Alpha Ethan Blackwood’s POV
The heavy orange glow of the setting sun spilled through the window, catching the sharp angles of Maris’s face and highlighting the thin, rugged battle scars tracing her jawline.
On the battlefield, those scars had made her look beautiful—a symbol of shared survival and fierce, raw power. But for some inexplicable reason, as Ethan stared at her right now, his mind kept betraying him, flashing back to the unblemished, breathtakingly pretty face of Lane.
"So... you didn't keep any of her money?" Maris asked, her voice dropping the frantic edge and hardening into a cold, flat demanding tone.
Ethan swallowed the lump of pride in his throat, shifting his weight. "I didn't, Maris. In the end, it was Lane’s money. The gold belonged to the Conlay estate."
Maris’s
