Chapter 36

DANTE'S POV

I furrowed my brow as I looked around the hall.

Go through the catalogue? I thought they were beginning already. Why the unnecessary waste of time?

Confused, I looked around the hall and surprisingly I saw Aria stepping out of the shadows. She moved with purpose, her chin held high, dressed in a sleek, dark green dress that hugged her figure and sparkled under the lights.

Her presence commanded the room's attention, and she got it — all eyes were on her, including mine. My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn’t look away.

However, not everyone was as captivated as I was.

“Look who finally decided to crawl out from her hiding place after weeks of silence,” my mother sneered beside me, her voice filled with contempt. Her eyes followed Aria with a look that could kill. “Aria, the outcast of the Crescent Moon pack. Rejected, abandoned, and still hasn’t learned her place.”

I winced at her words, my chest tightening with discomfort.

“Honestly, it’s so pathetic,” my mother co