s P
r's protective fury remained at a steady, simmering boil. She fussed over me const
long, golden hair with slow, rhythmic strokes. The silv
, breaking the comfortable silence. "We need
oming. The attack had been the catalyst, but Dari
nderbilt alliance is important for this family. But you are more important." She
for two days. And in all that time, there was not a single word from
composed surface. "A mate, even a political one, should show some concern. He has shown nothing
and pain cross my face. I squeezed her hand. "Moth
hardened into something unyielding. "Your father will listen to me on this. A Kensington dau
had been kind but resigned, a product of her time who believed a daughter's duty was to ma
sured and practical, "a powerful ally is still a necessity i
rise. She had moved fast
from the water?" she asked. "Felipe Fields.
e had always been in Darius's shadow, a polite and competent fixture I had barely noticed. But now, I remembered hi
"But he is brilliant, respected, and from what I observed, a gentleman. More impor
gaze wash over me, a stark cont
nto her features. "I have made a decision," she declared, her chin liftin
to the entire Lycan nobility of Silverstone Capital. It will show that you are well, that you are strong..." She paused and looked at me,
marketplace. And this time, I was not the merchandise to be
ile touched my lips
passive rest. I began to walk the grounds, slowly at first, then with more purp
ade a r
groundskeeper fetch me a bow and a quiver of arrows from
led but scurried o
hands at first. I had learned archery in my past life, spending countless frustrating hours trying to perfe
d me once, his expression bored
racticing for him. I
e first arrow went wide, thudding into the grass far from th
. She didn't scold me. Instead, I saw something shift in her expression-a look of
household staff, directing floral arrangements and menu selections with the precision of a g
he House of
to see that the girl he had so carelessly discarded was not waiting in the shadows for
les stronger. I remembered a fleeting comment Darius had
tring back until it touched my li
e. I would seize the victory. I would
n to ripple through the capital's high society.
paleness was gone, replaced by a healthy flush. My eyes, o
a was no
hed me. I was no longer an accessory to Alpha Darius Vander
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