Pearl POV
The hall still echoed with the chants of Long live the Alpha King! Long live the Luna! but I barely heard them. My lips still burned from his ruthless kiss, my chest rising and falling too fast as if I had been robbed of all air.
Demyan never once let go of me. His hand remained firm at the small of my back, as though I might disappear if he eased his grip. His eyes were on me, dark and unreadable, while everyone else knelt before him.
He didn’t ask, didn’t wait. With a suddenness that stole another gasp from my throat, he bent and scooped me into his arms once more, carrying me bridal-style. The crowd erupted in bows deeper than before, some voices raised in wolf howls of triumph.
I gripped his chest out of instinct, though not in trust, in desperation. My voice was a whispe
