iana

he deepening twilight. Caden maintained a careful distance, a foot of cool air between us that felt bo

ed with silent efficien

al as he offered me a stark black busine

clair, and a number were embossed in silver. Simple. Elegant. Powerful. I sent my own dig

isper-quiet engine. It wasn't flashy, but I recognized the subtle signs of extreme modification-th

r himself, a gesture that

tion. It was a statement of intent. "We should

gether, however temporarily. We needed to set terms. And frankly, the thoug

nding to slide onto t

e city noise vanished, replaced by a profound silence broken only by the soft hum of the engine. The air

ough downtown Manhattan. We sat in silence, two strangers in

ater, we stopped

ivate, members-only club so exclusive that even my grandfather, Desmond Sull

s general manager, a man I recognized from society pages as David Price, was alr

d, bowing his head slight

the hushed, opulent dining room, and into a private elevator. We were taken to the t

way Caden commanded this level of access gave me a new, and

. Caden picked up his glass, the liquid catching the light like a liquid ruby.

to vibrate with a h

ringtone. A tone I had as

andfa

glanced at the scre

to Caden, my voice tight

face unreadable as he swir

hone to my ear.

s no greeting, no "are you okay," no mention of the fact that my mate of ten years had just pu

ed by the audaci

rritation. "Hailee had a... misunderstanding with him earlier. He's an

Hailee's mess. To apologize to Benard Conley, a lecherous old Alpha kno

I asked, my voice dangerously low. "Let Ga

udy, his hand gripping the head of his wolf-headed cane. "This is you

tasting like ash. "What about my

lost that when you lost Gabe. You are now a liability. The least you can

tioning. In his eyes, I wasn't his granddaughter. I was a tool. A pawn. And now that I

ith his werewolf hearing, in this silent room, he could hear every single word. I saw the muscle in his jaw feather, a

f together. The Audriana who would have wept an

, my voice c

silence on the oth

ou say?" De

n move around your board, Grandfather. F

"If you do not obey me, I will see you ruined! I will freeze your

touched my lips. "You'r

ed th

l in ragged breaths. My eyes burned, but I refused to let the tears fall. Not here.

anym