"Are you ready?" Lucien asked in a low voice beside her.
Emerald glanced at him briefly as they walked side by side down the estate's main steps, the morning sun barely warming the early chill in the air. Her hood was drawn low, shadows cast over her tired features. "Does it matter?"
Behind them, Talia stood tall, even though she was flanked by two guards and had wolfsbane chains around her wrists.
Her face was bruised, and her lip was split, but she held her head high. She looked defiant and proud, but there was something almost delusional about her strength.
Trailing her were a dozen others: elders, guards, former allies… all guilty, all silent.
They made their way toward the town square, where a crowd was already gathered.
Hundreds of pack members, families, warriors, merchants, and even children sat perched on shoulders, stood waiting in tense silence. Some looked afraid, others angry. All waited to hear what was going to happen.
