Chapter 60. Safe Behind These Walls

Lotus’s POV

The gates of the Winter Palace groan open, the sound echoing off the marble walls. The moment the convoy pulls into the courtyard, I’m already running. My bare feet slap against the cold stone, breath burning in my lungs.

They’re back, but the scent that hits me isn’t relief. It’s blood.

Lennox climbs out first, his clothes torn and covered in blood, one arm wrapped tight around his ribs. Levi limps, his side split open, blood soaking through his shirt. Louis trails behind, half-shifted still, the shadows of claws at his fingertips. None of them speaks.

Winter Pack members and rebels rush from the palace, carrying the injured into the medical wing. There is so much blood, more than there should be, and there are no women and children. The raid… it was a failure.

“Gods,” I whisper, the word sounds garbled in my throat. “What happened?”

They don’t answer. They move like ghosts, exhausted and grim. I reach for Lennox first; he’s cl