Chapter 26

Racheal's POV

I tossed and turned in my bed, the moonlight casting eerie shadows across the room. Sleep evaded me, my mind consumed by the recent events that had unfolded.

Banished for just two weeks, and already Axel had made up his mind to marry Athena. The pain in my chest was unbearable, a constant ache that refused to subside.

Unable to bear the suffocating atmosphere any longer, I decided to take a walk. Perhaps the cool night air would clear my head, even if just for a moment. Slipping out of my room, I made my way to the back of the house, seeking solace in the darkness.

As I sat on the porch steps, the night enveloped me, its silence broken only by the distant hoot of an owl. I longed to escape, to run wild and free in my wolf form. It had always been my sanctuary, a way to release the pent-up emotions that threatened to consume me.

But tonight, as I closed my eyes and focused on the transformation, nothing happened.

Frustration welled up inside me, mingling with the hurt t