Lucien pov

The council hall smelled like dust and old wood when I walked in that morning. Chairs were scattered everywhere, papers thrown across the long table from the damage of the past weeks. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the space that once held nothing but arguments and distrust. Today, I wanted it to hold something else.

Ivy walked in behind me. “Do you think they’ll listen this time?”

“They will,” I said. “Or they can leave the pack.”

She smiled a little. ...