ANMELDENAdella’s POVI did not remember how I managed to walk out of the field without collapsing right there in front of everyone because the moment I turned my back on them it felt like something inside my chest had cracked open, and the sound of my own heartbeat became louder than the murmurs that followed behind me as I kept moving forward without daring to look back.My steps were uneven, though I forced them to remain steady as I walked through the palace grounds, my hands clenched at my sides while my vision blurred slightly from the tears that had begun to gather in my eyes. I tried to blink them away at first, hoping that I could hold myself together until I reached my room, but the more I tried to stop them the heavier they felt until one finally slipped down my cheek.I wiped it away quickly.Then another followed.And another.Before I realized it, I was no longer trying to hide it.The tears kept falling.I walked past several guards positioned along the corridor leading back int
Adella’s POVI was still deep in sleep when I felt something soft brush against my cheek, and for a brief second my mind reacted before my body fully caught up with what was happening because I shifted abruptly, my hand moving instinctively as though to defend myself from whatever had dared to get that close to me without warning.My eyes snapped open at the same time my hand lifted, ready to strike.Then I froze.“Mother?”She was standing beside my bed, her expression calm and warm despite the way I had reacted, and there was a small smile resting on her lips as though she found my reflex amusing rather than alarming.I let out a slow breath and lowered my hand, my body relaxing slightly as I pushed myself up into a sitting position while brushing my hair away from my face.“You almost scared me,” I said, my voice still thick with sleep as I blinked a few times to clear my vision.She chuckled softly.“You should be grateful that your instincts are improving,” she replied.I rubbed
Alder's POV I was in the middle of reviewing a document that I had already gone through more times than necessary when the door to my office opened without any form of announcement, and even before I lifted my gaze from the papers in front of me I already knew exactly who had walked in because there was a certain careless confidence in the way the door was pushed open that only one person ever carried into my space.“Should I begin to assume that you have completely forgotten how to knock, or are you simply choosing to ignore basic manners today?” I asked while keeping my eyes on the document, allowing my tone to carry a quiet hint of irritation that I did not bother to hide.A familiar chuckle followed, and the sound of steady footsteps moved further into the room as he made himself comfortable without waiting for any form of permission.“If I decided to knock, there is a very high chance that you would pretend not to be inside just so you could avoid whatever conversation I came he
Adella's POV I barely had time to think after the servant delivered my father’s message because the moment Sigil left my room the maid was already standing near the door waiting patiently for me to follow her. I looked once more at the tray of snacks he had brought before letting out a small sigh and pushing the thought aside. Whatever my father wanted must have been important if he was summoning me directly.“Give me a moment,” I said while quickly moving toward the mirror.The maid nodded and stepped aside.I ran my fingers through my hair hurriedly, trying to smooth the strands that had fallen out of place while I was lying on the bed earlier. My reflection stared back at me with slightly flushed cheeks and a hint of nervousness in my eyes that I could not quite hide.“Pull yourself together,” I murmured quietly.I straightened my posture before turning back toward the maid.“Alright,” I said. “Let’s go.”She opened the door and began walking ahead of me through the corridor. I fo
Adella’s POV I had been staring at the same section of the ceiling for what felt like forever while lying across the wide bed in my room, my fingers loosely twisting a strand of my hair as my mind drifted through thoughts that refused to settle into anything useful. The palace was far too quiet during moments like that, and the silence often left me alone with memories that I was not sure how to handle anymore. A month had passed since I arrived in the Lycan pack, yet some days still felt unreal as if I might wake up in the small room I used to occupy back in the pack that raised me, hearing familiar voices outside the door and smelling food drifting through the corridor.I sighed softly and turned onto my side, staring at the window across the room while sunlight filtered through the curtains in thin streaks that stretched across the floor. Training earlier that day had left my muscles sore, and my arms still carried the dull ache that came from blocking attacks badly and landing on
Brooke's POVI pushed the heavy doors open harder than necessary and they slammed loudly against the stone wall behind them, the sound echoing through the corridor while the guards stationed outside my mother’s quarters immediately straightened the moment they saw my face. The anger inside my chest had been building ever since I left the training grounds and every step I took through the palace halls felt like it carried the weight of humiliation that I had been forced to swallow in front of warriors and servants who were clearly pretending not to watch the confrontation earlier.One of the guards stepped forward cautiously as if he intended to say something, but the moment his mouth opened I cut him off with a sharp glare.“Move,” I said coldly.He hesitated.That hesitation irritated me even more.“Did you suddenly lose the ability to hear?” I asked slowly while stepping closer to him.The guard immediately stepped aside.The other servants standing nearby lowered their heads quickl
I closed my eyes for a moment because the anger inside my chest was starting to feel like something alive and breathing, something warm and suffocating that pressed against my ribs whenever I thought about the way Brooke spoke to me as if I were some broken thing he could kick aside whenever it ple
Alder's POV For a moment I simply stood there staring at James because the tone of his voice had not been what I expected to hear when I walked into the office. The words he had spoken still echoed in my head and my mind had already begun racing through possibilities that I did not want to face. M
Alder POVI thought the search for her would have ended but her father insisted on searching more. He believed Adella was still alive somewhere. Three teams were sent to search for her all through the day.The search continued for three days until one of the three search parties came with her other
Adella's POV It has been a month since I arrived at the Lycan pack, a month since the physicians pricked my finger and took strands of my hair while whispering among themselves as if I could not hear the weight of their curiosity, and a month since the royal council gathered in that suffocating ha







