DRAVEN’S POV

The palace had never felt so empty.

It was strange.

The halls were filled with warriors again. Servants moved about carrying out their duties. Children laughed somewhere in the gardens.

Life had returned to the pack. Yet none of it reached me.

Not when the one person who made this place feel like home wasn't here.

I stood on the balcony outside my room, watching the warriors train below. Every clang of steel, every command barked across the courtyard reminded me of the responsibilities waiting for me.

Responsibilities I had neglected. Responsibilities I still carried out, but never wholeheartedly.

A knock sounded behind me. "Alpha."

Ragner.

"Come in."...