iana

aerie of black granite, obsidian glass, and sweeping p

the sleeves cuffed to his forearms, exposing corded muscle and faint, silver-etched scars. In the daylight, he was breat

ative marriage. I require an ironclad prenuptial agreement guaranteeing total financial separation.

ers, watching me with u

xchange, I offer strategic corporate restructuring for your subsidiary ventures, and exclusive artistic access to Aura.

f crushed pine and winter ozone crashing over me like a tide. "My terms are simpler, Audriana. You bear my crest. You stand beside me wh

lves," I countered c

in his eyes. "Then

lliance Registry Hall. There were no public clerks this time. Instead, the Chie

t and slid a matte-black titanium token across the counter. It bore on

from his wrinkled face. He dropped into a deep, sha

ting with command that rattled the crystal wall sco

ately,

Your Grace. That was not the title of a standard pack Alp

glowing silver runes. This was no civil registry; it was the primordial c

archment. Ten years of loyalty to Gabe had brought m

den's low voice murmured near my ea

r," I

Audriana Sullivan. The ink flashed with

slashed his signature bes

Elmsworth whispered,

ed through my veins. It wasn't the agonizing burn of Gabe's rejection; it was an intoxicatin

th the skin to form an indelible mark-two wolves circling

esh brand. His pupils dilated into abyssal blackness for a fraction of a secon

ly stamping the leather booklets. "No public records. If a single ledger le

lmsworth gasped, bowing unt

ing wind on the stone steps, C

on is contested. Throwing you into the council spotlight prematurely

unglasses. "I have no desire to play th

e Sullivan manor, Dagny sipped iced tea from a crystal tumbl

e the magistrate declare Audriana mentally incompetent by this evenin

had no idea the prey they intended to slaughter