I was utterly, royally, dood.
Cassian’s eyes practically glowed with disdain, as though I was a sar of dirt on a pair of newly bought, highly expensive white shoes. He growled, and before I could even pull my hands away, he did it for .
He grabbed my hands and tossed off of his body as though I was no more than a rag doll. I barely even had the ti to regain my balance, causing to crash into the next person, who just so happened to be Rowan.
His cologne and natural scent instantly wafted into my nose, causing my stomach to churn and do flips. I looked up, horrified. This ti, I made sure to act first before yet another one of the triplet Alphas found a reason to throw to the ground.
I all but tore my hands away, quickly stepping back to put so distance between us. Rowan’s eyes trailed after , dark and unreadable. I couldn’t tell if he was displeased, but I wouldn’t dare to assu otherwise. After all, he had never been pleased with . There was no reason to start thinking he would be now, especially after I had practically groped him.
"W-What is it?" I asked, my voice quaking uncontrollably. The overwhelming sense of fear had not yet dissipated. I wanted to scream, to yell, to argue, but instead, all of my usual sharpened claws and weaponized words failed .
"Briar, please, now’s not the ti for gas," Violet said.
She stepped forward and grabbed both my hands with hers, locking firmly in place. I tugged and pulled, but her grip remained firm. It was impossible for to worm free.
"I entrusted you to steam iron the wedding dress before the ceremony. Where is it? The ceremony is about to begin!" she continued.
My eyes popped wide open at her words.
"Since when did that happen?" The words tumbled out of my mouth before I had the chance to stop myself.
Her eyes instantly turned red and watery, as though she had an in-built switch ant for summoning tears at will.
"You’re joking, right?" Violet said in between quaking breaths. "Co on, Briar. I know you’re upset at about your friend, but I rely did what was right. She broke the rules. If she wasn’t punished, what would the rest of the pack say? How will order be maintained in the future?"
She continued, "You can’t just hide my wedding dress because of this. We’re all grown adults here."
"But you’ve never―"
I paused, realization dawning upon . When I woke up, I was wearing a beautiful white gown. Back then, I was so enraptured by what was happening between the strange heat in my body and Rowan appearing in the room — as well as the events after — that I didn’t put two and two together.
By the ti I had regained my senses, the dress had beco shreds of fabric, unsalvageable. Unless Rowan had sent oga servants in to clean the room, it would still be there, lying in wait.
But I couldn’t say that. If I did, I would have to explain why the dress was ripped in the first place.
I glanced at Rowan from the corner of my eye. His expression had not changed even once. It was cold and frigid like a winter storm, and his eyes were dark― I couldn’t read a single thing. If eyes were the windows to one’s soul, then Rowan Hadeon’s soul was nothing more than a dark, endless abyss.
My lips fell apart, and I began to gape wordlessly. There was nothing I could say in explanation. All three of the Alphas stared at , and Violet stood right at the front, staring hopefully into my eyes.
Explaining what happened to the wedding dress would also an explaining what transpired between Rowan and . I didn’t dare to imagine what would happen to if I did. Rowan might not even admit it, and even if Cassian had witnessed sothing happening firsthand, he definitely would choose to hide it.
After all, Rowan made it very clear that no one else was supposed to know what happened between us.
If I dared to tell anyone, the best-case scenario would be that I would be executed for treason. The worst case scenario would be getting tortured beyond any way or thod I could possibly imagine. He would no doubt make everything I had experienced up until now seem like child’s play in comparison.
Judging by how reluctant the Alphas were for to take my own life, it was very likely that they would choose the latter.
Telling the truth would never be an option anyway. I refused to believe that Violet was truly heartbroken about the loss of her wedding dress. Chances were, she was the one who put in that dress and in that room in the first place.
She probably wanted punished by Rowan once he realized I had entered his room without permission. And if she failed, at least she had the case of her missing wedding dress to serve as a backup.
That ant that even if I told the truth, Violet would never believe . She was doing this on purpose.
"You never gave your wedding dress," I insisted. While speaking, I made sure to stare straight into Rowan’s eyes. "Nor did you give any instructions to steam iron it, or do anything else with it."
"There’s no need to waste ti with a thief," Cassian said with a snarl. He gave the stinkeye before coming forward to place a hand on Violet’s shoulder, tenderly giving her a squeeze to show his support. "The wedding ceremony is about to begin."
"I can’t go in there without so much as an evening gown," Violet said, her bottom lip quivering.
Then, she turned back to look at . Sothing sinister flashed through her eyes as she scanned up and down.
"Speaking of which, where did you get that dress, Briar? I don’t recall you ever owning sothing so extravagant."
User Comments
0 comments from readers