Mated to the Alpha Emperor

ra'

up.

s smelled like warm bread and dried lavender. She kicked the door shut behin

n't even know

ms.

my skin, and I shivered - not from the cold, but from the sudden nakedness of it all. Standing in my underclothes

mirror by the window. A girl with h

g around. She was elbow-deep in the wardrobe, shoving aside wool

ot spi

something free with a triumph

le as a winter sky, with a neckline that dipped low and a slit th

id you g

d of coin." Brenna held it up against my frame, squinti

d beneath shapeless kitchen dresses. When Brenna tugged the last lace tight at the back,

ed, pointing to the

adows around my eyes until they looked wider, deeper, dangerous. A smudge of b

enn

'm concen

ike someo

she smiled - slow and satisfied, lik

ike yourself. The versio

ark blue lace, edged with tiny silv

ce stood a stranger. Tall. Sharp. Eyes like i

Not my wolf - she had never stirr

The reckless n

crimson dress, her own black mask alread

N

ct. Le

and carriages crowded the cobblestone streets. Music poured from the open gat

uards who were too busy arguing over dice to notice, ducked through a kitchen corridor thick with steam an

ped br

across the marble floor - silk and brocade, jewels and feathers, laughter echoing off gilded walls. The air was heavy with perfum

d. She shoved two glasses of strong

he liquid burned sweet a

assing server immediately, det

ttled. The burn spread through my limbs, loosening the tight kn

my eyes. His hand on Isolde's

nk fa

liers looked like captured stars. The ache was still there - deep, deep down - but it was muff

watching my face change. "Ther

and and pulled m

laughing - actually laughing - for the first time in what felt like forever. The mead hummed in my blood. The silk dress moved lik

st m

e music

g. A waltz. Couples paired off across the flo

Tall one. Silver mask. Don'

ook

n in the room. Broad shoulders wrapped in a dark coat cut with military precision, the fabric rich enough to catch the light. A silver ma

his

ed whiskey held up to firelight. They swept the room with the

n they

d direction without breaking stride, cutting through dancers

meet those golden eyes, and even then, I felt small. Not in the diminish

was low and rich, dark as

, with a scent I couldn't place - layered and complex, wood smoke and

," I

he pulled me close with a certainty that left no room for hesitation. His other hand s

mov

h he'd mapped the rhythm of the music into his bones. I followed wi

se to my ear. The words rumbled

a recent development, about the bruise still hidden beneath my m

know what I lo

is hand tightened at my waist. "The on

had nothing to do w

ed my hair. I could feel the hard plane of his chest against me, the controlled power i

territory I

you?" I

sion I'd seen. "No one. Same as you. Th

uples separated, applauding politely. But he didn't

th me,"

ering candlelight, toward the far wall where a heavy tapestry hung from ceiling

with him. The tapestry fell shut behind u

ked down at me, and something in his expression shifted.

he said quietly. "Very

ose burning golden