Katrina’s POV
The whispers followed me like a swarm of flies, buzzing in my ears, getting louder with each passing second.
"Is it true? Katrina is an Omega?"
"She really thought she was something special, didn't she? A strong warrior, too bad she couldn’t even shift."
"The Princess was so close to her. What happened? Maybe she outlived her usefulness."
The words cut deep. Each one was a blade that slid across my skin, but I kept walking. One foot in front of the other. My pace quickened, my fists clenched. They didn’t know what they were talking about.
But it didn’t stop the heat from rising in my chest, didn’t stop the flush of humiliation crawling up my neck. I could feel their eyes on me, every glance a weight pressing down on my shoulders. My boots echoed down the hallway, sharp against the stone floor, but even that sound didn’t drown out the voices.
I didn’t need them. I didn’t need anyone.
But there was one person I couldn’t ignore.
Cassandra.
The way she’d looked at me last night with those eyes, full of hate and contempt, it was enough to make my blood boil. I had seen the way she watched me, like I was nothing more than a threat. A rival.
Like she had been waiting for an excuse.
And now, with the news of my demotion circulating like wildfire through the pack, I knew exactly who was behind it.
Cassandra.
I could feel it in my bones.
She had always been calculating, but this—this was a new kind of cruelty. I had been stripped of everything. My status. My future. My dignity. And she hadn’t even needed to raise her voice to do it.
I stormed down the hallway, ignoring the whispers, ignoring the sideways glances. I was heading straight for her room.
“I heard Nicholas will be the next Gamma,” I heard someone say as she walked past me.
I halted.
Nicholas? What the hell!
My stomach twisted in revulsion. My breath caught in my throat.
Cassandra knew so well what Nicholas did to me in the past and was still doing. She knew what he was capable of and he was still the one she decided to give my position to?
It felt like poison under my skin.
Cassandra’s door was slightly open when I reached it.
Normally, I would’ve just walked in, no hesitation. We were close, had been close, back when things were different. When I believed she saw me. When I believed she cared.
But now. Now I wasn’t sure what was left between us.
I raised my hand, ready to knock. But then I froze when I heard a voice.
It was Adolphus.
What was he doing in her room?
The sound of his voice—deep, steady, so achingly familiar—sent a cold rush through my veins. I leaned in without thinking, my breath held tight in my lungs as if exhaling would give me away. Every part of me braced, heart pounding, the hallway fading as the blood rushed in my ears.
I couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was gentle—too gentle. Like he was confiding in her, or comforting her.
Like he belonged there.
My stomach twisted painfully, and I took a shaky step back, my hand lowering slowly. The ache behind my eyes built like pressure in a dam. I refused to cry. Not here. Not for her. Not for him.
But the cracks were forming.
They had already taken everything—my title, my place, my pride.
Now they were taking each other.
And I was the one left outside the door. Forgotten. Uninvited. Watching the people I once trusted become strangers behind a wall I could no longer cross.