The ball continued around me with music, laughter, the scent of wine and couples in love but it all felt distant, muted.
Lucien’s words looped in my head like a thorn I couldn’t pull free.
Why do you think Chris and James left Fangs Hollow with you?
Why is it none of your friends have found their mates?
By the time we returned to the Red Sorrow guest quarters that night, my thoughts were raw from chewing on them.
Chris was by the fire, unfastening his formal jacket, while James leaned against the window, scanning the snowy courtyard below.
I shut the door behind me.
“Why did you leave Fangs Hollow with me?”
Chris glanced up, brow furrowing. “We’ve been through this. You became alpha and you needed”
“I needed?” I cut in. “Or Alex needed spies? ”
James’s gaze slid to me, sharp but
