The Council headquarters sat on neutral ground between territories—a massive stone building that looked like it belonged in ancient times. Seven towers rose into the sky, one for each Elder. The whole place hummed with power.
Nora stood outside with Kael, staring up at it.
"Intimidating, isn't it?" Kael said.
"That's one word for it," Nora muttered.
She was dressed formally—a sleek black dress that Emma had secretly sent her, silver jewelry, her dark hair pulled back in an elegant braid. She looked the part of a Luna. But inside, she was terrified.
"Remember," Kael said quietly, "you don't have to prove anything to them. You only have to tell the truth."
"The truth is I'm scared," Nora admitted.
"The truth is you're brave," Kael corrected. "Fear doesn't make you weak, Nora. It makes you human. Well, wolf. You know what I mean."
Despite everything, Nora smiled.
Before she could respond, she caught a familiar scent on the wind. Cedar and pine. Damien.
She turned.
He was walking toward them with his Beta, Marcus, beside him. Sienna was nowhere to be seen. Good. Nora didn't think she could handle seeing her today.
Damien stopped a respectful distance away. He looked terrible—dark circles under his eyes, clothes wrinkled, hair messy. Nothing like the proud Alpha who'd rejected her three weeks ago.
"Nora," he said. His voice cracked on her name.
"Damien," she replied coolly.
His eyes raked over her, taking in her appearance. "You look... different."
"I am different."
"You look good," he continued, like he hadn't heard her. "Really good. Beautiful. I've missed—"
"Don't," Nora cut him off. "Don't do this here."
"I just want to talk," Damien said. "Before we go in there. Please, Nora. Five minutes."
Kael growled low. "She doesn't owe you anything."
"I wasn't talking to you, Blackwood," Damien snapped.
"And yet here I am," Kael said pleasantly. "Funny how that works."
Nora put a hand on Kael's arm. "It's okay. I'll talk to him."
"Nora—"
"Five minutes," she said firmly.
Kael didn't look happy, but he nodded and stepped back. Marcus did the same, leaving Nora and Damien alone near the fountain in the courtyard.
Damien immediately reached for her hand. Nora pulled back.
"Don't touch me," she said.
Pain flashed across his face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Nora. For everything."
"Your sorry doesn't fix what you did."
"I know," Damien said desperately. "I know it doesn't. But I need you to understand—I was confused. Sienna came back and all these old feelings came up and I didn't know what to do—"
"So you rejected me in front of everyone?" Nora's voice was ice. "You humiliated me? You broke the most sacred bond two wolves can share? That was your solution to being confused?"
"I made a mistake!"
"You made a choice," Nora corrected. "And now you have to live with it."
"But I don't want her," Damien said. "I never really did. It was always you, Nora. You're my true mate. The Moon Goddess chose us—"
"The Moon Goddess also gave you free will," Nora interrupted. "And you chose to reject me. Well, guess what, Damien? I chose to accept that rejection. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
Damien looked like she'd slapped him.
"You don't mean that," he said weakly.
"I absolutely mean it," Nora said. "These past three weeks have been the best of my life. I'm stronger, happier, more myself than I ever was with you. You did me a favor by rejecting me."
"You're just saying that to hurt me—"
"I'm saying it because it's true!" Nora's voice rose. "You kept me small, Damien. Weak. Submissive. You liked me that way. Well, I'm not that girl anymore."
"Because of him?" Damien gestured toward Kael. "Because of Blackwood? Did he manipulate you? Force you to stay with him?"
Nora laughed. "Is that really what you think? That I'm so weak and helpless that I need a man to control my decisions?"
"That's not what I—"
"That's exactly what you think," Nora said. "You think I couldn't possibly choose to leave you on my own. Well, you're wrong. I left because I finally realized I deserve better than someone who would throw me away the second something shinier came along."
Damien's face hardened. "So that's it? You're choosing him? Kael Blackwood?"
"I'm choosing me," Nora said firmly. "For the first time in my life, I'm choosing myself. Not you. Not Kael. Me."
"The Council won't see it that way," Damien said, his voice turning cold. "They'll see an Omega who ran away from her pack and Alpha during an emotional breakdown. They'll order you back."
"Then I'll fight that order."
"You can't fight the Council, Nora. They're the law."
"Watch me," Nora said.
A bell chimed inside the building. Time for the hearing.
"This isn't over," Damien said.
"Yes," Nora said softly. "It is."
She walked back to Kael, leaving Damien standing alone by the fountain.
"How did it go?" Kael asked.
"About as well as could be expected," Nora said. "He thinks the Council will force me back."
"They won't," Kael said with certainty.
"How do you know?"
Kael smiled. "Because I've been around a lot longer than Damien Cross. I know how the Council thinks. And they respect strength above all else. You, Nora Rivers, are strength incarnate now."
Nora wanted to believe him.
They walked into the Council building together. The inside was even more impressive than the outside—soaring ceilings, marble floors, ancient tapestries depicting wolf history.
Seven Elders sat in high-backed chairs at the front of the room. They were old, their hair silver or white, their eyes sharp and knowing. The weight of their combined power pressed against Nora like a physical force.
In the center of the room were two circles drawn on the floor. One for her. One for Damien.
"Nora Rivers," the center Elder said. Her voice echoed through the chamber. "Alpha Damien Cross. You have been summoned to address the matter of your contested mate bond rejection. Step into the circles."
Nora walked forward, head high. She felt hundreds of eyes on her—spectators from various packs who'd come to watch. She refused to look at them.
Damien entered his circle across from her.
"Let us begin," the Elder said.