INICIAR SESIÓNJulian POV
"Did you honestly think that song was for you?" Natalia whispered, her breath clipping the edge of my ear.
I did not turn to look at her.
My eyes remained locked on the stage.
The final note of the piano faded into the rafters of the Great Hall.
Julian POV"Did you honestly think that song was for you?" Natalia whispered, her breath clipping the edge of my ear.I did not turn to look at her.My eyes remained locked on the stage.The final note of the piano faded into the rafters of the Great Hall.The silence in the room felt heavy, thick, and suffocating.Penelope stood up from the wooden stool.Her movements were smooth.She did not glance toward my table once.She looked directly at Kael.Zaria stepped forward from the shadow of the velvet curtains, holding a velvet box.
Penelope POV"Are you going to let that back-alley trash stare at you like that?"Zaria shifted her weight beside me, her voice sharp enough to cut glass.I did not look at her. My eyes stayed locked on the stage.The music had just stopped. The dancers were bowing.Right in the centre of the spotlight stood Natalia, her chest heaving, a foul, smug grin plastered across her face.She was looking directly at me."A mangy street mutt wants to challenge the Queen of the Pack?" Aria scoffed in my mind, her claws scraping against the edges of my consciousness. "Let her try, Penelope. Let us see what kind of pathetic show she thinks she can put on."
Penelope POV“Get your hands off my dress before I break your fingers,” I said, my voice cutting through the bass thumping from the speakers.Kael blinked, his grin freezing for a fraction of a second before it widened. He dropped his hand from the hem of my green gown, raising both palms in mock surrender. “Come on, Les. You walk in looking like a goddess and expect me to just stand here?”“I expect you to act like an Alpha, not a toddler,” I said. I turned my back on him, my heels clicking sharply against the polished marble floor.Zaria made a loud, wet gagging sound right next to my ear. She spun on her heel, her dark hair whipping across her shoulder. “I cannot watch this. I am going to the bar before I throw up all over the Frost Pack’s expe
Penelope POV"As long as I look up who owns that sports car, I can find out who that wealthy guy was," Natalia said. She pulled out her phone and held it up with a sharp, smug shake. "That model is iconic. It is a Roar of the Wind classic edition. My father owns one too. It goes for around a million credits. I think everyone is very curious about who Miss Penelope is trying to marry, aren't we?"I did not move.I looked at the glowing screen of her phone."You trying to threaten me with that?" I asked.My voice did not shake. It was flat and cold.Natalia let out a triumphant little scoff. She stepped closer, her heels scraping hard against the tarmac of the car park.
Penelope POV"Get your hands off my dress before I break your fingers," I said, my voice cutting through the chatter of the foyer.Natalia did not move. Her fingers stayed clenched on the silk of my forest-green gown. She smelled like cheap vanilla and desperation."You think you own this place just because Kael invited you?" Natalia sneered. She stepped closer, trying to use her height to crowd me against the marble pillar. "You are nothing but a divorced stray, Penelope.""I am the daughter of the Rogue Pack Alpha," I said. I did not back down. I leaned into her face, letting her smell the raw, heavy copper of my Wolf. "And you are a third-rate television actress whose father had to buy her a crown."Natalia flinched. The color drained
Ethan POV"She is not coming, Alpha," I said, the words tasting like lead in my mouth.Julian did not lift his head from the mahogany desk.His fountain pen paused. A single, dark drop of ink bloated on the white parchment paper beneath the nib."Say that again," Julian said.His voice was too quiet. The skin across his knuckles stretched white as he gripped the pen.I swallowed hard, my throat dry. "Miss Penelope's assistant passed along her birthday wishes. However, an urgent issue arose with the Stardust project. The overseas sector under the Rogue Pack's Westview headquarters required her immediate oversight. She has already boarded a private flight. She left the country an hour ago."
Penelope POV"Your terms are acceptable, Governor, but the tech requires a third pillar."Foster did not look at my brother Cooper. His eyes stayed locked on my face. He leaned against the heavy oak railing of the second floor balcony, his black shirt stretched tight across his shoulders. The noise
Penelope POV“Governor, this is a new proposal I have come across.”Tallulah places the thick folder directly onto the centre of my mahogany desk. She pushes it forward with two fingers. Her fingernails are painted a sharp, glossy red.“It is from Crypt-Optics Pack,” Tallulah says. She keeps her voi
Penelope POV"Post it."I do not look up from my screen as Eliora drops the secure data tablet onto the polished surface of my desk. The glass hits the mahogany with a sharp, heavy click."Penelope, look at the metrics first," Eliora says. She leans over the desk, her palms flat against the wood. He
Julian POV"Look at her, Julian!" Marcella shouts, her heels clicking rapidly against the loleum floor of the back corridor. "I told you she was trash! She is already latched onto the Rogue family! That Cooper guy is doing everything for her now!"I do not stop walking. The narrow hallway smells of







