a P

ovided me with a simple gray uniform and a schedule so detailed it felt

nto Cyrus's master suite for the first time. The room was enormous and

. A web of old, silvery scars crisscrossed the broad expanse of his back, interwoven with

til he turned. I quickly dropped my

re," he

ed myself to remain calm, refusing to let the fear inside me show. I kept my eyes f

t and clamped around my wrist. His skin was scorchi

o pull away, but his

me, searching for something. He was testing me, I rea

me a statue in his hold. I couldn't

in on the inside of my wrist, a slow, deli

he stated, a hint of amu

er. The heat in my cheeks inte

neck, to the dark mark he ha

up, his cool fingertips gently

rrent shot from that single point of contact, rac

t hurt," I manag

hot breath fanning across my neck. "Bec

alyzed. After he marked me, I could somehow sense his Alpha scent, something that should ha

ed my senses, leaving me dizzy. A primal part of me,

squeezed my eyes shut, not because I was waiting for it,

yesterday. No matter how much I resisted, no matter how much I

lost the rig

red myself to endur

umble. I caught myself on the edge of a d

once again a mask of cold indifference. The man who had

You may go," he

ed with me, pushing me to a breaking point, only to back away. It was more unsettlin

ced the shirt on the

ool wall, gulping in air. My heart pounded

as a thousand times more da

y mind and break down my

k. You will not break, Aria, I