Semua Bab She’s The Alpha King: Bab 41 - Bab 48

_Zephyr’s POV_The sound of my door opening pulled me from the darkness. My eyes fluttered, heavy and unwilling to focus. Everything hurt – a deep, throbbing pain that seemed to echo through every bone in my body. I groaned softly, the sound scraping against my dry throat.My wounds were still fresh. I didn’t have a wolf yet, so I couldn’t heal up fast. Every bruise, every ache from my mother’s punishment lingered like a constant reminder of my failures. The beating had left me feeling broken in ways that went far beyond the physical pain.“Your Highness?” A familiar voice, soft and worried reached my ears.I forced my eyes open, blinking against the late afternoon light streaming through my bedroom windows. The room was exactly as I’d left it – elegant and cold, with the white walls and silver accents. Everything perfectly arranged, nothing out of place. A prince’s room, designed to impress visitors and remind me of the standards I was expected to uphold.“Lani?” My voice came out as

_Kael’s POV_Three days. It had been three miserable days without Zephyr, and I wasn’t even trying to pretend otherwise anymore.I sat in the cafeteria, picking at my food while my eyes automatically drifted to the table where Elias and Finn were sitting. For the hundredth time in three days, I looked for familiar blue eyes and short brown hair, only to remember that he wasn’t there.He wouldn’t be sitting with his friends, laughing at something stupid Finn said or rolling his eyes at Elias’s stories.The empty space where he should have been felt wrong.“You’re doing it again,” Barrett said from across the table.“Doing what?” I asked, though I knew exactly what he meant.“Staring at their table like a lost puppy. It’s weird, man.”I forced myself to look away and focus on my plate. But even the food tasted bland without Zephyr’s presence to make meals interesting. Without him complaining about the academy’s food the last time he sat with me.Everything felt off without him here. God

_Zephyr’s POV_I had wanted to keep my walls up. I really had.When I came back from home, my plan was simple. Stay away from Kael. Keep him at arm’s length. Protect both of us from whatever this thing was between us that I couldn’t name but knew would only end in pain.But then he pushed. He wouldn’t leave me alone, wouldn’t let me shut him out. He stood there and let me hit him, let me break down, let me fall apart in his arms. And when he asked me to smile, really smile, I couldn’t say no.Those walls mother had forced me so hard to build crumbled like paper.I couldn’t stay away from Kael. Not anymore.The next three days passed like a dream I didn’t want to wake up from. We spent every moment we could together, and I found myself clinging to each second, storing them away like precious treasures.The thought of his graduation in four days made my chest tight with pain. Sometimes I would catch myself staring at him during training or meals, and the knowledge that he would be gone

_Zephyr’s POV_The ride back to Royal Wolf Academy felt too short.I pressed my face to the carriage window, watching the familiar buildings come into view, and my stomach twisted with dread. Tomorrow was graduation day. Tomorrow Kael would leave.Our perfect day at the market already felt like a dream.“We’re here,” Kael said softly, and I could hear the reluctance in his voice too.The academy grounds were quieter than usual in the evening light. Most students were probably in their rooms, preparing for tomorrow’s ceremony. I wanted to ask Kael to spend the night talking, to stay up until dawn so we wouldn’t have to face tomorrow. But I knew he had preparations to make, family obligations to fulfill.“I should let you get some rest,” I said as we walked toward the dormitories.“Yeah, probably.” He stopped walking and turned to face me. “Zephyr, I—”“Don’t,” I said quickly. “Don’t say goodbye yet. Save it for tomorrow.”He nodded, understanding. “Tomorrow then.”But he didn’t move aw