the lies. More than seeing another woman

her finger and laughed once. "

gement ring and dropped

d. "What ar

ing

r phone. Her fin

shared cr

oz

he weddin

cel

her l

o start recovery for all charges made by Ryan Hale and

partment mana

roval. I am withdrawing financial

er phone like it

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'm finally reacting

bbed her clutch. "Ry

ck too. Unless you'd like me to let my lawyer explain t

d red and fumble

ic breaking through his anger

t I had besides money? Boundaries. A career. A spine

alked out before

r felt cold ag

street before her ha

me she

alled

. "If this is about beast husbands, I told y

t Ryan cheati

le

bury him. Where are you? Do

at. "Neither. I already cancelled the wedding,

"Then we are celebrating. Bar

et. Neon signs blurred in the

r, "you literally share a name with that Maya. Maybe the uni

t herself killed. If I ever met those men, I'd start wit

. Apology first, fi

Maya ended the call

me all night, sh

ped off

engine

rned he

swallowed

ed with rage and panic, his mouth open like

ed against w

ime for on

ld try to take e

e car h

dy. The sky spun. The street vanished.

ed over her l

before the world disappe

e crack o

-

Cross heard after dea

Close enough to m

the dark and finished what the car had started. Then she opened

eeling on a

ppressed strength, but whip marks cut across his skin like a road map of pain. Fresh wounds still ble

uldn't

alloy walls. Cold artificial light. A sleek

rgy whip i

owly lifte

yes locked

tr

frozen

en at her face. A cold sm

d low, each word scraping like broken glas

y s

k so fast her sho

into her skull li

Zerg. Federation law.

kneeling in

b St

gion. A man who had once refused an order to slaughter civilians

aya harder tha

o

knew

ew thi

er her shift. The one Lena had joked about. Th

a C

wo S-rank beastman warriors in the galaxy. A rare Female

ture mo

tortured until th

d down at

ls. A faint purple scorpion mark g

G

woken up inside