#Chapter 40 – Unsolicited Advice

Lila Elite Group. Evaluated under direct observation. His Majesty will serve as Primary Judge. Even in ink, it felt like a trap. This was supposed to be Elena’s strength. She was bred for this kind of thing, literally. Diplomacy, negotiation, and political cunning disguised as grace. Not me. I was built from grit and bad luck, from sharp teeth and survival. I knew how to fight with fists and silence. But this trial would require something else. Strategy. Leadership. Perception. Things you couldn’t learn in three nights and a pile of borrowed books. I stared at the open books spread across the desk in my room, their pages crammed with terms like “Pack Coalition Charter” and “Treaty of the Eastern Packs,” my eyes blurring over with every paragraph. I couldn’t memorize alliances I didn’t understand, and I couldn’t pretend to be Elena much longer, not like this. A soft knock interrupted my spiral and Emma poked her head in. “You got a note.” I stood quickly. “From w