Mara
Alpha Vander finally decided to grace us with his presence, and the room shifted. Everyone stood. He offered a smile—to Lucian, then to me—and settled into his seat at the head of the table.
We sat too, though my body suddenly felt too stiff. I couldn’t ignore the unease crawling up my spine. Being in the same room with that man always did this to me.
His apology for what he’d done—and Martha’s slap-on-the-wrist punishment—meant nothing. I didn’t trust him. I didn’t have to.
“I see you two have grown... closer,” he said, the smugness behind his smile as obvious as the shift in our scents. “Should we expect a claiming soon?”
Lucian didn’t hesitate. He nodded and casually slid his hand under the table, settling it on my bare thigh. My breath caught as his fingers moved upward, slo
