Mag-log inELENA'S POV, The room they had given me to wait in was small by palace standards, which still made it larger than most rooms I had lived in during the years between then and now. Someone had placed flowers on the narrow table by the window, white ones, and I didn't know whether that was intentiona
RYAN'S POV, “Ollie needs stability,” he said, leaning back on his chair. “She's been patient, she's always been too patient for a child her age, and I've been asking her to share me with an entire nation for years.” He paused, turning the pen in his hand slowly, like he was still working out how to
ELENA'S POV, “Support the Queen,” he said, and the way both of them were talking through their eyes, it made me shake my head in embarrassment. “I have control over both of the packs. I will be their new Alpha, and after that, I will ensure that the packs publicly come forward in your support, wit
ELENA'S POV, Three weeks had passed, and I was still learning the weight of the crown. Not the physical one, that stays in a glass case in the east wing and comes out only for the formal occasions, like coronations or state dinners. The other kind, the kind that lived in every decision made befor
ELENA'S POV, “He's right, I declined the throne,” Andrew said without trying to play nice with his father. “It was never what I wanted and you know that. It was what you wanted for me, and you destroyed my life for that.” Something moved across the King's face that was both complicated and painful, but not in the parental way. It was something more that neither of them wanted to word out. I felt the guilt and shame taking over his heart, replacing the anger that was residing there before. It was not something I was going to look away from, because it was real, and real things deserved to be witnessed even when they were uncomfortable. “Andrew—” “The people have seen the broadcast,” Andrew said, holding back the tears from spilling. “Everything that had happened—the meeting, the attack, Georgina, the noble families, the framing. And they've seen Elena become what she is.” He paused for a second. “It's over, father. Not because we say so. Because people want the same. You have to sto
RYAN'S POV, “They came out on the street for you,” Ryan said to me, watching the road ahead. “At this hour. They came out to show their support. Knowing well that the noble families still control the Kingdom, and they might get punished for it.” I didn't answer him, because I didn't have words to explain what I was feeling. My emotions were heightened and I was able to feel that tiny bit of hope in their heart, buried beneath layers of anger, frustration and hunger. I just watched the faces moving past the window and let the weight of it land where it needed to land. I was feeling everything they were feeling, and I knew the noble families needed to be stopped. By the time we crossed the outer gates of the palace, they were already breached. The first unit had moved cleanly through the palace, without facing any major problems. From what Hunter mentioned over the radio, the outer guards offered less resistance than they had been planning for. Half of them had watched the broadcas
GEORGINA'S POV,“We will win together, Julian. This is not our end.”He didn't look convinced, and I could already see his major concern written all over his face. The way his brain worked couldn't have been more different from mine. Anyone in his place should have been thinking about taking advanta
RYAN'S POV,I wanted nothing to do with the crowd around me anymore.I was too tired to fight again, but I knew things wouldn't go down easily with the members of the council or the elders from my pack. I threatened war on a foreign country without consulting them on the matter first. They kept quie
ANDREW'S POV,“We can, but it won't be easy,” Ryan said, his voice calm in a way that mine hadn't been ever since the signing of the treaty. “But we will have to be smarter with our strategy.”I looked at him for a long moment, searching his face for a glimmer of doubt or hesitation. For any crack t
ELENA'S POV,“Talking about the prophecy... to make Ryan believe that you're with me, I might have told him that you agreed to give me the throne.”Andrew's expression tightened a little when he heard me, but I didn't see anger or suspicion in his eyes. “Okay... but I haven't agreed to that. Why wou







