MasukIt 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
A murmur ran through the hall.Bianca’s smirk flickered in fear, just for a heartbeat.I straightened my shoulders and closed my eyes, reaching for the part of me that had always been there. The wolf that had always answered when I called.It should have been easy.I focused on the wild pulse in my
LioraI’d expected a simple path back to the library, but Callum’s house was anything but simple. Its halls twisted and doubled back on themselves, more of a labyrinth than even my father’s castle.Every turn was polished marble, heavy carved paneling, bookcases that stretched from floor to ceiling.
LioraI hadn’t planned on walking these halls again. Not as Liora the nobody. But here I am, and after last night, there’s a strange satisfaction in it. Another day lived on my own terms, why wouldn’t that make me smile?By the time Mia and I walked into the hall, the whole school was buzzing like a
LioraI didn’t stop walking until the hedges closed around me, the green walls swallowing everything behind me. The path wound and twisted like a maze, white gravel crunching under my shoes in a rhythm that was faster than I meant it to be. My hands wouldn’t stop trembling, part fury, part something







