I woke before sunrise because for five years, sunrise had meant work. No bell rang. No guard kicked the door. No one told me which floor needed scrubbing. I lay still for another minute just because I could. Then I got up. My borrowed royal clothes were folded o

The royal tribunal chamber was smaller than Blackthorn's banquet hall. That surprised me. I had imagined justice needing more space. It didn't. It needed records. Three judges sat behind a low dark bench. No throne. No Alpha chair. No place for anyone to

Three weeks after the tribunal, the first person to walk into my office was not an Alpha. She was an Omega seamstress from a pack I had never visited. She stood in the doorway holding a folded punishment notice with both hands.

"I was told this is where I come if there