Chapter 13

Camilla

For years I had believed that power came from being chosen—from being beautiful, from being desired. I was wrong. Real power came from knowing what people feared, and everyone in Mooncrest had something to lose.

The ceremony was pathetic. Everyone’s eyes had shifted toward Alex as though they had awakened to her greatness for the very first time. Courtiers who once ignored her now fell to their knees whenever she passed, and even the fiercest wolves who scorned her strength a week ago now whispered about her ancient blood with reverence. They worshipped her, convinced she had transcended the girl they once dismissed—but I refused to forget her humble beginnings.

I remembered the girl who hauled trays through smoky kitchens, the one who spent sleepless nights scrubbing floors, the girl who believed she held no value. A faint smile curved m