Violet
The established protocol for removing a Supreme Alpha was a formal duel, either appointed by the Supreme Alpha alone or sanctioned by the council, with the victor either replacing the fallen ruler or appointing a successor.
What I had done bore no resemblance to that process. I had killed Palisa in the wilderness, without any council witnesses, or any formal challenge being issued.
Hence, I had committed a crime.
I had listened to this assessment with a stillness that seemed to unsettle some of the elders. When they finished, I had simply told them it was self-defence, and I said it with the same flat certainty I had given Voya on the first day.
It made no sense. She had been the one who had hunted me down, and tried to kill me.
But they had exchanged glances and Voya had eventually revealed that it did not necessarily mean I was in trouble.
There were legal loopholes and pathways that could support me, and several was already common knowledge.
