Chapter 152 Riley's POV

Chapter 152 Riley's POV
Three days after the battle, Silverwood begins to heal.
The dead are honored. Pyres burn through the night, sending warriors to their final rest with the traditional wolf ceremonies. 
Twenty-three guards. Seven allied wolves. Four students who refused to evacuate and fought anyway.
We remember them all.
The wounded fill the medical wing. Professor Liora works tirelessly, her healing magic stretched thin but holding. Broken bones mend. Claw marks close. 
Silver poisoning is slowly purged from systems, and in a heavily warded cell in the deepest part of Silverwood's dungeons, the traitors await judgment.
I'm standing outside the Council chamber when Damien finds me, his hand immediately seeking mine.
"Ready?" he asks quietly.
"No," I admit. "But let's do it anyway."
Today, the Council passes judgment on Seraphine Duskbane, Elder Selwyn Voss, and Selene Draven. 
Mara Veyra will be judged separately, her mind magic corruption requires specialist assessment.
The chamber is packed. Every Elder. Alpha Marcus and Selena. Professor Liora and other senior faculty. The heirs, and witnesses from the battle, ready to testify.
The first prisoner brought forward is Seraphine.
She looks diminished in chains. Her platinum blonde hair is lank, her icy-blue eyes dulled by magic-suppressant restraints, but her contempt remains intact.
"Seraphine Duskbane," Elder Magnus intones. "You stand accused of treason, conspiracy with enemies, kidnapping students, and attempting to murder pack members. How do you answer?"
"Guilty," Seraphine says without hesitation. "Of every charge, and I'd do it again, because you're all too blind to see what you're becoming. Too weak to do what's necessary."
Her eyes find mine, and I see pure hatred there.
"That girl," she spits, "is the embodiment of everything wrong with modern wolf packs. No breeding. No tradition. No understanding of what it means to be pure, and you're going to make her Luna. You're going to let her pollute bloodlines that have remained untainted for centuries."
"Those bloodlines," I say, surprising myself by speaking, "produced you. A traitor who sold out her own pack. So much for purity breeding loyalty."
Seraphine's face twists with rage, but the magic-suppressant chains prevent her from doing more than snarl.
Elder Magnus looks at the assembled Council. "The evidence is clear. The confession is given. Does anyone dispute the charges?"
Silence.
"Then by unanimous Council decision, Seraphine Duskbane, you are hereby stripped of your position, your pack membership, and your freedom. 
You will be transferred to the Shadow Ridge Penitentiary for supernatural criminals, where you will remain for the rest of your natural life."
"You'll regret this," Seraphine hisses as guards drag her away. "The Purists will return. The old ways will…"
The doors close on her threats.
Next comes Selene Draven.
The Silver Huntress is defiant even in defeat. Her silvery-white hair is pulled back, her icy-blue eyes cold and calculating.
"I am not pack," she says before anyone can speak. "I owe you no loyalty. My loyalty is to Axel Vandal, whom you eliminated. I owe you no explanations. I failed. That's the end of it."
"You attempted to murder non-combatants," Alpha Marcus says, his voice cold. "Students. Humans. People who couldn't defend themselves."
"Collateral damage," Selene says with a shrug. "War isn't clean."
"This wasn't war," I say, and I feel Luna authority rising in my voice. "War has rules. Honor. You had neither. You were just a killer who targeted children."
Something flickers in Selene's expression. Not quite guilt, but close.
"The Council has debated your fate," Elder Magnus says. "As you are not pack, we cannot judge you by pack law. 
However, you committed crimes on pack territory against pack members. Therefore, you will be turned over to the Alphas Council for judgment."
I see genuine fear flash across Selene's face. The Alphas Council is notoriously harsh with people who break the code.
"You can't…" she starts.
"We can," Alpha Marcus says. "And we will. Perhaps your own people will show you the mercy we're disinclined to offer."
Selene is dragged away, her defiance crumbling into dread.
And finally, Elder Selwyn Voss.
Cassian sits rigid beside me, his face a mask. But through pack bonds, I feel his turmoil. His grief. His anger.
His grandfather is brought in, and I'm struck by how diminished he looks. The hawk-like features are drawn. 
The calculating blue eyes are tired. Forty years of service to Silverwood, ending in betrayal and judgment.
"Selwyn Voss," Elder Magnus says, and I hear sorrow in his voice. "We served together for decades. I trusted you. We all did, and you betrayed that trust in the worst possible way."
"I did what I believed was right," Selwyn says, his voice steady. "I tried to save Silverwood from itself. From the path of corruption and dilution that will weaken us to nothing."
"You tried to murder students," Elder Helena says sharply. "You conspired with rogues and hunters. You fed our enemies information that got pack members killed."
"To prevent greater death," Selwyn insists. "If Silverwood continues down this path, accepting outsiders, embracing corruption, abandoning tradition, we'll destroy ourselves from within. I was trying to prevent that."
"By doing exactly what you claim to oppose," I say, unable to stay silent. 
"You betrayed your pack. Worked with enemies. Got people killed. All while claiming you were trying to save them. Don't you see the hypocrisy?"
Selwyn's eyes find mine, and I see he genuinely doesn't.
"You don't understand," he says. "You're young. Idealistic. You think love and acceptance can overcome everything. 
But packs survive through strength. Through purity of purpose and bloodline. Through…"
"Through loyalty," Cassian interrupts, standing. "Through trust. Through standing together even when it's hard. All things you abandoned the moment you decided tradition mattered more than people."
Selwyn looks at his grandson, and for the first time, I see emotion crack through his facade.
"Cassian. I raised you. Taught you everything you know. Surely you understand…"
"I understand that you betrayed everything you taught me," Cassian says, his voice breaking. 
"You taught me strategy, yes, but you also taught me loyalty. Honor. Putting pack above self, and then you violated all of it."
He takes a breath, steadying himself.
"You were my grandfather. My teacher. My guide after my parents died, and I loved you. But I love Silverwood more. 
I love what we can become more than what we were, and that means I have to stand against you."
Through pack bonds, I feel Cassian's heart breaking even as he does the right thing.
Selwyn's expression hardens. "Then you're weak. Just as I feared."
"No," Alpha Marcus says, stepping forward. "He's strong. Stronger than you ever were, because real strength is choosing principle over comfort. Justice over family. The future over the past."
He looks at the Council.
"Selwyn Voss, you are hereby stripped of your Elder position, your Council seat, and your pack membership. 
Your assets are forfeit. Your bloodline is marked with shame, and you will spend the remainder of your life in Shadow Ridge Penitentiary, where perhaps you'll have time to reflect on how your pursuit of purity led to nothing but corruption."
Selwyn laughs bitterly. "You think this is over? You think imprisoning me ends the Purist movement? 
There are others. Dozens. Hundreds. Wolves who see what I see. Who know the truth. This isn't over."
"Perhaps not," Elder Magnus says quietly. "But today, we've taken a stand. We've said clearly that Silverwood chooses progress over regression. 
Unity over purity, and love over hate. Whatever Purists remain can take their ideology and leave. They're not welcome here."
As guards lead Selwyn away, he looks back one last time at Cassian.
"I'm sorry I failed you, grandson. Sorry I couldn't make you see."
"No," Cassian says quietly. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you from yourself."
The doors close.