The limousine slid along the winding roads of Moon’s Fang, the engine a low hum that contrasted with the oppressive silence inside the vehicle. The torn dress Ethan had forced me to wear barely covered my skin — the plunging neckline and the clipped skirt exposing more than I could bear. My hand brushed the silver collar, its weight a reminder of my captivity, but also of my secret: I could unfasten it, free Clarisa, my wolf, when the moment came. Patience, she whispered in my mind, her voice a low, firm growl. Watch. Learn. Survive. But as the car approached the mansion where the masquerade was being held, fear and humiliation tangled in my chest, a knot that threatened to suffocate me.
The mansion rose before us, a fortress of black stone lit by torches that threw dancing shadows across
