The silence of the room felt like it was expanding, stretching thin as Kaeren's golden-silver eyes searched mine. I could feel the thrum of his heartbeat against my side. It was a steady, wealthy rhythm that mocked the frantic tapping of my own.
I was lying in a bed that cost more than a block of shacks, wrapped in the arms of a man who just admitted he was worth billions, and yet, I felt like the walls were made of glass.
"He's a mountain made of gold, Waverly," Pia whispered, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "And you're just a dandelion seed trying to find a place to land. But look at him. He's holding you like you're the only thing that actually has value."
I swallowed hard, though my throat was tight. "It's too much, Pia," I thought back, the drama of my own internal monologue reaching a fever pitch. "I'm a girl from the shacks who reads about Alphas and monsters. I'm not supposed to own them. I'm not supposed to be the prize they protect."
