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
Bianca complained the entire way down, of course. She kept having to stop to catch her breath or make Jessica clean the scuffs off her pink boots when she slipped on the stones. Marcus looked like he was resisting the urge to push her down into the ravine himself.At the bottom of the ravine, while
Liora’s POV“And… There.” I shoved the last tent stake into the dirt with the heel of my boot and took a step back to admire my handiwork. My tent was tucked neatly amongst a small copse of fir trees, the fronds acting as a natural barrier against the wind and elements.“Oh my god, can’t you just do
Every instinct was screaming at me to hold her, to wrap her in my arms like any good boyfriend would and comfort her. But I couldn’t. Having her on me like this, sobbing into my shirt, soaking my skin with her tears… It just made me uncomfortable.“What was her name?” I blurted out.“Wh…What?”“Your
Liora’s POV“Liora?” Mia scrambled out of bed, looking between me and the guards. “What are you doing? What’s happening?”“I’m being expelled.” I couldn’t look at her. I just grabbed my suitcase out of my closet and threw it open on my bed.“What? Why?”“Why do you think?” I flung my dresser drawer







