ry

silence that followed was absolute, broken only by Kaila's terri

ross the hall. The sound of his expensive leather shoes on the splinter

n, his face a mess of terror and disbelief. He looked up

sunderstanding," Bryson sta

at, cold, and utterly devoid of mercy. He raised his

p echoed through the

from his lips. He crumpled to the floor, landing hard on the

sing his forehead to the ground as

eature... into your betrothed's home to publicly disgrace your family line, and y

r. Kaila, sensing the shift in attention, looked up. She tried to summon her

not as a person, but as one might look at an i

y think you could climb into my family's bed? The cheap perfume you

ry shred of her carefully constructed facade was ripped away, le

ll attention, heavy and

exactly. It was something else, a primal, instinctive reaction to being

the air grew colder, thicker. His sheer presence was a

my spine, and met his gaze without flinching. I w

er than I'd realized, a mountain of dark power and controlled violence. He studied my

edge had softened, replaced by a tone of detached curiosity. "He

ngly clear and strong when I answered. "I wa

oval?-passed through his eyes. It was

sperate cry. "No! Uncle, please! Do

d locked on mine. "Be silent," he said, the two wor

choked on his words, his body going rigid. He was physically incapa

y," he said, his voice a low, final verdict. "Stone River Pack

inally fell silent. My father, still on his knees, looked relieved, gratef

I had expected him to try and cover this up, to

thin and dangerous, touched his lips. He leaned i

s lower half," he murmured, his breath warm against my ear. "A

e last time. "Prepare the hall," he commanded to

-