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 The toes of my heels crossed effortlessly over the squishy mud, years of training kept my balance steady despite the mess beneath me, but it didn’t stop the pounding in my head.The hedge line flew past in a blur of green and thorns.Air. Space. I just needed one moment.Stone wolves lined th
No. That’s not fair. He, though was a jerk, deserved an answer before someone else said it for me. I didn’t want to wait for anyone to hand me the right time, the right words, the right stage.I’d let too many people speak for me before. Bianca. The gossipers in the hall. Callum.Even my father, who
Callum had one arm locked around the upper wire, his other gripping me, hard around the wrist. He’d caught me mid-fall.“I’ve got you!” he shouted, before tossing me up withone arm like I weigh nothing. I was floating for a second, face to face, when his arm snapped around my waist, pulling me close
Liora 9:07 p.m.I checked the time again, my fingers trembling as they hovered over the face of the watch tucked beneath my glove. It was irrational, checking it again and again wouldn't make it speed up or slow down. But still, I checked. Because I was waiting for him. For the inevitable.They mus







