Violet
The delegations arrived over the following days.
I could feel them entering the castle. My senses had nearly returned to their full capacity. I wasn’t fully strong yet, but I could pick out how each delegation carried its own distinct energy.
I recognised a lot of them from the previous summit in Fresna, and it was unsettling in a way I hadn’t anticipated.
The castle had also transford around as preparations intensified. Rooms were opened and furnished for the arriving delegations. Additional security moved into position throughout the grounds and the capital. The kitchens worked around the clock, and the corridors buzzed with the quiet urgency of wolves who understood the significance of what was about to take place.
The forrly quiet and peaceful environnt was now busy.
I had been advised to remain in my room throughout this period. And I threw myself fully into preparation.
Rowan, Kael, Voya, and her elders t with daily, refining argunts and anticipating objections. We reviewed the legal precedents, the evidence against Palisa, the testimonies from her captured wolves. Every angle, every potential challenge, every weakness in my position was examined and reinforced.
I had discovered that Kael had done an imnsely heavy job during the months I had left his territory that would make things far easier for . I knew what he had done, but the gravity of it was more imnse than I had even expected.
Kael knew the political landscape intimately. He was more experienced than Rowan, and with his father’s past influence, he understood old alliances, grudges, and debts he had used to leverage for this mont.
The issue with Palisa had both complicated and made things easier for regardless.
Two nights before the fateful day had everyone gathered in my room one final ti.
Voya sat at the small table, her eyes sharp as she reviewed the final arrangents. Her elders flanked us, focused.
Kael stood near the window, his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze fixed on the darkness outside. Rowan sat at the edge of the bed, watching .
He offered a small smile that I returned.
I was not nervous at all. I was strangely calm.
I was ready and had absorbed all the last details I needed to.
Voya looked at . "Violet, you’ll be given the floor once the formal proceedings open. I want everything settled that day."
I nodded.
"Everything about Palisa has been compiled," she continued, her hand resting on the small stack of papers. "Her imprisonnt violation, the disrespecting of territorial borders according to testimonies from her wolves, the unlawful killing of a Fresnan wolf. All of these should help your case."
"I know." I would have liked to use her manipulation of her wolves to sche and falsely accuse , but her punishnt for that had been the imprisonnt.
"All in all, coupled with all this, her self-defence argunt is solid too," another elder added. "It is a good thing we took her wolves. Palisa had malicious intent, and her murder of Kael’s wolf is a severe breach."
Kael spoke up from the window without turning around. "The older Supre Alphas won’t challenge Palisa’s situation. The real resistance would co when Violet raises the broader issue."
Everyone in the room understood what he ant. The Lycan persecution. The systematic extermination. The history that every territory had either participated in or benefited from.
Especially what had happened at the last summit with humiliating everyone.
Voya frowned as if rembering the unpleasant feeling and I felt a bit guilty. I don’t think I had actually even apologised for that.
"I—"
She shook her head. "Don’t. No apology is necessary."
My eyes widened. "How did you know what I was about to say?"
She sighed and waved it off. "It’s visible." She then turned to Kael. "Her ntal distress at that mont can excuse the action, and I really don’t think they might dwell on that due to how obsessed they were about the discovery of an actual Lycan existing."
Kael frowned. "Yes, but as I said, the older Supre Alphas. Calder still felt slighted by what had happened when I had gone to see him a few months ago."
"Yes, emphasis on months," Voya pushed back.
"I believe Lord Kael’s point should still be considered," one of the elders mumbled.
Voya grumbled.
"If anything. Don’t you think Palisa’s punishnt was rather mild for what she did?" Rowan spoke up. "It would be a good point to use against them if it cos down to it."
Voya opened her mouth to speak, but Rowan raised his hand, pausing her. "I agree with you both, but at the sa ti, I also feel they would not want to address it. With the wolves present, it might not be wise to have them rember that humiliating mont, and as you said, anyone at that mont could clearly see how distressed Violet was. It would be best not to even bring attention to it.
"As we earlier discussed, their main goal is likely to either find an excuse to execute Violet, which wouldn’t be entirely possible due to the multiple violations and cris on Palisa’s part. The other possibility is that a number of them will be imnsely curious. Curious enough to want to study her, contain her, or find a middle ground to claim her under one of their territories."
He paused, his tone shifting to carry more weight.
"Which brings to a detail we haven’t addressed openly. Violet is mated to two Supre Alphas."
The elders went still. Voya’s brow rose sharply. Kael’s shoulders tensed.
I stiffened.
We all knew it, but why ntion it?
What was Rowan doing?
"Any ruler who considers detaining her, studying her, or making any form of claim would be committing a direct act of aggression against both Fresna and Silverwood simultaneously," Rowan continued, his voice steady. "That is not a war any sane wolf would invite. This should be stated plainly at the council. Not as a threat, but as a fact of the situation. I do not want any sort of infraction or offense directed at her. Or any outrageous attempt to treat her as an unclaid asset."
My pulse quickened.
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