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Penelope sat on her bed, hugging a pillow tightly to her chest. She wore a simple nightgown, her long dark hair unkempt and cascading around her shoulders. Her eyes were red and swollen from hours of crying, and she had been unable to eat or sleep since Alpha Uther's ultimatum.

The door to her room creaked open, and her mother, Yvonne, stepped inside. She was dressed in a plain blue dress, her hair tied back in a bun. Her face was drawn and tired, lines etched around her eyes and mouth from worry.

Almost nothing in the entire Pack looked cheerful, almost everyone had a scowl or forlorn look, not even the Alpha who was nearly going crazy with the date of his daughter’s betrothal gradually drawing close.

Penelope raised her head when she heard the sound of the door opening but sensing it was her mother, she quickly looked down again, not wanting to see her. She knew what she was here for, to preach and ask her to do what her father wanted. Which was something she would fight, even if it