Elena
The crowd stares at me. Their eyes are cold. Curious. Cruel. I feel like a deer surrounded by wolves. No — I am a wolf surrounded by wolves, but they are dressed in silk and diamonds, and I am barefoot in a torn red dress.
Alexander walks toward me, his green eyes gleaming. He is dressed in a black suit, tailored perfectly to his broad shoulders. His black hair is combed back. He looks like a prince from a dark fairy tale.
"Come, Elena," he says. "Do not be shy."
I want to run. My legs itch to sprint. But there is nowhere to go. Wolves surround the garden. Guards at every exit, dressed in dark suits, their eyes scanning the crowd. Some are in human form, some in wolf form, lying beneath the rose bushes.
I walk toward him. My bare feet are cold on the stone path. The red dress dr
