Chapter 101 By A Thread

• Willow’s POV
• We were so close to the palace, I could almost feel its looming presence like a weight on my chest. The streets were quiet, too quiet for a pack that was usually filled with life, but I felt a shift in the air, a tension I couldn’t shake. We were making our way towards the palace, but my mind kept racing, spinning around the things that had happened, the kidnappings, the betrayals, and the terrifying realization that we might have walked straight into the heart of the storm.
• When we arrived at the edge of the palace grounds, the sight that greeted us was nothing short of a nightmare. The pack I had once called home was no longer the place I remembered. The flags that had proudly flown outside the palace gates were now tattered and frayed, their colors faded in the harsh winds. The walls that once held power and pride stood weathered and cracked. It felt as if the entire kingdom had been dragged through the mud, stripped of everything it once was.