They did not give them time to breathe.
That was the elders' real talent, not cruelty itself, but timing. They waited until a victory began to settle into bone, until the room's silence bent in Cassian's direction and relief threatened to loosen the pack's guard, then struck where the wound was still open.
The dominance trial had ended with witnesses, records, and Adrian's admission hanging in the chamber, but silence was never surrender in Grimridge.
Cassian led Sable away from the council wing without slowing, his hand locked around hers with firm certainty.
The corridor outside the chamber felt narrower than it had before, though the stone had not moved.
Wolves gathered in small clusters, whispering too low to be overheard, then fell silent as Cassian passed. Heads dipped and knees bent, not all of them, but enough to tell the story.
The claim had rearranged the pack's instincts, and instinct was the only law Grimridge obeyed without argument.
