LOGINIt might have been laughable, had circumstances not been so… sad.“So your parents took it badly, I imagine,” I pointed out.Callum huffed and looked into his bottle. “My dad beat the shit out of me.”I pulled my head back. “He what?”Wordlessly, Callum turned, pulling his shirt up to reveal his bac
Liora’s POVI just barely made it into the parking space before the car let out one final groan, then sputtered to a stop, rocking back and forth on the wheels.“Sorry about that, girl,” I said, patting the steering wheel. “That was a lot more driving in one day than I anticipated.”Shirley almost s
“Twenty lashes,” he said. “We’ll see if you change your mind then.”I grit my teeth. “I don’t have to put up with this anymore.”“Would you rather take it, or would you prefer if that little wolfless whore of yours took it instead?”The moment he said those words, I felt all the blood drain from my
Callum’s POVMy father’s shadow darkened the room.There was a time in my life when my father’s presence seemed enormous and all-consuming, like a black hole filling any space he entered. When I was a child, I remembered thinking that he was big enough to reach the moon, or to blot out the sun.I’d
“The ones at the top of the list are our recommended ones,” my father added before I could say anything. “But ultimately, dear, it’s up to you.”I quirked a brow and opened the folder. There were over a dozen names on the list, along with small black-and-white headshots of each bachelor and which pa
Liora’s POVWhen I returned to the palace, I honestly expected to find that half of it had burned down in some freak fire, or that someone was dead.I didn’t find any of that.The palace was as peaceful as ever, quiet and cheerfully lit, the yellow porch lights illuminating the melting snow. The but
Callum’s POVNo one was in the mood to finish the solstice feast after that. I couldn’t blame them.A student was dead.Julie Palmer. Dead. Torn apart by rogues with eight pizza boxes in her possession.The worst part was the fact that the rogues didn’t even take the food. They weren’t starving. The
Liora’s POVMr. Alder unplugged the speaker, casting the room into silence. The students who had been dancing suddenly froze, muttering amongst themselves in confusion. Everyone turned to the principal, still holding plates of food and red plastic cups. Mr. Alder stood there with the cord to the sp
Liora’s POV“Marissa’s alive?” I gripped Zane’s arm so tightly I could feel my nails digging into his flesh even through his jacket. “Are you sure?”“Mostly sure.” He looked between me and Callum. “It was hard to tell without getting closer. But they had her ankles and wrists tied, and she looked li
Friends. That was all we were, right? All we could be.I cleared my throat and looked away, suddenly feeling bashful. I knew I shouldn’t be feeling like this. It was just a laugh and a single smile. Literally the bare minimum for a properly functioning person.But… Dammit, if it didn’t make somethin







