EMMA’S POV
It wasn’t hard to hear the whispers. Servants always talked, their voices carrying through the stone halls like wind through cracks in a door. And lately, those whispers were all about Lady Claire.
I was walking past the main hall when I caught the tail end of a conversation earlier tonight.
“She’s been sneaking out again,” one of the younger maids whispered to the butler. “And to think, it’s Vladimir. Of all people.”
I slowed my pace, my ears pricking.
“It’s not just rumours anymore,” the butler replied in a hushed tone. “One of the night patrols saw her. If the Alpha finds out—”
The sound of a door slamming shut cut off the conversation, and I hurried on, pretending I hadn’t overhead. But the words stayed with me, a slow-burning fire of tension in my chest.
Now, as I st
