IVAN'S POV
The council trial hearing came faster than I'd have liked.
It wasn't held in the regular venue; given the exhausting demands of honoring this invitation, the venue was the sacred council hall of the castle—reserved for matters of the highest caliber.
And apparently, the supposed mental decline of the Alpha was considered one.
The chamber smelled of old incense and dust. Banners of past Alphas hung down the walls—my father's, in particular, stared at me in judgment, as though even being summoned here was the gravest crime.
The pack elders sat in a circle: Elder Halden at the center, Elder Mara to his right, Elder Ilyas on his left.
Barty was tersely seated between them, clearly uncomfortable with the fact that this meeting might go badly if things weren't handled with utmost care.
Francis stood at my shoulder, walking in just as confidently as I did, his face set in a stern mask like mine.
And then there was Elder Vance Montrose.
