LOGINELENA'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
The King's jaw tightened. "I will not hand the Crown of this Kingdom to a woman based on a prophecy and a viral video." "Then we'll take it based on those things and the army standing outside your gates," Ryan said, still perfectly even, still without heat. "Your choice is not whether this happens
"They came out," Ryan said quietly, watching the road ahead. "At this hour. They came out." I didn't answer because I didn't have words for it yet. I just watched the faces moving past the window and let the weight of it land where it needed to land. --- The Palace gates were already breached
ELENA’S POV,Lauren's sharp words echoed in my ears long after she left.I sat there in the lobby, waiting for Ryan while my brain kept thinking over her words, even when I didn't want to. I was exhausted and hungry, my body felt unnecessarily heavy, and I wanted to close my eyes and fall asleep for
LAUREN’S POV,Elena’s smile faltered, and in that small flicker of confusion, I saw my opening. People reveal more in silence than they ever do with words in their lives, and I have always been quick to catch it. It was one of the things my mother taught me as a girl.Elena didn't understand me, or
Lauren wasn’t born noble or selfless. She was a mother clawing her way through fate, doing anything she could to survive. She was only making sure her daughter was taken care of, like I wanted to do all the time when Molly was alive. Yet, between the two of us, she was the one who kept her daughter
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this excited for her birthday,” he murmured, and there was that pride in his voice that couldn't be stripped from him.“Usually, she doesn’t even want to do much—no decorations, no big deal. But today…”His voice trailed away, and there was a heaviness that couldn't







