Serena’s POV
The echo of the heavy doors slamming behind Caden still lingered in the great hall like a challenge I refused to back down from. My hands were steady now, the tremor from earlier gone, replaced by a burning resolve that felt foreign yet empowering. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t shrinking away from the threats hurled at me. I wasn’t the rejected, broken omega anymore. I was something sharper, something forged in the fires of betrayal and necessity.
Gale watched me carefully, his injured arm cradled against his chest. “You really called his bluff,” he said, a mix of admiration and worry in his voice. “Caden looked like he wanted to strangle you right there. Liliana’s scheme… if they actually spread those lies about infidelity, the Obsidian King won’t even give you a
