Lynn's POV

The Elders took two hours.

Two hours in a closed chamber while the rest of us sat in that hall and waited. Pack members talked in low voices. Shirley's lawyer made a phone call and spent most of it listening rather than speaking. Shirley herself sat rigid and silent in her chair, not looking at anyone.

I sat beside Grayson and didn't say anything either. The mate bond was steady and warm in my chest, the only thing in the room that felt uncomplicated.

When ...