an

oze on the ed

ion of Assets. Emotional Distress Co

nsense. A

t through my system. My mind, reeling, unspooled. It fled the cold, sterile office an

irst shift still a fresh, aching memory in my bones. I was all coiled power and

f a thing, maybe sixteen, with wide, nervous green eyes and hair the color of rich s

soft but firm. "This is Eden Shanno

eyes met her

It was a fragrance I'd never known but had somehow been waiting for my

beast inside me, roared a sing

i

. She could feel it too. The scent of pine and winter snow that was mine. The undeniable, irr

d. An Alpha in waiting.

by instinct. Not fo

of her dress, the way she wouldn't quite meet my eyes. D

ss had a sick

eant only for her. "A stray from a fo

. The light went out, replaced by a hurt so profound it was

ded on my shoulder.

her's garden. Her fingers were clenched at her sides, her knuckles white. It

he pack, needed her to be. She studied pack law, etiquette, diplomacy. She le

erfect Luna. A flawless, beauti

a stunning emerald gown, had charmed a stubborn old elder, securing his sup

me in the library. Her eyes we

ded her my empty glass. "That's your job,

s died again. I had

business again. She just watched. From the corners of rooms, from behind her mask, she observed

a ghost. I had m

office. The scent of her perfume, a subtle flo

ting across from me. The

in my gut, that I had never seen her at

d. I never noticed she had been