The storm did not wait.

It broke the moment the High Speaker raised his hand to call for order, and Rhovan’s voice cut through the chamber like steel through silk.

“I move,” he said, rising fully now, the weight of his presence demanding the entire circle’s gaze, “that Lord Draven Kaelith be placed under immediate suspension of his Alpha rights until this council concludes a full inquiry into the shadow that haunts his bond.”

The words were lightning.

They cracked through the ...