lac's

steering wheel, the leather creaking under my desperate hold. The damage was done. Kael's public meltdown, the wolfsba

there w

n he'd humiliated in fron

escaped me. How quic

he sting of betrayal, something

finally, I ha

tion, I could disappear. No more expectati

comforted me. Instead, it felt like a gil

off the engine before t

hands already reaching for me befor

lla and the faintest hint of lavender-usually soothed me. But tonight, I coul

een the

rse sh

ies, lies, lies. But what else could I say? That my fiancé had just publi

es screeched a

d.

thick enough to choke on. When I finally pulled back from Mom's embrace, I saw h

m when they looked at m

e car," he

ation. Just three wor

with this

inke

lm one, the steady one, the man who could negotiate peace between

ady to burn the w

my chest, fierce

t loyalty lo

. Dad's grip on the steering wheel was white-knuckled, his gaze fixed ahead like a predato

me

watching the trees blur

ill th

will

massive gates-twisted iron and intimidation disguised as elegance-swung open before us. The roya

eir faces were carefully blank, but their

ry because my father

me, he was a legend. A war hero who'd bled for this pack

n't here as a l

ere as a

ts ducked their heads, nobles paused mid-conversation, th

ew why we w

waiting to see how

e strongest wolf feel small. The ceilings stretched endlessly upward, the walls ador

Luna Cassandra sat rigid on their th

idn't k

his t

like a whip. Calm. Controlled. But beneath it, so

he said, his voice steel wrapped in velvet, "we would li

at followed wa

dug into the arms of her throne. The way the king's jaw tightened, jus

hear your concerns. But reconsider. Kael is not a ma

voice was quiet, but the threat in it was u

ys did when she wanted something. "Benson, please. Kael was wrong, I d

hen, her voice cool,

ade hidden in silk. "Even in agony, a true mate is supposed to protect. T

ng in the air li

thing in me n

s the heart of

r treated me

a p

n from his throne. His boots echoed against the marble as he

my life-I saw something in his

gr

ce softer now, almost... human. "And I

shock, he tu

into mine, searching for something. Forgiveness? S

s were a

disguised

-not unless he had no other choice. And Darius Reventhorn needed

fists at my sides, nail

ative b

choice di

. Demure. The perf

, bowing my head just enough to

insi

already plan