CHAPTER 25

The voice that echoed through the silence was deep, commanding, and filled with authority. “Stop.” Every head in the courtyard turned toward the figure stepping through the crowd. It was Barry—Leah’s father. He walked forward slowly with an air of power. His cloak fluttered behind him. As he spoke again, his voice was loud for everyone to hear.  “You ask us to follow a leader who chooses chaos over stability?” he said coldly, leveling his gaze at Zayne. “Our allies watch, Zayne. And they grow nervous.” The threat in his words was subtle but clear. He didn’t need to say more. The implication was loud enough: if Zayne did not fall back in line, the Rivers Pack might soon stand alone. They would be stripped of support from powerful councils and territories. Behind him, Leah stepped forward. She didn’t say a word. She just looked up at Zayne with a cold kind of defiance—as if daring him to say something. She wore the role of betrayed would-be Luna to perfection. The courtyard was st