Chapter 217

Aurelia’s POV The walls of the once-grand citadel seemed to shrink with every passing day, as if the very stone was ashamed to house us. There was no warmth here anymore—only cold drafts that crept under my skin, reminding me of the truth everyone else refused to say out loud. We were no longer the royal family. No longer respected. No longer feared.In a way, it suited me. I’d learned to find comfort in being invisible. Once, I had been the daughter of the Alpha King—a title that drew eyes and expectations. Now, I was merely the daughter of an Alpha, and the world had stopped looking. The title Alpha King had been stripped from my father nearly a year ago, and with it, the gilded façade we lived behind. Allies scattered like leaves in a storm, trade lines severed overnight, and every smiling mouth that once called me princess now turned away as if my existence was an inconvenience. Father called it“a temporary setback.” Mother called it “an embarrassment.” And my sister, Seraphina… wel