••{GARRICK'S POV}••
Silence stretches in the cold throne room, so much that I can hear my own pulse in my ears.
I force myself to move.
I step forward, then lower myself to one knee before the raised dais. The stone is cold even through the layers of my armor. I bow my head with a fist pressed to my chest.
"Alpha Ezryn of Snowfall," I say, my voice echoing throughout the chamber. "I thank you for granting me an audience."
I lift my gaze just enough to acknowledge the figures seated along the stone benches lining the chamber.
"And I greet the council of Snowfall," I add.
Ezryn does not respond. He only watches me, those endless blue eyes weighing every breath I take.
"Speak," he says at last.
I swallow and rise back to my feet. My legs feel unsteady like they might give out at any moment, but I plant them anyway.
