Chapter 49

Scarlett's POV I'm in the archives with one of the pack scribes, a wiry man named Harlen whose spectacles keep sliding down his nose. The air is thick with the scent of parchment and dust, the shelves lined with decades of council records. We worked in silence for a while, pulling cases that set precedent for bond dissolution and the limits of Alpha authority to better prepare for my proposal—the bill. "Here," Harlen said, passing me a leather-bound ledger. "Council rulings from thirty years ago. I thought these might be useful to you." I thanked him and started opening and scanning the entries. Halfway down the page, I found a record detailing a vote on forced bond dissolutions. My eyes tracked the names, and one stopped me cold—Alpha Theron Black, Alexander's father, listed among those who voted against it. A small, ironic smile tugged at my mouth. "So it runs in the family," I murmured. Before I could linger, the door suddenly creaked open. I looked up and saw Kathleen, her cheeks f