~Kaeren~
The leather interior of the SUV felt like a pressurized chamber, the air vibrating with the fury I wished I could release by snapping something in two.
Every time I inhaled, the scent of expensive floor wax from the funeral pavilion was having a hard time escaping me.
"She is our mate," Vane growled in the back of my mind, his fur bristling with a restless, protective energy that made my own skin itch. "You let her go. You left her in the cold for the Beta's daughter. You are the one who failed the bond, Kaeren."
Shut up, Vane, I snapped back. I did what I had to do.
The funeral had been a calculated disaster. I knew the stakes. I knew the Council was watching for any sign of weakness, any hint that the girl standing beside me wasn't the royal-born mate I claimed she was. And then Celine happened.
