LOGINGianna looked at Maren for a long moment.Then she stood. "I will send my answer to the palace by morning."Maren stood as well and bowed. "Thank you, miss."Gianna turned to the door and called for one of the servants. When the young man appeared, she gestured to Maren. "This is the King's head housekeeper. She has traveled a long way and will need food and a place to rest before her return journey tomorrow. Please see that she is taken care of."The servant nodded and led Maren out of the room.When they were gone, Gianna sat back down across from Alexandra.He was still watching her, his expression unreadable."Say what you are thinking, Papa," Gianna said."I am thinking that you already know what you are going to do," Alexandra said. "And you are waiting for me to tell you whether it is the right choice.""Is it?""That is not for me to decide."Gianna leaned forward. "Then tell me this. Do you think I am making a mistake?"Alexandra was quiet for a moment.Then he set down his c
The Italian restaurant was nice but not exceptional. It was the kind of place that catered to high school students trying to impress dates without breaking the bank.Jason and Lyanna sat across from each other at a corner table, menus open between them."So what looks good to you?" Jason asked with his practiced charming smile.Lyanna scanned the menu without much interest."The pasta probably.""You should try the carbonara, I heard it's amazing here.""Sure, that's fine."The conversation had been like this since they arrived, Jason trying to engage while Lyanna gave minimal responses.She wasn't being deliberately rude but her disinterest was obvious to anyone paying attention.Jason either didn't notice or chose to ignore it."So your brother's pretty intense huh, I saw him at the school once when he picked you up, everyone was talking about it."Lyanna's expression tightened slightly."He's protective.""I bet, I mean with everything that happened to your family when you were you
Three days after Nolan's visit, the whole of Highmoon knew a king had come to their gates and asked for their Alpha's daughter by name. Alexandra did not confirm or deny anything but the servants talked and the market moved information faster than any herald. Gianna heard it from the woman who tended the garden when she came out one morning to check on the plant she had transferred from Valemont. The woman was kneeling beside the flower beds when Gianna approached, and she looked up with a knowing smile. "Congratulations, miss," she said warmly. Gianna blinked. "For what?" "The King's visit, of course." The woman stood and brushed the dirt from her hands. "Everyone is talking about it. A king does not travel that far for nothing." She walked away before Gianna could respond. By midday there were quiet visitors at Alexandra's gate. Not pack members. Alphas from neighboring territories sending representatives with gifts and carefully worded letters of goodwill, the kind writt
Gianna went back inside and found Alexandra in his study.He was sitting at his desk with a letter in front of him, though he did not appear to be reading it."Papa," Gianna said.He looked up. "Did you send him away?""Not yet," Gianna said. "I wanted to ask you something first."Alexandra set the letter aside. "Go ahead.""What do you think of him?"Alexandra leaned back in his chair and considered the question carefully. "He is a serious man. That showed clearly. He did not come here with empty words or grand gestures. He came with honest intentions and he was willing to be questioned about them.""And?""And I believe he cares about you," Alexandra said. "Whether that is enough is not for me to decide."Gianna sat down in the chair across from him. "What would you do?""That is not the right question," Alexandra said. "What I would do does not matter. This is your life, Gianna. Your choice.""I know that," Gianna said. "But I still want to know what you think."Alexandra was quiet
Gianna went to the gate and found Nolan standing outside with Elmund and two palace guards.Alexandra stayed a few steps behind her, his hand resting on the fence post but his eyes fixed on the man who had come asking for his daughter.Nolan looked different here. He looked less commanding in the way he was when surrounded by the trappings of his position.He was wearing traveling clothes, plain and practical, and his hair was slightly disheveled from the ride.Gianna stopped a few feet from the gate and looked at him."Your Majesty," she said."Gianna," Nolan replied.The silence that followed was not comfortable.Alexandra shifted slightly behind her and Nolan's eyes moved to him briefly before returning to Gianna."I came myself," Nolan said, "because a letter was not enough for what I needed to say."Gianna glanced back at her father. "Papa, I'll handle this."Alexandra looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "I'll be inside if you need me."He walked back toward the house,
Highmoon was exactly as she imagined it must have been when she left, since she had no memory of leaving it. The house was warm and welcoming in a way Valemont had never been. The staff came out to meet them when the carriage arrived, their faces lighting up when they saw her. An older woman with silver hair took Gianna's hands and squeezed them tightly, tears in her eyes. "Welcome home, miss." Gianna did not remember her but she smiled and thanked her anyway. Someone had put flowers in her room, the kind she apparently loved as a girl. She learned this from a servant who had been there since she was born, a woman named Clara who brought her tea that first evening and told her stories about the child she had been. "You used to pick these from the garden every morning," Clara said, gesturing to the vase on the windowsill. "Your father would find them in the strangest places. In his study, on the dining table, once even in his boot." Gianna looked at the flowers and tried
Chapter SixThe table was silent.Every Alpha, every Beta, every carefully dressed wolf in that banquet hall was looking at their plate, their glass, the middle distance – anywhere except at Cyrus, or at Gianna, or at the head of the table where Nolan sat with his hand resting flat on the cloth an
Nolan's hand closed around her wrist and their eyes met. Gianna went completely still. She could see the blazing anger in her eyes but under it, something else flickered there. Recognition? Confusion? She couldn't name. The moment of silence stretched between them, taut as a wire. Then footste
Gianna moved through the corridor on silent feet. The temple's restricted section was darker and narrower than the main hall. Nolan was twenty paces ahead. His hood was still up. He walked quickly despite the unsteadiness she'd noticed earlier. She kept to the shadows, pressing herself agains
Chapter 0007. Gianna woke up with her hand pressed flat against her chest. Her heart had been racing, for the last few minutes before she opened her eyes. IsaGianna was awake too and alert in a way she hadn't been since the banquet. She sat up slowly and pressed her fingers to her temples. The







