MasukThe feast was going surprisingly well for about ten minutes before I managed to spill wine on myself, drop a fork that somehow landed in the lap of a visiting diplomat, and accidentally elbow Kieran hard enough to make him choke on his bread while I was gesturing enthusiastically about pack politics I didn't actually understand."I'm so sorry," I said for what felt like the hundredth time while dabbing at the wine stain on my dress. "I swear I'm not usually this much of a disaster.""You're exactly this much of a disaster," Lily called from three seats down. "This is actually pretty normal for you.""Thank you for that helpful commentary," I said while glaring at her."Just keeping everyone's expectations realistic," she replied cheerfully while raising her wine glass in a toast.Kieran was still recovering from my elbow attack and I noticed he'd moved his plate slightly out of my reach, which was probably a smart survival strategy given
After the feast finally ended I escaped to one of the balconies because I needed air and space to process the fact that I was apparently developing real feelings for someone I was supposed to be fake engaged to, which was possibly the most on-brand disaster for me to create. The cool night air felt good against my flushed skin and I leaned against the stone railing while trying to figure out how I'd managed to complicate an already complicated situation even further."Running away from your own engagement party?"I turned to find Kieran standing in the doorway and my traitorous heart immediately started racing in a way that proved I was absolutely in trouble."Just needed some air," I said while gripping the railing tighter. "All that dancing and not destroying things was exhausting.""You did destroy several things," he pointed out while moving to stand next to me. "Two wine glasses, a fork, my ribcage, and possibly my feet.""My feet ar
I spent the walk back to my room trying to figure out how to explain to my three magically bound Lykoras that I'd just agreed to continue the fake engagement with Kieran for several months, and every scenario I imagined ended with someone getting upset or jealous or both. By the time I reached my door I'd worked myself into enough anxiety that I didn't notice the door was already open until I walked in and found all three of them waiting inside like some kind of intervention committee."We need to talk," Zayen said from where he was sitting in my reading chair with his arms crossed."That's never a good way to start a conversation," I said while closing the door and leaning against it because my legs suddenly felt shaky. "But yes, I also need to talk to you about something.""About why you were in a compromising position with Kieran Blackwater?" Elias asked from his spot by the window where he'd probably been brooding dramatically."It wasn't comp
The morning of the public announcement I woke up to find that someone had laid out a formal dress on my chair that was way too fancy for someone who could barely walk across a room without causing property damage, and I immediately knew the Moon Goddess was laughing at me from wherever she spent her time watching mortals make terrible life choices."Goddess, if you're listening," I said while staring at the dress, "this would be a great time to send me a sign that the fake engagement isn't going to end in disaster."The dress promptly fell off the chair and landed in a heap on the floor."That's what I thought," I muttered while picking it up and trying to figure out how to put on something that had approximately fifty buttons and what looked like built-in structural engineering.Twenty minutes later I was stuck halfway into the dress with my arms in positions that definitely weren't anatomically correct and I was seriously considering just showin
We eventually moved apart after standing there like awkward statues for what felt like an hour but was probably only thirty seconds, and I tried very hard to pretend that my heart wasn't racing from being that close to him while he tried to pretend he hadn't noticed my heart racing which we both knew was a lie because werewolf hearing made privacy impossible."So alliance terms," I said while settling back into my chair and putting a safe distance between us. "What exactly does your pack need to avoid being destroyed by the Western Coalition?"Kieran took a moment to compose himself before sitting across from me and pulling out more documents from his apparently endless supply of folders."We need a formal declaration of alliance from Arcadia that clearly states any aggression toward the Northern Alliance will be considered aggression toward your pack as well," he explained while spreading papers across the table. "The Western Coalition won't risk open con
After Kieran and his delegation left I spent a solid ten minutes staring at the wall while trying to figure out why my body had decided to betray me by being attracted to the arrogant Alpha who thought he could announce our engagement without asking first. This was not part of the plan and also extremely inconvenient given that I was supposed to be making him hate me enough to withdraw the marriage arrangement."You're doing that staring thing again," Lily said while settling onto the couch next to me. "The one where you look like your brain is buffering.""I'm not buffering," I protested while trying to organize my thoughts into something coherent. "I'm processing.""Processing what?" she asked with the kind of knowing smile that suggested she'd already figured out what I was processing. "The fact that your fake fiancé is unfairly attractive and you're annoyed about it?""I'm not annoyed about his attractiveness," I lied while my face turned red







