CIARA
The next morning, I didn’t just mask my anger; I froze it solid.
I arrived at the grand dining hall ten minutes late, deliberately forcing the entire room to wait. When the heavy oak doors swung open, the silence that greeted me was instantaneous. The usual pack warriors, elders, and trembling maidservants were all in their places, their eyes shifting nervously between the head of the table and me.
Hayes sat in his usual spot, looking immaculate in a tailored black suit jacket. His storm-gray eyes snapped to me the moment my boots crossed the threshold, tracking my movement with a heavy, intense focus.
I didn't give him the satisfaction of a single glance.
I strode down the length of the room, my posture completely rigid, my chin held high. I had discarded the ruined velvet dres
