A week had passed since Gabriel’s laughter of death echoed through the courtroom, a haunting memory that Jess couldn’t shake from her mind. Athena’s escape was more than a failure in their security, it was a stain on the Lycan Kingdom’s pride that others didn’t need to hear about. The Lycan Kingdom was restless, continuous whispers of Athena’s name spreading like an infection through the palace halls, carried by a series of suspicious glances and hushed voices.
Jess could feel it in every corridor, every room. The tension that was hiding behind the smiles, the quickly averted eyes of the palace staff, and the sudden silence whenever she walked into a room. She could tell something was wrong and knew that if she did nothing, it would become an untreated wound.
She stood in the palace gard
