o P

It wasn't my simple, practical attire from Blackwood. It was a dress, a simple slip of white linen

phantom feel of Bradford's touch. When I stepped out, I put on the white dress. It settled on my frame as if it were made for me, the f

tray. She was tall, with severe, dark hair pulled back in a tight bun and a face that was al

e, but her eyes were cold and assess

s," she said, her voice cris

lied, the words out be

ng about Conrad, about his plans, but she was a fortress. Her answers were clipped, formal, and

pped in this room was a moment Bradford and Julie were solidifying their plans, a moment my revenge was

o be pr

r. When she appeare

to see h

simply nodded and left. A short while late

of day, he was even more imposing. He was dressed in dark trousers and a simpl

on. For a split second, a look of raw, unguarded emotion crossed his face-a flash of pain, of memory, o

t. And I fi

steady. I didn't wait for him to speak. "I w

erature in the room dropped by twenty degrees. Conrad's fa

ice?" he sneered, his voi

keeping me here, you are declaring an act of aggression against the Blackwood pac

, each step deliberate and menacing. The sheer force of his Alpha prese

he scoffed, stopping just a foot from me. "He bri

, but I couldn't let it show. "That is a

ntle. His fingers, calloused and warm, brushed against my cheek. His thumb stroked my skin lightl

ly thick with an emotion I didn't understand. His golden

ed down my spine. "

face to the white dress I was wearing, an

clicked into place wi

arded pain when he saw me in it. The soft, almost w

ld learn anything about his personal life. But n

acement. A stand-in for so

more profound than anything Bradford had done. To be used by my mate w

first truly honest emotion I had felt

from my face. The sound

spat, my voice s

ked at me, truly looked at me, and saw not a gh

my voice dropping to a low, dangerous command. "Or I swear

lava. His inner wolf roared in my mind, a furious, wounded sound at the thought of its mate being harmed.

a battle of wills. The a

n his fury. The suffocating

said, the w

been prepared for a fight, for him to call

d, his eyes like chips of ice. "