Agnes
The weeks after that night in Elijah’s study passed in a blur, and yet somehow more normal than I expected.
Of course, I rebuilt the wall around my heart brick by brick, and made sure to build it thicker than it was before. I told myself I had been foolish—reckless, even—to think that I could seduce Elijah, a man still bound to his mate.
The memory of his mating mark glowing and the pained look in his eyes haunted me everywhere I went, but I shoved it down as best I could. It wasn’t like it was his fault.
Still, I couldn’t afford to be vulnerable again. Not with him. Not with anyone. I had come here, agreed to become Elijah’s wife, solely to find my missing daughter. That hadn’t changed.
But as time passed, the thought of my future in this house kept gnawing at me.
