Third Person POV
The hearth at the center of the chamber crackled quietly, casting shadows across the long table where twelve council members sat. The silence was taut, strung between generations of power and the weight of a single sealed scroll:
Formal Petition by Alpha Dane Brawn of the Ember Forest Pack.
Charges: Kidnapping of Daphne Brawn. Mental coercion. Unlawful interference with an arranged mating.
Councilman Halric, always the first to speak, leaned forward and said gravely, “We are not here to decide sentiment. We are here to decide whether Alpha Brawn’s claims warrant investigation under council law. His daughter was promised to Alpha Carl before her first shift. That bond was approved—formally.”
“She’s fated to someone else,” Elira said, her voice steady and sharp. “To Gav
