MasukTalia.The walk back to my room was quieter than the one that had brought me to dinner.Not because anything had changed.But because everything had gone exactly as I intended.I let the door close softly behind me, the faint click echoing just enough to settle into the silence of the room before I moved further inside. My mind is replaying every moment of the dinner we just had. For a moment, I stood there.Then, slowly, I exhaled.A small smile touched my lips, subtle, controlled—but real.It had gone well.Better than well.Selena had held herself together, just as I knew she would. She had smiled, responded exactly as expected, and maintained that careful composure she wore like armor.But I had seen it.The hesitation.The stillness.The moment something landed just a little deeper than she wanted it to.And that was enough.I moved toward the dresser, reaching up to remove my earrings, placing them carefully on the surface as my reflection caught in the mirror.Calm.Measured.
Selena.When I stepped back into the dining room, nothing had changed.The candles still burned with the same steady glow, their light dancing softly across the polished surface of the table. The plates remained untouched, the arrangement precise, undisturbed, as though time itself had paused in my absence.And yet, something felt different.Not in the room.In me.I walked back to my seat with measured steps, aware of Denver’s gaze before I even looked at him. It settled on me the moment I crossed the threshold, steady, quiet, observant in a way that made it clear he had noticed more than I would have preferred.I didn’t acknowledge it immediately.Instead, I took my seat, smoothing my dress with practiced ease, allowing my movements to remain as composed as they had been before I left. If there was anything unsettled beneath the surface, it would stay there.Across from me, Talia watched without appearing to watch.Her posture was relaxed, her expression calm, but there was a stilln
Selena.The walk to the dining felt longer than it should have, the quiet stretching between us in a way that made every step feel more deliberate than the last. Denver stayed beside me, his presence steady and grounding, close enough that I could feel the subtle awareness of him without needing to look, and once, just once, his hand brushed lightly against mine as though reminding me that I wasn’t walking into this alone.Behind us, Talia followed at an unhurried pace, her steps soft against the floor, measured in a way that made it clear she was neither trying to intrude nor distance herself too much. She didn’t attempt conversation, didn’t try to close the space between us, and somehow that restraint made her presence feel more intentional, not less.By the time we entered the dining room, everything had already been prepared with quiet precision. The long table was set beneath soft candlelight, the glow reflecting gently against polished surfaces and casting shadows that moved
Selena.By the time the last light of evening began to fade, I stood before the mirror, smoothing my hands slowly over the fabric of my dress as I took in my reflection.I had taken my time with it.More than usual.Every detail had been considered—the way the material fell against my body, the way the color rested against my skin, the balance between elegance and restraint.Nothing too bold, nothing that would look like I was trying too hard, but just enough to remind anyone who looked at me that I belonged exactly where I stood.That I had always belonged.My fingers paused briefly at my waist before continuing, adjusting a crease that did not truly need fixing. I let my gaze linger on myself a moment longer, searching for something I couldn’t quite name.I looked composed.Put together.And for the most part, I was.But the unease from earlier hadn’t left me. It lingered quietly beneath the surface, like something waiting to be acknowledged, something I couldn’t fully push away no
Third Person POV:The room was quiet, save for the faint rustle of fabric as Talia adjusted the fall of her dress before the mirror. The lamplight caught along her shoulders and in her hair, picking out every detail she had already checked twice.Nothing about tonight would be left to chance.A slow smile curved her lips as she studied her reflection.Things were falling into place.The events of the day had shifted something within the pack, subtle enough that most would not notice, but she had. Moments like that were never random; they were opportunities, and she had learned long ago how to recognize them when they appeared.Denver had noticed her.That alone was enough to set everything else in motion.Her fingers stilled briefly against the fabric at her waist as the thought settled deeper. It was not simply about being seen—it was about being remembered.About standing apart in a way that could not be easily dismissed or forgotten. Tonight would ensure that.Dinner had not been
Selena. Later that evening, after Denver’s mother had stabilized and her personal maid had taken over, I returned to my room.Something felt off.Not in a way I could clearly define, not in a way that had shape or substance, but it lingered beneath the surface like a thought I couldn’t quite grasp, slipping away every time I tried to focus on it.I stood by the window, my fingers resting lightly against the frame as I watched the fading light stretch across the pack. Everything looked the same. Nothing had changed, and yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had.Maybe it was just me.That thought came easily now. Lately, everything seemed to circle back to me—my body, my failures, the quiet, unspoken tension that sat between Denver and me like something neither of us acknowledged, yet both of us felt.I pressed my lips together and exhaled slowly.Denver had never pressured me, never said anything outright, but something had shifted weeks ago after he asked if I had been taki
Denver.I woke that morning to the sound of someone knocking on the door.I groaned, unwilling to open my eyes for another hour or two, but when the door opened and my beta walked in, I knew sleep was done for.“Good morning, Alpha,” Jacob greeted as he stepped further into the room.“Good morning,
SelenaI saw them before they saw me.They were hidden in a dark corner off the west corridor, where the torchlight barely reached and the stone walls swallowed every sound. My stomach clenched before I even realized I’d stopped walking.Christopher has Joyce pressed against the wall, his mouth on
Denver.Christopher’s hand closes around her wrist before I can stop myself from noticing.It is not gentle. It is not ceremonial. It is the grip of ownership."What is happening here, Selena?" I wondered as I watched them close the distance between us.“Uncle,” Christopher says, drawing her forwar
Denver.The marks on her skin were still faintly visible when I untied the silk from her wrists, thin pink lines that would fade by morning but linger long enough to remind her body of who had held it and who had decided how far she could go. She had endured beautifully, not in silence and not in







