LOGINI knew the face looking down at me. I’d know it anywhere.“There you are,” Jason said softly. “I’ve got you now.”…Kieran’s POVThe talisman sat in my breast pocket, a small weight over my heart. I’d carried it around since I left the chapel, rehearsing what I would say. The apology first, then the
Charlotte’s POVI’d learned long ago how to wear the right mask at the right times.So I sat at the head table in a dress the color of dark wine, my husband on one side and his daughter on the other, and I smiled and lifted my glass every time someone rose to toast the newlyweds, and not one person
“I think Elena might be haunting me and Charlotte from beyond the grave,” I finally said, deciding to just get straight to the point.The priest pulled his head back.I sighed. “Every time the two of us get close, Charlotte collapses. Like the lights just… go out.”“Well, I do recall she suffered fr
Kieran’s POVSleep wouldn’t come.I laid in the dark for ages, waiting for an exhaustion that should have dragged me under hours ago. A full day and night in the dirt by the grave. Nothing in my stomach except for a sandwich that had gone down tasting like ash. My body should have succumbed to sleep
Charlotte’s POVI had walked these paths dozens of times before, but the darkness changed them. The moon was half-full and high in the sky, and the only sounds were the pebbles crunching under my feet and the wind moving through the trees up overhead.I pulled my cardigan tighter and kept walking, l
I did. I had been finding it strange for a while. But I didn’t like the direction his voice was taking.“What are you saying, then?” I asked.He rubbed his hands together slowly, staring at the floor.“I went out to the grave because I felt guilty,” he said. “I told you that. But there’s more to it
Charlotte’s POVMy face went aflame.Whore.The word stared up at me, mocking me, ugly and hateful. No wonder people were laughing at me.“Who did this?” I demanded, spinning around to face the hallway. Several servants were lingering nearby, pretending to be busy with their tasks. “Who put this on
Charlotte’s POVThe Alpha’s face went beet red.“What did you just say to me?” he snarled.“You heard me.” I lifted my chin. “Get your own drink.”The room was so silent now you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were on me. Beside me, I could feel Kieran’s shoulders radiating tension, but I held the A
“What were you thinking?” he demanded. “You could have seriously hurt her!”Heat flooded my face. “I was just trying to get the books she wanted,” I said, ducking my head. “It was an accident.”“You weren’t thinking at all!” He threw the book onto a nearby table with a loud thud. “You’re sick, you c
Charlotte’s POV“I wasn’t staring!” I protested lamely, “I just… hadn’t seen him… like that… uhhhh…”The other wolves hooted and hollered at my stumbling words, teasing in a manner that seemed mostly good-natured but was definitely at my expense.Finally Kieran cleared his throat and the others step







