phin

only festered as the hours ticked by. At exactly eight o'clock, I stood bef

th, I knocked and p

eld sofa, a roaring fireplace, and walls lined with towering bookshelves. The air was thick, saturated with Damie

e, the flickering flames casting ha

commande

sture rigid. I needed to maintain the boundary of our

row for the Gala," Damien stated, not bothe

uickly, my fingers twisting the hem of my shirt. "You don't even know

eyes locking onto mine. A dark, unsettl

ravelly timber. His gaze drifted downward, tracing the lines of my body with a terr

sessiveness in his tone felt far too heavy for a simple

the subtle, crushing weight of his Alpha's Command bleeding int

d of autonomy I had left, I swallowed my pride. "Fine. But I wan

ened fraction

ied in, leaving a silver cart of covered dinn

posite end of the sofa, the atm

lethal as he stared at the fire. "She prides herself on her pureblood status. To t

htening in my chest.

n seeing each other for weeks," he ordered smoothly. "Se

for a few hours. "So, I'm supposed to just admit we're sleeping tog

will look at me like I am the center of your universe, and you w

ish. Pretending to share a bed with the most powerful Alpha in the region w

nding, Seraphina?" he p

whispered, my voice trembling. I had agreed to play a ga

re coiled tight, radiating a sudden, restless energy. Without another word, he walked over to the well-sto