Elara's POV
I couldn’t go to the Alpha King’s palace. No matter what.
The words kept repeating in my head like a warning bell. My parents had strictly forbidden me from ever going there. They never fully explained why, but I could still hear my mother’s voice from when she was alive, urgent and scared in a way I rarely saw her.
“Never go to the King’s palace, Elara. No matter what happens. Swear it to me. Your father and I have protected you from that place your whole life. If they find out who you are—”
I had sworn that day, holding her hand tightly. I was too young to understand the fear in her eyes, but I promised anyway. Later, when I asked my father what I would do when I became Alpha… because every Alpha was expected to meet with the King during important gatherings…he had simply
