I took a deep breath, aware that failure was never an option as I knew the implications far too well.
If I disgraced myself here, it wouldn’t end with whispers or humiliation. The royal family would never truly accept me, and my pack, and my father would seize it as proof that I had always been a defect. A stain better erased than endured, they would not spare me.
Thinking of the shackles in the crimson moon pack and what more I would go through if I were to be sent back because of my failure, I felt my fingers numb and at that point, I endured.
Even as the teapot burned into my palm, the heat bit deeper with every heartbeat.
I could already feel my skin tightening, blisters forming beneath my grip, but I didn’t loosen my hold. I bit down hard on my lower lip, tasting iron as I force
