The moment Dronti stepped out into the cool air, the heavy silence inside the hall gave way as the music slowly resumed.
The DJ desperately tried to pump life back into the celebration, but the damage was done.
The festive energy had evaporated, replaced by hushed, anxious whispers and darting, uneasy glances.
No one dared to raise their voice, terrified of attracting the Lycan King’s lingering wrath.
Hannah couldn’t endure the suffocating atmosphere for another second.
Spinning on her heel, she stormed toward the staircase, her heels clicking angrily against the floor.
“Hannah, wait!” Luna Gracio called out, taking a step after her.
Hannah didn’t slow her pace.
She bolted upstairs, tears blurring her vision.
Reaching her bedroom, she shoved the door open, ducked inside, and slammed it shut with a deafening bang.
She turned the lock with a sharp clack.
Leaning back against the solid wood, her composure shattered completely.
Covering her face with trembling hands, she let the tears pour freely down her burning cheeks.
Her chest heaved with a suffocating mix of humiliation, burning rage, and disbelief.
How could her parents have allowed this to happen?
How could they stand by so passively and watch their only daughter get handed over like a common, low-class servant?
She had just passed her university entrance exams.
She was supposed to be celebrating with her friends, preparing for her grand move to Gortgic University, and basking in the arms of Shadron.
Instead, she had been ordered to abandon her status and scrub floors in the King’s palace.
A soft, hesitant knock rattled the door panel.
“Hannah, darling, please open the door.” Recognizing her mother’s frantic tone, Hannah kept her lips tightly sealed, refusing to grant her an answer.
Another urgent knock followed.
“Please, Hannah, talk to us.” “I don’t want to talk!” Hannah screamed through her choked sobs, her voice cracking with fury.
She heard her mother exhale a heavy, defeated sigh outside.
A few heartbeats later, a deeper, firmer voice joined her.
“Hannah, open this door.
We need to talk now.” Her father’s commanding voice echoed through the door.
Hannah scrubbed her cheeks furiously with the back of her sleeve.
“There is nothing to talk about!” After a brief, tense silence, the jiggle of a spare key clicked in the lock.
The knob turned, and the door swung open.
Her parents stepped into the room.
Hannah immediately whipped around, climbing onto her bed and pulling the thick silk duvet tightly over her shoulders, refusing to grant either of them eye contact.
Luna Gracio approached the bed first, lowering herself onto the edge of the mattress.
“Hannah, dear…” “Don’t touch me,” Hannah snapped, flinching away before her mother’s hand could rest on her trembling shoulder.
“I don’t want to hear a single excuse.” Alpha Widweek walked around the perimeter of the bed, taking a seat on the opposite side.
For a long, heavy moment, neither parent said a word.
Hannah’s shoulders shook as she fought to suppress another violent wave of sobs.
“You gave me away,” she whispered, her voice laced with bitter resentment.
“You actually chose that shiftless girl over your own daughter.” “Hannah,” Widweek reasoned softly, “that isn’t what happened at all.” “Then what happened?!” She spun around, throwing off the blanket.
Her tear-streaked face contorted with fury as she glared at her father.
“You didn’t even hesitate!
The second he gave you an ultimatum, you offered me up on a silver platter!” Widweek’s jaw tightened, a flash of deep-seated guilt crossing his weathered features.
“I made the only choice that would protect you.” “Protect me?” Hannah let out a sharp, hysterical laugh.
“By sending me away to live as a low-ranking maid?” Her father exhaled a slow, calculated breath.
“Think about what would have happened if I had chosen the alternative, Hannah.” Hannah’s fiery expression faltered slightly, her eyes narrowing.
Widweek leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“If I had defied the King, he would have enforced his authority by force.
And if Breena had been reinstated into this pack against our wishes, she would be living right under this roof under his direct protection.” Hannah stared blankly at him.
“So what?” “So we would have lost all control over our home.” Widweek stated flatly.
Gracio chimed in, her voice low and calculating.
“That is the bigger picture you aren’t seeing, Hannah.
Breena poses a direct threat to your inheritance precisely because she has secured the Lycan King’s favor.” Hannah’s jaw clenched tightly.
