The council hall buzzed with restless murmurs as voices overlapped one another, and echoed off the stone walls. Torches burned steadily along the sides, their flames casting tall, wavering shadows that seemed to watch everything in silence.

The air was thick with authority, old power, and judgment, an atmosphere that never failed to make Desiree’s chest tighten. Cases were brought forward one after the other.

A dispute between two neighboring packs over a strip of hunting land. Raised ...