MAXIMUS’S POV
The world stood still.
Every rogue froze where they stood, their snarls dying in their throats. One by one, their eyes turned toward her—the white wolf.
Emilia.
She stood at the edge of the courtyard. The wind brushed past her, carrying the faint scent of pine and blood. Her golden eyes burned through the dark—wild, untamed, powerful.
And then it happened.
The rogues… trembled.
One whimpered. Another took a shaky step back. And then—like something had lit them on fire—they turned and ran.
All of them.
Howls of fear ripped through the night as the creatures who had torn through my warriors moments ago now fled like frightened pups, their shadows vanishing into the forest beyond the castle walls.
Silence followed.
My warriors stood frozen, their faces pale with disbe
