Lena's POV
The treaty invocation arrived during the formal council session, and Cassian delivered it herself, standing at the head of the long table with the composed precision that had always been her particular weapon.
"There is an alliance treaty between Stormridge and the Veranox territories," she said, "executed three generations ago, that grants formal consideration rights to a Veranox candidate in any Stormridge Luna selection, provided the candidate is presented within the appropriate window and the Alpha's choice has not yet been formally consecrated through marking or binding ceremony."
The room went very still.
I looked at Damien. His expression had gone carefully neutral, which I had learned by now meant he was thinking faster than he was speaking.
"That treaty has not bee
