CURSED LYCAN
The council chamber was packed. Emergency session. Every major territory representative present. The air crackled with tension and barely contained rage.
Kael stood at the front with Emma, Daniel, and Kira. Witnesses. Accusers. The team that had brought down Victor Steele.
Victor himself sat in restraints at the defendant's table. His expensive suit was wrinkled. His face haggard. Two days in council custody had stripped away his polish. Now he just looked old. Desperate.
"This tribunal will come to order," Elder Mira announced. She was ancient. One of the original council members who'd helped broker peace between humans and lycans decades ago. "Victor Steele, you stand accused of grave desecration, illegal experimentation, conspiracy, and crimes against the dead. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty," Victor said. His voice was steady. Defiant. "I did what was necessary. What the council was too cowardly to do."
