ano

e moment we crossed the bord

last twenty-four hours came due. The pain of the Rejection-the violent severing of

he world into gray static. Th

an's voice was

his arm tightening around me, an anchor in the

of sage, lavender, a

count sheets, in a room with large windows overlooking a lush green valley.

's a

down her back was checking a monitor. I recognized her

. My throat felt lik

Infirmary. Your body... child, the silver nearly corroded your

ike he hadn't slept in days. His shirt was rumpled, sleeves rolle

bling with professional rage. "Did Marcus Thorne really leave

rts from their pack confirm it. He explicitl

s gaslighting, made it undeniable. It wasn't a mis

, stupid, pathetic part of me that thought maybe h

," I whispered,

m went

of the bed, his presence a warm weight against the c

want to be an architect for a pack that hates me. I don't want

't be," Julia

hes that actually fit, replacing the rags I had fled in. His mother, the Luna Dowager, br

ken refugee. They treated me li

ny. His hands hovered over my abdomen, his A

med beneath my skin.

with a faint, irides

nds crashing into my m

t, panic spiking my heart rate. "Pleas

ts, he wouldn't just reject me. He would cage me

ut he nodded. "Your secret is safe. We will mask yo

walk. My first destination was th

specifically for Marcus's dream house. The nursery with the mo

hem into

l and blacken, watched

ht," the Luna Dowager told me later, finding me staring at

the furnace. "I'm done with ce

e edge of the Royal territory later that afternoon, ju

gation from Thorne Pack was there, negotiating trade routes. I recognized

comfortable, shifting on th

guilt heavy in his tone. "We...

matter," I

pulled up. Marcus stepped out, looking impeccable in a tailored suit that cost more

ere la

group. Marcus's eyes swep

nd, our ey

xpected pain. I brace

way. His gaze slid off me as

to Isabelle's ear that made her giggle, an

sed me

s chest, stepping forwar

holding him back.

Julian asked, his voice

fawn over Isabelle, "that isn't m

rom the mountains above the pass wher

ok violently b

te and deadly-cascaded down the m

vala

was right i