weight of lived experience poured directly into their consciousness."

I was stunned.

"She can show you," I said quietly.

Calder’s brow furrowed. "Show us what?"

"My wolf has told me she can share her memories directly with yours. What she witnessed and experienced all those years."

The hall was so quiet I could hear my own pulse.

Calder frowned. "You are not making any sense. That isn’t possible—"

"My wolf is older than I am. It lived during that period. I do not fully understand how, but your wolves will confirm it. Your wolves would see what she saw, feel what she felt, and they would know, with absolute certainty, that everything I have said is real."

Calder sat back slowly.

"You are asking us to open a mental link with an unknown wolf of unprecedented power," he said. "You understand that warrants caution."

"I do. Which is why I am asking for permission rather than just summoning my wolf without warning. She will not force the connection. She will not invade. She will simply offer, and your wolves can accept or refuse."

"I assure you," I added firmly, "We mean no harm."

The Supreme Alphas exchanged glances. I could see the internal debates playing out across their faces.

One by one, they reluctantly agreed.

Calder was the last.

He stared at me for a long, weighted moment.

"Very well," he said. "Summon your wolf."

I closed my eyes and reached inward.

Zephyr stirred. She had been resting, conserving her strength, but at my call she rose with a warmth that flooded through my chest and steadied every trembling nerve.

The air in the hall shifted and Zephyr materialised beside me.

Murmurs of shock ripples through the delegations, with a number of them scrambling to their feet in shock.