#Chapter 101: Lessons in Royalty

The morning light was soft and gold as it filtered through the curtains, catching in the swirl of my tea steam and drawing long, syrupy shadows across the table. I sat with my hands curled around the warm mug, trying not to look at the flatscreen in the corner of the room, where my face kept appearing in looped footage from the night before. The interview. The one I hadn’t had the guts to rewatch yet. Nathan, Emma, and Richard sat around me, each cloaked in their own brand of discomfort. Nathan was flipping between data points, muttering numbers and percentages like spells. Emma was chewing on the end of her pen. And Richard-he hadn’t spoken since I walked in, arms crossed, back straight, jaw clenched. "We’re seeing a ten-point bump," Nathan said finally, tapping at the tablet in front of him. "Urban packs especially. Younger wolves, rogue-friendly sectors. The general sense is... intrigued. Moved. They liked what they saw." I didn’t breathe. Not really. "But?" I asked. There w