Lady Elena glided effortlessly in her silver gown, her triumphant smile perfectly fixed under the warm candlelight. But Alpha Duncan remained a hollow phantom. His massive hand rested on her waist with a rigid, lifeless formality, his golden eyes staring completely blankly over her shoulder. From her dark pillar at the back of the hall, Hazel watched them, her teeth grit tightly as the lingering embers of that toxic, unwanted jealousy still simmered beneath her ribs.
Beside her, Aidan and Liam were growing increasingly restless. The heavy, rhythmic thud of the festive drums was a constant vibration that kept their sensitive hybrid instincts on a knife’s edge. Aidan’s tiny hand was a hot, sweaty knot inside Hazel’s left palm, while Liam kept his face entirely buried in the coarse, scratchy
