RISSA’S POV
Something was wrong.
The feeling settled in my stomach like a stone the moment Lady Melissa smiled at me. That cruel, victorious smile that made my skin crawl. I’d seen that expression before, on the faces of bullies in my old pack, on the faces of people who enjoyed causing pain.
“Leave,” she’d said, her voice sweet as poisoned honey. “The lady and I need to have a private conversation.”
I’d looked at Lady Anokai, at my lady who’d been nothing but kind to me since I’d been assigned to her. Who treated me like a person, not a servant. Who smiled at me, asked about my day, and made me feel like I mattered.
“Rissa, it’s fine,” Lady Anokai had said, but her eyes had said something different. Her eyes had said stay.
“Leave,” Lady Melissa had repeated, and this time there was
