I scoffed. "He should have had the decency to kill her, at least I wouldn't be dealing with Theodore." I rubbed my forehead. "How much longr can we keep the records hidden?" "Indefinitely," he said. "The sector of the national system that is still managed by the crown is separate from the rest.
Violet Olivia Bronson clearly didn't recognize me, or she didn't care. Knowing her, either were just as likely, but I didn’t interrupt whatever moment she was having, and took the moment to gauge her goal. Whatever it was, it wasn't good, but it did present an interesting opportunity. Olivia did
I'd hoped to never run into her again. “I take it you know each other?” I asked, keeping my voice light. Violet glanced at me, her eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief. “Of course. Olivia was one of my mentees at the Academy, for Governance and Diplomacy.” I blinked at that. "You… were a TA.
Theodore They talked the whole walk to the restaurant, Violet never removed her hand from mind, and she walked in between me and Olivia. I could see that Olivia was irritated by it by the occasional looks she would shoot me, but I ignored them. The restaurant was closer than I expected. I opened t
Violet set her fork down, her smile as polite as ever. “Well, I’m glad to have your support. It’s always encouraging to know others are invested in justice.” I couldn’t tell if she was being genuine or sarcastic. Probably both. “And the Shelter project,” Olivia added, turning her attention to me
Theodore After lunch, we parted ways, Olivia with a charming, underhanded farewell that Violet didn't address or appear to notice. As Violet and I walked back down the street toward the tailor shop. The city’s streets bustling around us, I finally broke the silence. “You didn’t mention the unive
Or… opportunistic. "Hey." I looked up, noting the look on her face. Violet must have read the concern on my face because she added, “It’s not our fight—not yet, and it's still a while out. It's just something to keep in mind going forward.” I nodded. "Right. I just… never imagined I'd be specula
Theodore We took a short detour in what looked like a post office, but it was unlike any post office I'd ever seen. The air felt charged with magic, and I figured that had something to do with it. By the time we stepped back into the tailor shop, the day was starting to head toward the evening. A
Violet rested her hand over mine and smiled. I looked her over in awe, noticing that her breasts were a little swollen. She looked healthy and supple.I noticed a cord around her neck. I pulled my hand from her stomach to reach for it, pulling out my mother’s token that she had restrung on a sturdy
Theodore’s POVMy carriage had dropped me off at the border at 9am as instructed. I waited by the road with a suitcase and my backpack, on edge. If the wrong person found me before Violet showed up…A black sedan approached, slowing as it neared me. When it got close enough, I recognized my mate’s b
“Technically,” I answered, “she is staying separate, and she’s treading carefully to do so. But I genuinely don’t know if she would still be doing all this if she weren’t also my aunt.”Cue Kincaid’s jaw on the floor again.“Oh! And Owen planted spies in Theo’s home.”Kincaid shook his head like a w
Violet’s POVIt ended up being a very, very long night.Neither Theo nor I stayed much longer at the Annual Moon Goddess Ball after the flower fiasco. Thankfully, I had done mostly all the relationship management with other Alphas before Theo’s arrival because after losing control of my magic, I was
My shoulders relaxed a fraction at the idea that there was a way out of this.“Even if you can’t stop them, I’ll walk out with you, making them vanish the second they spring from your hands. You’ll walk with your hands behind your back, and no one will notice. Everything is going to be okay.”My tea
Violet’s POVI didn’t dare glance behind me. I didn’t want to draw attention to the flowers I knew I was leaving in my wake. Every time I clenched my fists to try to stop them, it only left me with handfuls of more flowers.I didn’t know what to do other than drop them like a flower girl and pray to
Theodore’s POVSometimes Eva’s love for me seemed sincere, and in those moments, I felt bad for playing her. Then she would do something like obviously glaring at Violet across the garishly decorated ballroom before suggesting we go say hello “to be polite” when she clearly just wanted to rub being
Corine looked to her husband, who clearly knew as little as she did. “I haven’t heard of this. May I ask how you know about it?”“I’d rather not reveal my sources,” I said. I certainly didn’t want to give the other Betas reason to stop looping in Kincaid.“Something that important would have been al
Violet’s POVI couldn’t help but stare as I entered the ostentatiously decorated mansion in the Dawnbreak territory with Kincaid just a couple steps behind me. Our hosts had clearly spared no expense when preparing for the Annual Moon Goddess Ball.It was our country’s most sacred gathering, intende