FIRST QUARTER

Chapter Fifty-Two: Morning Meetings; The Council.

Daily meetings are held in the Throne Room as soon as the sun rises. When the clock strikes 8 in the morning, the tall, heavy doors of the Throne Room close, putting the meeting inside in a bubble of privacy.

Inside were the few trusted guards standing next to a wall, and the Council who gathered in the center of the room, keeping their thoughts to themselves. Their appearances were mid-30s, but their eyes, seasoned with time, say otherwise. These people definitely had not only lived for that meager 30 years. They’re old, some are even older than the reigning Alpha.

The...