LOGIN+ MedoraThe click of her expensive heels faded down the long hallway.I just stood there. The bathroom door was still cracked open, letting a draft of cold air slip in to bite my wet skin. I didn't move to shut it. I didn't move at all. I stared straight into the tall vanity mirror above the marble sink.I didn't see a queen looking back at me. I saw a piece of meat.The cruel words bounced around inside my skull. They cut deep into my chest, slicing right through the fragile confidence I built over the last two days. I dropped the small towel I used to dry my dark curls. I gripped the edges of the white marble sink. My knuckles turned stark white from the intense pressure.I looked at my wide hips in the glass. I looked at the soft curve of my stomach.Richard didn't love me. He didn't send me to Ironholt because he finally saw my hidden potential. He just sold a sturdy cage to hold feral monsters. My own father looked at my body and saw a shock absorber.Tears burned the corners of
+ Medora'You are our bride...'Those words kept bouncing around inside my skull. I stood under the scalding hot water of the shower. The steam filled the giant marble bathroom. The thick fog coated the mirrors and blurred the bright lights. I let the water beat down on my sore shoulders.Kai sounded so sure of himself in the greenhouse. He looked at me like I hung the sun in the sky. He wanted me to believe I was special.But my brain knew better. My brain always searched for the trap.Bride.He didn't call me his destined mate. He didn't say the moon goddess tied our souls together at the dawn of time. He used the specific word written on the political treaty. A bride is just a title. A bride is a transaction. A bride is a breeder.That was my only real purpose inside this massive stone fortress. I was here to breed strong children for four Lycan Alphas. Richard Fletchling signed a piece of paper, and I became Ironholt property. I wasn't a soulmate. I was a broodmare.I grabbed a ba
+ MedoraI locked myself in the greenhouse just to breathe.The brass deadbolt clicked loud in the humid air. I leaned my spine against the thick glass door. My chest heaved up and down. I gasped for air like I just ran ten miles up a steep mountain. The sharp sound of Kol snapping that silver fork still rang loud in my ears. The terrible, suffocating silence that followed pushed me right over the edge. I just ran. I didn't ask to be excused from the table. I didn't look at Kaz. I just fled the dining room like a scared rabbit running from a trap.The greenhouse wrapped around me like a warm, damp blanket. The air smelled like wet dirt, rich fertilizer, and crushed petals. It washed away the toxic, sweet stench of Seraphina's jasmine perfume. I walked deeper into the glass building. The temperature rose the further I went. Sweat formed on the back of my neck. I kept my oversized gray sweater wrapped tight around my waist.I found the far corner. The gardeners grew giant red roses ba
+ MedoraBreakfast tasted like ash.I pushed the scrambled eggs around my porcelain plate. I could not swallow a single bite. The grand dining room felt like a giant ice box this morning. Just yesterday, I sat in this exact same chair eating roasted chicken and feeling like a real princess. I felt the warm sun on my face. I felt safe.Today, I felt like a fraud waiting to be kicked out the back door.I kept my head down. I stared at the silver fork in my trembling hand. My stomach tied itself into a tight, painful knot.Kaz sat at the head of the long oak table. He wore a crisp black suit. He read a stack of border reports. Kenzo sat to my left, picking at a piece of bacon. Kai and Kol drank dark coffee across from me. The tense silence in the room made my skin crawl. The air felt thick and dangerous.Then, the dining room doors swung open.Seraphina Vance walked in.She didn't wear a simple morning dress. She didn't wear a comfortable sweater. She wore a sheer white silk robe that le
+ MedoraThe study doors locked shut, leaving me standing in the cold hallway.The loud click of the deadbolt echoed off the stone walls. It sounded like a gunshot. It sounded like a final judgment. I stood frozen on the expensive rug. My bare feet felt like ice. I stared at the dark oak wood. I didn't know what to say to this behaviour. I didn't know how to process a single thing that just happened.A few minutes ago, I was eating roasted chicken. I was sipping sweet lemonade. I felt safe.Then she walked in.So I finally meet the slut bold enough to replace me?Her vicious words replayed in my brain on a constant loop. The blonde stranger didn't even blink when she said it. She just looked at me like I was a piece of trash stuck to her expensive heel. Kaz didn't defend me. He didn't rip her apart. He just ordered everyone into the study and shut me out."Who am I kidding?" I whispered to the empty hall.I pressed the palms of my hands against my burning eyes. I took a shaky breath.
+ Medora"I didn't ask you a question," I said, my voice shaking.Who the hell was this woman?She just walked right into the house. No knock. No warning. She acted like she owned the house. I stared at her. I couldn't blink. She stood there dripping in wealth. A pristine white fur coat draped over her shoulders. Her dark hair fell in perfect waves. Her red lips curved into a wicked smile.She didn't look like the rogues we've been fighting. She looked like a queen. A cruel one."You wouldn't even know what to ask, little mouse," she said.She stepped closer. Her high heels clicked against the hardwood. Click. Click. Click. Every sound felt like a hammer against my skull.I forced myself to stand tall. I wrapped my arms around my chest. I willed my hands to stop trembling."Get out of my house," I demanded.She laughed. The sound echoed off the high ceilings. It sounded sharp. It sounded mean."Your house?" she mocked. "Oh, honey. You really don't know a thing."She stopped a few feet







