ley
ver Peak, bypassing the commercial high-rises and pulling into
nstructed from dark grey granite, its towering arched doors carve
ide, escorting me up the wide stone steps as th
ld, the low hum of conversation insid
ck representatives sat in the carved wooden pews, their sharp,
ifted, forcing my trembling legs to carry me
was comple
o groom wai
arry had not even bothered to
out among the guests in the front rows, s
family dumped on us? She looks like
t an altar for a sacrificial pawn? The elders forced this ma
I clamped my jaw shut, refusing to give them
throat nervously, wiping sweat from his foreh
cathedral's overhead sound system, making the sensit
g hymn, the sound system began bl
ted ceiling, filling the sacred hall with t
ud, mocking laughter, pointing at my solit
designed to remind me that this marriage w
nged open, and an imposing woman in her late fifties s
, and a heavy, braided silver torc gleamed ag
atriarch of the clan and the m
" Deborrah barked, her voice carrying the sha
funeral march cut out abruptly, leaving
feet in front of me, her cold, calculating eyes sweepi
h announced loudly, addressing the entire room without bothering to look at
ned on her designer heel and walked tow
u need to learn the
followed her through the narrow arched d
ting off the noise from the chapel, leavin
pouring herself a cup of black tea from a porcelai
ing makes you a real Luna in this territory," Deborrah sa
Mejia," I replied evenly, meetin
tate her, and she leaned forwar
to satisfy the tribal council's deadline," she sneered, her voice dro
and," I sa
ly. "For the next sixty days, you will keep your head down, you will never inquire ab
in her leather chair with
r standard severance check, and disappear from Silver Peak forever. If you
cted relief wash
mo
would be completely free from both the Mccall family and th
d, dipping my head slightly to con
eaching into her leather clutch to p
oor at my feet, watching me like a
the Grand Summit Tower," she said dismissively. "Cristian
metal card from the floor, the
cathedral as the guests drove away in their luxury seda
y lace train onto the cracked vinyl seat, and gav
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