Liora's POV
"I am not a mistress."
Selene stood in the center of the crowd, spine ramrod straight, chin lifted high—but I could see her fingers trembling where she clutched the fabric of her gown, knuckles pale.
Rowan blinked, looking almost innocently surprised.
"You're not?" He tilted his head. "That's not what your private messages suggested. The ones you sent while he was still with his official partner."
He paused, as if recalling the wording.
"Something like—'She doesn't deserve you. I'll make you Alpha.' Wasn't it?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried. The circle of onlookers heard every word.
Selene's face flared crimson.
"You're lying," she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Am I?" Rowan didn't rise to the bait. He simply shifted his gaze past her, toward the edge of the
