I stood up, washed the blood from my face, changed my dress, and opened the door.
The guard led me downstairs and stopped outside the study. He knocked once, opened it, and stepped aside to allow me to walk in. My father was at the window.
At the desk, a man rose to his feet.
He was not what I expected.
He was tall, very tall, with sharp features and dark eyes, and the kind of composed, unhurried presence that made the room feel immediately smaller. Beautiful in the way that dangerous things are beautiful. The kind of man other Alphas watched when he entered a room.
Behind him, standing at the wall with his arms crossed, was another man. Slightly shorter and different.
This man was leaner, harder, the kind of body that had been shaped entirely by training rather than lineage. His e
