is
halls stood bare, the walls scarred with pale rectangles where paintings had once hung. Only the oldes
he manor was not what
ucks, a sleek black carriage bearing the royal crest of the Alpha King pulled up to th
of the Royal Court, a heavy, overwhelming musk of pure authority that made lower ranking wolves instinctively want to submit. "I am Preston Sterling," he announced, his voice
but he rushed forward, his face arranged in a welcoming smile. "Lord Sterling! What an unexpected honor. The donation, of course. I will ha
onation was pledged by the Lara
e you waiting for? This is
od territories," I corrected, my voic
n hardened. "Alpha Rowe. Is there a problem? If the R
urge to bare his throat in submission was evident in his trembling posture. "No!
sets by creditors. I see an Alpha who cannot produce funds he pledged to the Crown. Misappropr
remble. For the first time in my life, I saw genuine terror in his ey
re she sat on the steps. "Craig! Do som
her face white. "This is Adriene
ch for one long, terrib
ortium will ho
ead snapped toward me, his ey
lm and steady. "My mother gave her word. I will not see her name tarnished by this
er two hundred thousand silver coins to the Roya
rcus's voice came t
He turned a cold gaze on my father. "You are fortunate, Alpha Rowe, that your d
climbed back into his
ed with fury. "You worthless trash! Why did you not just pay it immediately? Y
d contempt. "I just saved you from
on the marble steps. "It does not matter! The money
tted house. Their scents were sour with misplaced joy and delusion. "Did you hear that, Carson? The
gift, completely ignoring the fact that the money was meant for charity. "Oh, Mother! I knew Alston would not
nce of their financial ruin, they were celebrating a title bought with money that was never theirs. I
inue with the repossession. I want every item purchase
ntly. "What? No! You cannot do this! The
e repossession is a separate matter. These assets belong
rateful
ice dangerously soft. "How do you think the Crown would view a Pac
. His inner wolf cowered, realizing he was completely outmatched. Because he knew
r waited. Behind me, the sounds of Marcus's men continued, methodically
ou will never have to dimin
mother to be taken to the finest p
t over, but thi
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