The council elder watched them. And for several seconds, he said nothing.
He looked at Alpha Ryker first. Powerful. Feared. A wolf whose reputation alone could make other Alphas reconsider challenging him. Yet the elder had watched that same Alpha repeatedly soften for his mate.
Ryker had been furious enough to kill Willow with his bare hands, yet Julia had spoken and he had listened. Not because she commanded him. Not because he feared her. Because he respected her.
Then the elder looked at Julia. She stood beside Ryker rather than behind him. Ryker did not silence her. He did not make decisions over her head. When the elder had asked Julia for her opinion, Ryker had not answered for her. He had simply told her to say what she believed was fair.
And Julia, despite everything that had
