's

Carrington, the downtrodden twin who had been blamed,

different air-graceful, assured, someone who had conquered

on pack now glimmered like a rare jewel in New Orleans' elite s

usic, lights, and elegantly dressed guests. Beside me stood Leo Asht

owd. I was his, and he was mine. His eyes held an admiration and tenderness only I k

nto my ears, his voice low and te

h a sense of safety I rarely felt. "So do I," I

tched, dissected. I froze, my breath catching in my throat. Turning slowly, my g

him.

aw as the day it had happened. My mind raced back to the rejection, t

and dismissive, tearing down the fr

and disbelief. He stood in stunned silence, his eyes locki

usand times-where I was free, strong, and beyond the reach of those who'd tried to break me. And

back to the present. His hand tightened around my waist, his kee

ore potent dread than I'd thought possible. My mother, with that familiar calculating look, stood be

e they

me with an intensity that went beyond mere curiosity. He looked at

e, of silent suffering, of whispered accusations. It was as if they had come

e. I was no longer the helpless girl they'd once discarded. But I a

, I'm no

ifting into that of an Alpha assessing a p

ise my

asked, his voice soft

oice barely audible. "Th

o's jaw clenched as he pieced together the gravity

locked on my mother's piercin

s, so much like my own, burned with a mix of disdain and anger. She took me in, from my e

ay your shame with luxury? Do you think this life makes you any different? Underneath i

ld feel the old wounds reopening, each syllable she spoke slicing throug

t you died. But here you are, parading around as if you belong in the land of the liv

e, but it didn't last. Because at that moment, Leo stepped

and walk away unscathed," Leo said, his words

nged wary glances. But while my parents faltered, Connor did not. His

y body come alive. It was a pull I despised, a connection I had sworn to seve

words low and filled with a dark, possessi

me that after everything--made me laug

ing with fury. "Didn't you r

ade a mistake," he said, voice thick with somethi

as I looked at his direction, I felt the weight of every emotion I'd

d one more time, his

ould kill him. Who the h

sent collided. "How did I get here?" I muttered as I found mysel

d gi