Serena
My heels touched the marble before my face did.
I waited those few seconds on purpose because yes, I wanted all the attention when I finally stepped out.
Once, I had been cast out of this mansion in shame.
Now, I returned with Kael at my back, the Alpha who had begged for me to come.
The sound of my heels filled the hall. Sharp. Deliberate. Each step its own declaration. I didn’t shrink. I didn’t hide. I lifted my chin and walked like I belonged here. Like I had never been pushed out in the first place.
Eyes followed me. Some wide with shock, others narrowed with disgust. The staff froze, as if their very breathing could betray them. It was the silence that did it the brittle, sharp-edged silence that said, how dare she return? Just the right kind of attention I was looking fo
