ry
oke. The great hall, usually filled with the quiet
f my skirt. Somewhere deep in my chest, the ghost of the girl
ed his spine, trying to reclaim the easy arrogance of the Alpha's heir. It d
"We need to talk. I... I care for you deeply. You know that. But it's as a sister. The M
, choked sob. "Oh, Audry, I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I never me
t, that a laugh escaped my lips. It wasn't a sound of
ith anger. "What's so funny?" he snapped. "Is your heart so cold y
into my house with your mistress to deliver a prepared speech is respectful?
a blotchy red.
uld force you to state your reasons before the elders. It would expose you as an adulterer. It would stain the precious Stein family name. So
r me, trying to use his Alpha height and build to inti
ed, looking up at him. "Or what, Bryson? You'll ra
ation. Her hands reached for the hem of my red dress, fingers twisting in the silk. As she wept, I felt the sharp, precise scrape of
acidic. "Don't put your hands on
irs, his face a mask of alarm. He took in the scene-Bryson furious, Kaila on the floor,
asking what had happened. He then turned to Bryson, his face wreathed in an apolo
ively destroying our family's honor, and the last flicker of
I said, my
turning back to me with a stern glare. "Whatever Bryson has proposed,
father, but as I stood before him, the power dynamic i
he three of them-the cowar
with absolute finality. "I will not be accep
e you insane? You want to drag this out? To cli
his eyes. "Oh, no, Bryson. I don't want you. I want a public rejection
h terror. A public ceremony was a binding, historic event. It would be reco
. "If this goes public, you'll be the one humiliated.
of tatters than a woman who allows her name to be whispered abou
d beneath. A public rejection would stain that crest for generations. He saw his alliance with the Steins c
d never
hock at my speed, at the strength coiling in my arm. I sque
hisper, "raise your hand to me again. If you do, I will b
a stranger filled with a chilling resolve. He saw t
n disgust and turned my back on
s. If you refuse, I will personally take the evidence of your affair-and your bastard child-to you
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