Chapter 10 The Sacred Law

• The regional council was convened in the neutral administrative facility located in Sector Nine—a structure that had served as a municipal court prior to the Treaty of 1994. The architecture was utilitarian, configured to facilitate legal proceedings and formal arbitrations between the pack leadership.
• Elena stood two paces behind her father’s chair, her posture conforming to the protocol required of an heir during a formal assembly. Across the central mahogany table, Tahlia occupied an identical position behind Alpha Blackwood.
• The center of the room was occupied by Arbiter Gray, a representative of the Unaligned Council who had been appointed to monitor the enforcement of the treaty. He was an elderly individual whose authority was derived from his extensive knowledge of regional legal precedents and pack constitutional law.