(Catherine POV)
I pressed my palms against the tall windows in my chambers, watching the pack disperse below with conversations that would probably continue long into the night. My reflection stared back from the glass—pale, wide-eyed, looking like someone who'd just been offered a crown she wasn't certain she wanted to wear.
Catherine Montgomery is my mate.
Kieran's words echoed in my mind with the persistence of church bells, impossible to ignore even when I tried to focus on mundane details like the way afternoon light slanted across Persian carpets or the soft ticking of the mantle clock that marked seconds passing like water through my fingers.
My heart hammered against my ribs with the particular rhythm of panic held barely in check. Not because I didn't care for him—God knew tha
