Alana's POV
I had barely slept the night before, and the few hours of rest I did manage to find were plagued by the haunting remnants of my dream. My mother's face, her eyes filled with sorrow, kept flashing in my mind. I couldn't shake it off. The way she looked at me, the silent plea in her gaze, it felt like it meant something more than just a dream. The weight of her pain clung to me like a heavy cloak, and I couldn't figure out why.
I needed answers.
The palace was suffocating. Every corner, every shadow, reminded me of the family I had lost, the kingdom I no longer belonged to, and the man who had stolen it all. I had thought that leaving the palace and running away would be my only option, but now, after everything I had seen the Alpha's ruthless behavior, his cold, emotionless rise to power and I had to understand what was happening to me. To the land and to the packs..