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
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