THE LAST SOVEREIGN
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The day for the summons finally arrived.
The Council chamber had been carved into the spine of the mountain generations ago. Older than most of the packs that now answered to it.
The ceiling opened to the sky — a deliberate architectural choice. Moonlight or sunlight, depending on the hour, poured directly into the center of the circular floor.
When Kael and Elara entered, the room was already half full.
Alphas stood in their designated arcs along the perimeter, each positioned according to territory rank and alliance history. No one sat.
They did not bow when Kael entered.
But they shifted.
Subtly.
A half step back. A shoulder adjusting. Eyes flickering toward him and then away.
Elara felt it ripple through them before Kael even reached the center of the ch
