POV: Jake

They did not come to judge, they came to claim.

I knew it the moment they walked into the hall.

Not the council chamber, not the old stone circle where arguments were supposed to be contained by tradition and rules.

This was the lower hall, the one used when people wanted witnesses, pressure or when they wanted the pack to feel like it was already too late to refuse.

I stood at the center line, boots planted, arms loose at my sides, calm on the outside, counting breaths on the ...