s P

r's protective fury remained at a steady, simmering boil. She fussed over me const

long, golden hair with slow, rhythmic strokes. The silv

, breaking the comfortable silence. "We need

oming. The attack had been the catalyst, but Dari

nderbilt alliance is important for this family. But you are more important." She

for two days. And in all that time, there was not a single word from

composed surface. "A mate, even a political one, should show some concern. He has shown nothing

and pain cross my face. I squeezed her hand. "Moth

hardened into something unyielding. "Your father will listen to me on this. A Kensington dau

had been kind but resigned, a product of her time who believed a daughter's duty was to ma

sured and practical, "a powerful ally is still a necessity i

rise. She had moved fast

from the water?" she asked. "Felipe Fields.

e had always been in Darius's shadow, a polite and competent fixture I had barely noticed. But now, I remembered hi

"But he is brilliant, respected, and from what I observed, a gentleman. More impor

gaze wash over me, a stark cont

nto her features. "I have made a decision," she declared, her chin liftin

to the entire Lycan nobility of Silverstone Capital. It will show that you are well, that you are strong..." She paused and looked at me,

marketplace. And this time, I was not the merchandise to be

ile touched my lips

passive rest. I began to walk the grounds, slowly at first, then with more purp

ade a r

groundskeeper fetch me a bow and a quiver of arrows from

led but scurried o

hands at first. I had learned archery in my past life, spending countless frustrating hours trying to perfe

d me once, his expression bored

racticing for him. I

e first arrow went wide, thudding into the grass far from th

. She didn't scold me. Instead, I saw something shift in her expression-a look of

household staff, directing floral arrangements and menu selections with the precision of a g

he House of

to see that the girl he had so carelessly discarded was not waiting in the shadows for

les stronger. I remembered a fleeting comment Darius had

tring back until it touched my li

e. I would seize the victory. I would

n to ripple through the capital's high society.

paleness was gone, replaced by a healthy flush. My eyes, o

a was no

hed me. I was no longer an accessory to Alpha Darius Vander