Brennan slammed his fist against the council chamber's podium hard enough to silence the murmuring elders instantly.
"This is not a request I'm making lightly," Brennan said, voice carrying across the chamber. "Something ancient enough to predate our current pack structures is actively breaking free beneath Ashbourne territory. I need access to the sealed archive, and I need it today."
Verrin studied him from her seat, expression unreadable. "The sealed archive has remained closed for reasons predating every current council member, Brennan. You're asking us to override precedent based on secondhand accounts of an ancient voice and a cracked stone."
"I'm asking you to override precedent based on evidence," Kane said, stepping forward despite his exhaustion. "We captured someone actively
