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 transformed around me 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 formerly quiet and peaceful environment 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 met with me daily, refining arguments 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 immensely heavy job during the months I had left his territory that would make things far easier for me. I knew what he had done, but the gravity of it was more immense 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 moment.

The issue with Palisa had both complicated and made things easier for me regardless.

Two nights before the fateful day had everyone gathered in my room one final time.

Voya sat at the small table, her eyes sharp as she reviewed the final arrangements. 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 me.

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 me. "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 imprisonment 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 scheme and falsely accuse me, but her punishment for that had been the imprisonment.

"All in all, coupled with all this, her self-defence argument 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 Supreme Alphas won’t challenge Palisa’s situation. The real resistance would come when Violet raises the broader issue."

Everyone in the room understood what he meant. 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 me humiliating everyone.

Voya frowned as if remembering 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 mental distress at that moment 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 Supreme 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 punishment was rather mild for what she did?" Rowan spoke up. "It would be a good point to use against them if it comes down to it."

Voya opened her mouth to speak, but Rowan raised his hand, pausing her. "I agree with you both, but at the same time, I also feel they would not want to address it. With the wolves present, it might not be wise to have them remember that humiliating moment, and as you said, anyone at that moment 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 crimes on Palisa’s part. The other possibility is that a number of them will be immensely 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 me to a detail we haven’t addressed openly. Violet is mated to two Supreme Alphas."

The elders went still. Voya’s brow rose sharply. Kael’s shoulders tensed.

I stiffened.

We all knew it, but why mention 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 unclaimed asset."

My pulse quickened.