**Kiara**
Night fell heavily over the estate, the kind of thick, oppressive darkness that made the walls feel closer than they were.
I had changed out of the wedding gown hours ago, but the bite mark on my neck still throbbed. Every time I moved, the small wound pulled, sending a sharp sting followed by an unwelcome shiver that traveled straight down my spine and settled low in my belly. I hated it. I hated how my body remembered the heat of Rossi’s tongue licking the blood away, the way his teeth had sunk in just enough to claim without destroying.
I lay on my side of the massive bed in a simple silk nightgown, facing away from the center. The sheets were cool against my skin, but they did nothing to calm the storm inside me. Bianca’s mocking words mixed with the memory of Rossi’s grow