“Let her try to take what’s mine.” “She won’t even have to try,” Widweek warned sternly.
“All Breena needs is the King’s active backing.
You saw how far he was willing to go tonight.
He barely knows the girl, yet he was prepared to humiliate a high-ranking Alpha family purely on her account.” Hannah averted her gaze, her eyes darting to the floor.
“I still don’t see what any of this has to do with me sweeping his palace floors.” “It has everything to do with you,” Gracio said, her tone growing remarkably calm.
“At first, I thought the King’s demand was a complete disaster.
But your father and I have seen the tactical advantage.” Hannah slowly turned her head, looking at her mother with deep skepticism.
“What tactical advantage?” “Going to the estate puts you in the perfect position,” Gracio revealed, a subtle glint in her eyes.
“Because Breena is there.” Hannah went stock-still.
Gracio leaned in closer, dropping her voice to a whisper.
“You cannot touch her here—not anymore.
The King made that abundantly clear.
But at his estate, you will be stationed right beside her, and no one will question your presence.” Widweek nodded in agreement.
“You will be around her every single day.
You can monitor who she speaks to, where she goes, and discover what the King actually wants with her.” “And no one will suspect a thing from a simple servant,” Hannah murmured, her pulse beginning to quicken.
“Precisely,” a faint, cold smile touched Gracio’s lips.
“Everyone will assume you are merely enduring your punishment.
Let them fall for the illusion.” Hannah sat in silence, processing the strategy.
The humiliation of the task still burned, but a sharp, dangerous thrill began to take its place.
An opportunity was unfolding.
If she stayed here, Breena would eventually return backed by the royal guard, forcing Hannah to watch helplessly as her rival reclaimed her bloodright.
But at the King’s estate…
she could keep her enemy under a microscope.
She could uncover why a shiftless outcast had suddenly caught the sovereign’s eye.
“What about my studies at Gortgic University?” Hannah asked, her brows knitting together.
“You will still attend,” Widweek assured her smoothly.
“I will handle the schedule arrangements with the King.
He ordered you to serve his household, not to forfeit your higher education.” “And what about Shadron?” “You remain his future Luna,” Gracio replied firmly.
“The palace is an assignment, not a prison cell.” Hannah lowered her eyes, the bitter weight in her chest lifting just enough to let her think clearly.
She would retain her education, keep her boyfriend, and gain unrestricted access to her enemy.
Her mind began racing, formulating strategic moves.
“What if the King sees right through me?” “Then give him no reason to doubt your obedience,” Widweek instructed sternly.
Hannah met her father’s gaze.
Her tears dried completely.
Though her pride remained bruised, her calculated instincts had taken over.
She slid off the bed and walked steadily toward her full-length mirror.
Her reflection showed a disheveled girl with swollen, red-rimmed eyes.
Unbothered, she wiped her cheek with her palm and smoothed down her messy hair.
“I will go,” she said flatly.
Her parents exchanged a subtle look of relief.
Hannah’s gaze hardened as she stared at her own reflection.
“But I am not going there to cry into a maid’s apron.” Turning back to face her parents, a ruthless, icy smile curved her lips.
“If Breena believes she has won simply because the King offers her a shield, I will happily let her indulge in that delusion.
I will play the perfectly submissive maid.” Widweek nodded approvingly, a dark gleam in his eyes.
“And while I’m scrubbing his floors,” Hannah continued, her voice dripping with resolve, “I will uncover the reason the King holds so much interest in her.” She clenched her fists tightly.
“Once I find her weakness, I will tear her down for good.” Gracio smiled warmly.
“Now that is the daughter I raised.” Hannah snatched her smartphone off the nightstand, checking the screen.
“Don’t worry about me anymore.” She cast a final, sharp glance at her parents.
“Just wait for my good news.” Widweek raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
“What good news?” Hannah’s smile widened into something dangerous.
“The kind of news that ensures that wolfless trash never lays a finger on my throne.” Turning back to her reflection, she straightened her posture.
“I won’t degrade myself for nothing.”