EMILI
I had spent three days with the bank card burning in the pocket of my uniform. Three days without daring to leave the mansion, repeating the same routine of serving, cleaning, and keeping my head down while the memory of Alaric’s fingers digging into my chin followed me like a shadow.
But that morning, Amelia informed me that the King would be leaving at noon with Damián and Klaus for a meeting with another pack and wouldn’t return until the next day.
“You have the afternoon free,” she told me without looking at me. “Use it for whatever you need.”
I didn’t need her to repeat it. For weeks, I hadn’t owned anything of my own. Not a toothbrush that wasn’t borrowed, not underwear that didn’t come from a donation box. The salary Alaric had given me represented more than money: it was
