to bed delaying the inevitable, but everything around her seemed to speed things up. The day of the ceremony was fast approaching, and with it, the burden of submission. Amal fo

nt. This marriage would link her not only to Amjad, but also to t

fiber seemed a chain, each fold a reminder of its destiny. The hours passed, but his mind remained chained to conflicting thoughts. She was a mere spectator

rst rumors of the union were spreading like wildfire. It was not a simple marriage. It was a polit

eating fast. Her mother was there, resplendent in her ceremonial dress, a picture of perfection and power. But

med to echo in the void. She felt ne

ning away, walking quickly, visibly in a hurry.

er acceptance of marriage, all of this had changed something in her, shattered part of her innocence. But there was also something g

played. There were many guests, all members of the pack or political allies. The silence was heavy, charged with the anticipation of the wedding. Amjad stood there, imposing and cold, like a marble sta

wards him, but there was no warmth in his words. Only a c

the heaviness of her thoughts. "Thank you," she

confirmation that this marriage would seal a new era, an era of stability for the pack, or at least, that it would serve as a springboard for other, even greater projects. But in the shadows, a

shadows, a man who others seemed to ignore, but who had an undeniable presence. He didn't seem like a respected me

hispered to her mother

"It's Eamon," she said quietly. "A suitor... or rather, a rival. He has views on

but she hadn't realized the extent of his influence, or his ambitions. The man was not there to celebrate a un

It was a fight for supremacy, a fight for their place in this pack. Amal was just a means to a greater goal, and she knew it. But as the man's eyes

eemed implacable, his gaze fixed on the ground as if he were just a spectator. And Amal, although surrounded by people,

empty act, and Amal felt cut off from the world, cut off from everything that could have been her life. When Amjad took her by

new reality was beginning to take shape. A reality where Amjad and Amal would not o