is

ind us, the facade of strength I had maintained in the

her hands fluttering nervously as she clutched my arm. Her fing

with years of worry, lines of sadness I had never truly seen until now. "Mother," I said, my v

how he planned to use her money to buy my cousin a title so she could take my pl

t, a soft, wounded sound escaping her lips. Tears, the tears I had refused to shed, str

r pain. "Because they see us as a vault to b

ice, muffled by the wood, announced, "The Alpha has retu

a wife preparing to meet her husband. A flicker of hope, of foolish, desperate hope

hat last illusion was

e table, his handsome face grim, his military uniform immaculate. He looked ev

their voices a venomous symphony as they painted me a

slammed his silver fork down onto his plat

oment my mothe

, his voice laced with the authority of an Alpha. "You dare to disrespect your gran

nk," my mother began, rushing

ff without a second thought. "This is your

er, please don't be angry," she said, her voice trembling. "It's all my fault. If you want the title, if

ks. She looked like a heartbroken angel, a martyr

ushing to comfort her daughter. "The heir

f warmth before turning to me with icy contempt. "Lo

me to be shamed into submission

Carson, the snake who had spent years dripping poison into our grandmother's ea

and bitter, e

palm on the table, making the fine china jump. "Wha

s gaze directly. "Apologize? For what? For refusing to

e she was old enough to walk. The jewels in her ears, the roof over her head, the food on this table-all of it, every last coin, came from my mother's coffers. And

guarded moment, her mask slipped, and I s

t was all for her. "Do you see now, Mother? In this hou

e smug triumph on the faces of her in-laws. The last flicker

lled from him, the weight of his Alpha authority pressing down on the room. My wolf stirred restlessly inside me, instinctively wanting to submit, to bare my throat. Bu

t

struck my mother with the force of a physical assault, shatt

breath. The mo

lm. "If our property is so unwelco

ed out my phone. I dialed a number f

'Liquidation' protocol. I am formally requesting the return of all assets loaned b

d slipped the phone

nd for the first time, a glimmer of fear. Belia's jaw had gone slack. Cydney looked as if she had swallowed acid. And Carson-Car