Nellie´s POV
The room Ethan had dragged us to was a sanctuary of darkness and opulence, with red velvet-covered walls absorbing the dim light from a solitary lamp, casting shadows that danced like ghosts across the dark wood furniture. The air was heavy with the scent of old leather and an undercurrent of incense that filtered from the main hall, where the sensual music of the masquerade still echoed in the distance, a low pulse echoing in my chest. My heart pounded, the silver collar burning my skin like a red-hot iron, suffocating Clarissa, who growled in the back of my mind, her Alpha Force transformed into an urgent whisper, which could be released at any moment, but she insisted I remain calm.
“Watch. The time will come,” she insisted.
But fear and fury consumed me, my torn dress h
