ANNA’S POV
Mateo knocked twice. I pressed my palms flat against my thighs.
"Guests are arriving." He stood in the doorway, dark suit and darker shirt, gone still already — which meant he was already reading me.
"We start soon."
"Give me a minute."
He didn't move. "You don't have to do this."
I looked right at him. "Yes, I do."
His jaw set. "Anna—"
"I'm not hiding from him anymore."
Silence. Then one nod. "I'll be outside."
The door clicked shut.
-----
The hall was full. Business leaders and pack representatives and investors and Ruling Alphas, the lights overhead too bright, the room already too warm — and I walked onto that stage anyway, shoulders straight, chin up.
Applause. Then quiet.
I looked out across the room. There he was. Front row. Felicia beside him, her shoulder
