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
LioraThe front gates of the castle loomed ahead, tall and ancient, carved with snarling wolves and curling vines of power long since sealed into the stone. They didn’t creak so much as they breathed, like they sensed us standing there.And tension.Behind me, I could hear Jessica fidgeting with her
“I’d prefer not to discuss it,” I said.“Oh ho!” Drake grinned like a wolf who scented blood. “Someone’s embarrassed. Was she that good?”“She was precise,” I muttered. “Nothing more.”Drake waggled his eyebrows. “I heard you turned her down as your mate? Any leftover feelings there? Maybe she’ll as
When I found an empty, dust-covered office, I brushed my fingers behind my ear. The mindlink buzzed in my head like a gnat circling my skull.I tapped my temple out of habit. “You couldn’t have texted?”“That tone is wasted on me, princess,” my father’s voice filled my head dry like old parchment. “
LioraThe castle doors groaned open with a final click, echoing through the quiet, gilded hall like a held breath released. I stared at Bianca from behind, puzzled. No, irritated.How had she opened it?Old magic coded into the stones of this place, so old I can’t imagine tampering with it. Still, I







