ZEUS

The scent of roasted venison and aged wine greets me before I even step through the arched doorway of the royal dining hall.

The long mahogany table gleams under the chandelier’s soft light, gold-rimmed plates set with ceremonial perfection.

I step inside, boots echoing faintly against the marble, the weight of my journey still clinging to my shoulders like a cloak.

At the head of the table, my father, the Lycan King, lifts his gaze from the goblet in his hand. His eyes, sharp, calculating, fix on mine with an intensity that might make a lesser man shrink. But not me.

“Zeus,” he says, tone firm but not unkind....