Ares stood in the shadows, watching me with cold eyes. Nimfa was beside him. Her lips twisted in a cruel smile. They had always been there, lurking, waiting for me to break. And now, they thought they had won.
I could almost hear their thoughts. ‘She’ll step down soon. She has no choice.’
But they were wrong. I wasn’t ready to lead, but I wasn’t ready to give up either.
The days after my father's funeral passed in a blur. The grief was still raw, and the weight of the pack's expectations loomed like a storm cloud over me. I knew it was only a matter of time before the council would summon me. And when the summons finally came, I felt the familiar knot of dread twist in my stomach. The council house was always a place of decisions, of judgment.
The rumors had already reached my ears, each one sharper than the last. I had overheard enough whispers to know what was coming. Some of them were blatant. Others were more subtle but no less harmful.
‘An omega as Luna’s mate? It’s disgraceful.’
I’d heard them all. And despite the ache in my chest, I refused to crumble.