ZEUS
I stand just behind my father’s throne,, trying not to smile too widely. Victory tastes bittersweet, but I savor it.
Father’s voice echoes in the room, still resonant from the earlier confrontation. Adira stands nearby, her hand clenched at her side. Her father, Alpha Conan leans forward, eyes sharp, pointed.
“He must be brought to order,” Alpha Conan is saying. “This defiance… inside the walls of the Haven, in front of others, it’s shameful.”
The Lycan King nods, fingers steepled. “Shameful, yes.” He looks over toward the door, as if expecting Darian to stride back in. “He was stripped of duties. And yet he behaves as though that strips him of no consequence.”
My heart hammers. That’s exactly where I want things to be. Consequence. Responsibility. And I’m reaping them.
Adira t
