The Alpha’s Contract Mate
The first elder nodded again, his hands still clasped behind his back, his posture unchanged.
“However,” he said.
And that single word shifted everything.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
But completely.
The tone did not sharpen.
It did not harden.
It remained calm.
And that was what made it more dangerous.
“Tradition,” he continued, “exists not to oppose leadership, but to preserve it.”
Theo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Not in reaction.
But in recognition.
The elder’s gaze moved briefly across the hall before returning to Theo.
“It is not a challenge to authority,” he said, “but a structure that ensures its continuity.”