o P

d at me, his chest heaving, a sheen of sweat on his brow. The mask of the ch

hissed, the words tasting

his hands had wrinkled it. "A trip to death's

a figure of speech, a metaphor for my night wit

trying to claw back some semblance of dominance. "You

ng his lies. I sat down on the plush sofa, crossing my legs with a casual grace I didn't

a sip. "I'm merely stating a fact. You gave me to him. In his eyes, and the eyes of the law, I am now his po

o an object to make him understand the new power dynamic. It left a

d wolf. He ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair, messing it u

glare. "Julie... we're just friends. You're ima

click and looked at him, not with anger, but with a kind of p

ou know that when you lie, your left eyebro

fingers touching his eyebrow

He knew i

every excuse, every pathetic attempt at deception w

m, closing the distance between

said, my voice dripping with scorn. "After all, yo

e very core of his Alpha pride, the f

ous red glow began to emanate from the edges of his irises. It was the precursor to a complete loss o

d my ground, meeting his

, my voice dropping to a near whisper. It was a lie, a complete fabri

w the flicker of doubt

back with so much as a single hair out of place, he would pay a per

ing this from a personal dispute to a political inc

ragged, his fists still clenched, but the immediate danger had passed.

won.

walked past him, heading for the

shoulder, not bothering to l

tent fury. He watched my retreating back with a look of disbelief, hat

ed. I did not let myself falter until I was out

enly weak. A long, shuddering breath escaped

monsters wa