The palace no longer felt like a place of power.
It felt like something waiting to collapse.
The moment the Iron Fang Pack disappeared beyond the gates, a hollow silence followed in their wake—not the eerie stillness that had haunted the land before, but something sharper. Something fractured.
Trust had been broken.
And broken trust did not mend easily.
Aria remained on the balcony long after the courtyard emptied.
She hadn’t moved.
Hadn’t spoken.
Hadn’t even blinked for longer than she realized.
Her gaze stayed fixed on the horizon where Rovan and his pack had vanished, as if staring long enough might undo what had just happened.
But deep down—
She knew it wouldn’t.
Because this wasn’t just one pack walking away.
This was the beginning of something far worse.
A ripple.
A fr
