The council chamber breathed with centuries of authority—a place where decisions have consequences. Ancient stone walls rose around them, their surfaces redefined into modern designs. The portraits of previous Alphas watched from a recessed section of the room, set back from the main wall, their expressions frozen in varying degrees of severity and authority.
Tiberius. Logan. Mallow. Verys. Jade. The line of Vaeroth stretching back through memory and myth, each set of stone eyes cataloging the living men who now sat in their shadow.
Vael had spent his entire life beneath those portraits.
First, as a boy, small and desperate, trying to earn their approval through good grades and proper posture. Then, as a young man, hungry for their validation through victories on training grounds and sharp words in debate chambers. Now, as the Alpha, the man expected to live up to them.
