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Their minds were made up, and I had no real power to go against them. It occurred to me, too, that this was how Night had been forced to kowtow to his council’s demands. I thought I’d understood what he meant about making hard decisions, but now that I was sitting in the hot seat, I understood the tough position he was in a hell of a lot better. This really, really sucked.

But I still had my voice. “I want to make it clear that I think your reasons for voting me out early lack any validity considering the already short length of my term and the climate I was brought into. But you all have made a decision and voted unanimously on it. I have no choice but to accept what you have decided.”

Colby cleared his throat again. “Your words have been…um, noted, Alpha Hunter.”

“Good.”

Grant, recovered from his earlier incredulity, resumed control of the meeting. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that we have worked through the details of the challenge ceremony. On the day of the challenge, we wil