---- Chapter 40 Damien POV: | pushed the door open and stepped into the room. My heart was a wild bird beating against my ribs. Elara was standing by the window, bathed in the afternoon sun, a vision of silver and gold. She turned, a polite smile on her face, ready to thank a servant. The smile vanished the second her eyes met mine. It wasn't just horror that crossed her face. It was a flash of cold, calculating fury. The air in the room grew heavy, charged with the power of an awakened White Wolf. She wasn't the frightened girl | had cornered in the palace. She was a queen in her own sanctuary, and | was an intruder. "So," she said, her voice dangerously calm, "the ghost in my kitchen. | should have known. The food tasted of regret." Her power, a tangible force, pressed down on me, pinning me in place. "You will tell me how you got past my family's wards," she commanded, her tone leaving no room for argument. "And then you will leave this island. Now." All the air rushed out of my lungs. There was no recognition of the man she once loved. Just a ruler dealing with a security ---- breach. "Elara, please," | whispered, my carefully constructed composure crumbling under the weight of her authority. "I just wanted to be near you. To protect you." "Protect me?" A bitter, humorless laugh escaped her lips. "You are the danger | need protection from. Your presence here isn't romantic, Damien. It's a violation." My shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'll go," | said, my voice hollow. "I'll leave. | promise. You will never see me again." | turned, the weight of my failure crushing me. | was about to walk out of her life forever. But just as my hand touched the doorknob, it was thrown open from the other side. An Omega maid, her face pale and her eyes wide with panic, burst into the room. "Princess!" she gasped, her chest heaving. "It's the young master! He's gone!