LOGINIRIS POV:"What?" I said."Oh," Fiona said. "He didn't tell you."I looked at Aurelian."What is she talking about?" I asked.Aurelian nodded his head slightly.Fiona stepped closer."Think about it, Iris," she said. "A Lycan of his standing. His wealth. His world. Do you think a man like that randomly leaves all of it to drive through a pack territory in the middle of the night? Do you think his car just happened to be at the front of the mating hall of the Alpha heir at exactly the right moment?" She paused. "Do you think it was a coincidence that your face was identical to the woman he had been looking for for eight years? Nothing about that night was a coincidence. Nothing about any of it was a coincidence.""What are you saying?" I said."I'm saying it was planned," she said. "From the very beginning. Aurelian was in Dark Moon territory two days before your mating ceremony. He knew about Nicholas. He knew about you. He knew about the ceremony. And he had the technology, the acces
IRIS POV:“We have troubling evidence,” one of the Lycans said, sliding a thick folder across the table toward Aurelian. “Documents showing unauthorized movement of resources from our territories into Virex holdings. Funds rerouted. Agreements broken. This looks like a deliberate power grab, Aurelian.”The second Lycan nodded, his voice cold. “We expected better from you. If this is true, it’s a direct challenge to the balance we’ve maintained for decades.”Aurelian leaned back in his chair, completely calm, looking bored. He flipped through the documents without hurry, then set them down.“This is a frame,” he said boldly.He turned to me, then to Nicholas.Nicholas smiled a little and looked away. That was the confirmation Aurelian needed.“Someone went to great lengths to forge these. The signatures are wrong. The dates don’t match any of my records. This is amateur work at best.”The first Lycan’s eyes narrowed. “You deny it?”“I don’t deny that someone wants me to look guilty,” A
IRIS POV:My eyes opened slowly, and I was in Aurelian’s apartment, the soft sheets tangled around my bare legs.I looked around. Aurelian wasn’t there.Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes.I swung my legs off the bed and padded barefoot to the bathroom.The shower was huge, with floor-to-ceiling glass that fogged easily. I turned the water on hot and stepped inside, letting the steam wrap around me. The heat soothed my sore muscles as I tilted my head back under the spray.A soft click echoed through the bathroom.Someone had opened the room door.My heart jumped. I froze, water cascading over my shoulders.I quickly finished rinsing, turned off the water, and grabbed a towel. Wrapping it tightly around my body, I wiped a small circle on the foggy glass and peered out.It was Aurelian. He stood there calmly, holding a sleek black dress on a hanger in one hand. The fabric looked expensive and elegant, with a dangerous neckline.I opened the door a little wider, water still dripping from my h
IRIS POV:“I am sorry,” I whispered, still holding the edge of the door to his office.Aurelian turned slowly, facing me. His eyes softened when they landed on my face.“Don’t say that, Iris,” he said. “I understand. You had to do what Fiona would have done.”I nodded.“But you played the role too much,” he laughed.“Stop it, Aurelian. I am serious.”“Still… I’m glad you’re here now,” he said. “Come in, there’s something I need to tell you.”I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. Aurelian walked around his desk and leaned against it, crossing his arms.“There’s a private meeting tomorrow,” he said. “Only a few of us will be there, two other Lycans and myself. Nicholas will be there as the Dark Moon Pack Alpha, though I am not fully sure of the reason for the meeting yet.”He paused, studying my reaction.“I want you there with me, but… you may need to play Fiona again.”My heart skipped. Play Fiona again? After everything?I stared at him, my fingers tightening around the edg
IRIS POV:I took a deep breath. My hands started trembling slightly at my sides, though I tried to hide it. Aurelian could surely spot if I was lying, so there was no point hiding anymore. Aurelian needed to know the truth, or at least most of it.“I left the house after talking to my mom,” I started. “I climbed out the window so she wouldn’t follow me. I drove to the south side, to that abandoned building I overheard your men telling you about on the phone. The one with the underground access.”Aurelian listened without interrupting. He kept his eyes fixed on me.“I parked a little away and watched. There were black cars and eight huge men. They spotted me. I panicked at first, but then I remembered I looked like Fiona. So I acted like her. I smirked, spoke coldly, and they bought it. They called me ‘Madam Fiona’ and took me inside.”I told him about the abandoned building, the rusty elevator that opened into luxury, the long hallway, and the men escorting me to the room. I described
FIONA POV:“Iris… they… they betrayed me,” I whispered, my voice cracking even though I hated how weak it sounded.I sat up straighter on the bed, pulling the sheets around me like they could protect me from the memory. Cassian sat beside the bed, watching me with those calm, dark eyes. He didn’t speak. He just waited.“I always thought I could read people,” I continued, shaking my head slowly. “I thought I could read their faces. But something about the way Iris looked at me… the way her mom touched my cheek and cried… I saw truth there. Real tears. Real pain. I believed it. I let myself believe it.”I swallowed hard, the humiliation burning in my chest again.“I’m shocked I couldn’t see that it was a setup. I fell for it completely. I cried in that woman’s arms like a stupid child. And then they stood behind the glass laughing at me, mocking how emotional I was. Iris smirked and shook her head like I was pathetic.”Cassian stayed quiet, letting me talk. His face showed nothing, but
IRIS POV:I opened my eyes and looked around. There was no sunlight. Then I remembered where I was. I had thought everything that had happened was just a bad dream.I turned onto my back and saw Fiona was already up. She stood in front of the mirror, running a comb slowly through her hair. She was
IRIS POV:We stopped at her door, the same room I had walked into before, pretending to be her.She pushed it open and stepped aside, silently waiting for me to go in.My chest tightened.This was a bad idea.She could kill me in here, quietly, easily and no one would hear a thing.I didn’t move.A
IRIS POV:Cassian looked at me with dark, hungry eyes, then grabbed my waist with both hands and started walking me backward toward the big desk in the middle of the room.His mouth never left mine. He kissed me deep and messy, his tongue sliding against mine as he pushed me until the edge of the d
IRIS POV:Cassian leaned forward, his eyes moving slowly over my body like he was tasting every inch of the red dress. The way he looked at me made my stomach tighten. This wasn’t the cold stare of a stranger. This was something else. I forced my lips into a small, cold smile, the kind I remember