جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 6

Chapter OneThe gates swung open at dusk. Gianna heard the patrol return before she saw it – boots on gravel, wolves shifting back to skin, the familiar chaos of Valemont's warriors coming home.She was standing on the upper terrace with a glass of wine when she saw Cyrus walk through the main gate.He wasn't alone.A woman walked beside him – young with dark hair loose around her shoulders. She was wearing Cyrus's spare patrol jacket – the grey one Gianna had picked out for him last winter – and she was looking up at him the way a dog looks at the person holding its leash. Like he was the only solid thing in the world.Cyrus wasn't pushing her away.Gianna set her wine glass down very carefully on the stone railing.She walked downstairs.By the time she reached the courtyard, Cyrus had already stopped walking. He stood at the center of the stone yard with the woman still at his side, talking to Beta Francisabout something that clearly wasn't important enough to finish, because t

Chapter ThreeGetting out of bed took longer than it should have.Evelyn hovered the entire time – hands half-raised, ready to catch her – while Gianna moved carefully, testing each step like she was walking on ice. The lump on her skull had softened slightly overnight but the unpleasant headache behind her eyes was still there.She made it to the vanity without incident and sat down.Evelyn set to work on her hair in silence.Gianna looked at her own reflection.She was genuinely beautiful and she was stuck.Stuck in a house with a husband who'd shoved her down a flight of stairs and then sat beside her bed the next morning like he was the one with grievances. "Evelyn ," Gianna said."Yes, Luna?""Why won't Cyrus divorce me?" She watched Evelyn 's hands stop moving in the mirror. "Legally. What's actually stopping it?"Evelyn set the comb down very slowly."Luna." She chose her words with visible care. "You don't remember – but the marriage wasn't just between you and Alpha Cyru

Chapter FiveThe King didn't look at her again.He moved to the head of the table, sat, and the entire banquet resumed around him, everyone pretending the last five minutes had been completely normal.Gianna walked back to their seats with Cyrus's hand clamped around her elbow the entire way.He let go the moment they sat down.She could feel the anger coming off him in waves. She could see him struggling to keep it contained, because it had to be, because they were only forty feet from the Lycan King. Gianna picked up her fork and began eating.The food was exceptional. She wasn't going to waste it on anxiety.Across the table, someone laughed too loudly at something and then immediately calibrated down when heads turned. That was the way things were in this room. People couldn't fully enjoy themselves. Cyrus wasn't eating. He was sitting very straight, performing composure.Gianna reached for her wine.That's when she saw it.Cyrus had turned slightly to speak to the man on his