|| Alaric’s POV ||
I stood outside the grand hall, the crisp night air doing little to cool the fire burning in my chest. The invitation in my hand felt heavier than it should, the weight of what it represented pressing down on me. Tonight was the night. The Alpha King had called for the nomination declaration, and I knew what that meant. Kael’s reign of incompetence and arrogance was either to rise or to fall. My father, for all his flaws, wasn’t blind. He could see the cracks in Kael’s facade, the way his reputation was crumbling under the weight of his own mistakes. If Kael kept this up, he wouldn’t just lose the election— he’d be disqualified entirely.
The thought brought a grim satisfaction. Kael had crossed too many lines. He’d plotted against Lilac, tried to drug her, humiliate he
