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
Liora They were smiling at me. All of them.Dozens of faces I hadn’t been allowed to look in the eye a month ago were now turned toward me with something like admiration. Or awe. Or relief.“Congratulations.”“You showed them.”“You give the rest of us hope!”Each of them, wolfless from around the
CallumI pushed through the bodies around, trying to nod and remain polite as I did, but there stares were like waking through knives. I told Bianca Iwas headed to the bathroom, but I need more, just a momment.I pushed out into the quiet halls of the grand room, the ceilings low and dark, only the
“I—” She huffed, looking just as trash smacked as me. Hair a mess, feet bare, dress in near shreds. “You will not believe,” she said, pulling her coat off and throwing it over the chair, “what an absolute nightmare that was.”Her tone was light. Casual.I blinked, unsure how to answer. “You… made it
“No,” she hummed, “for finally understanding your place. For realizing that not every fairytale ends with the cold, mouthy girl getting the prince. Sometimes she just ends up… alone.”She leaned against the opposite wall, folding her arms with a hum.“He was never yours, you know,” she added, almost







