NNE

arrell, always the picture of untouchable Alpha grace, had just been hauled out the fr

r not come crawling back, begging me to ta

r her face. "What are you doing? Haven't you been fighting to secure the So

wondering the

, is that all you think you're worth? You have two choices. Either you crawl back into his bed and get us what we're owed, or you stay locked in this house and wa

me. That illusion shattered instantly. He wasn't protecting me; he was just holding out for a higher b

fam

headed straight for the front door. Two pac

" I said evenly, not even bothering to look at Harmon. "You might not care what h

th rage. For a tense second, the air grew thick, before he finally

behind me when news of my severed mating bo

ber started blowing up my phone. I ignored the calls until a text

the phone began to vibrate in my ha

decided t

n older woman, crisp and commanding, dra

ain steady, though I knew someone of her

with a broken bond." Eleanor's tone was laced with sh

Beaumont, the Chief Mind-Linguistics Envoy currently stationed at an overseas embassy

at your misery," she replied so bluntl

e years ago, the day I had looked her in the eye and turned

rise is that you dragged it out for three whole years," she said, cutting straight to the

around the phone, my

called just to kick you while

let you down back then. After e

tead, you threw it all away because you were blinded by some foolish infatuation with an Alpha." The frustration in her voice was palpable, a mix of lingering

p so fast. Before finalizing the split from Corbett, I had planned on returning to my field, of course. I

hesitating. "Your assignments are strictly top-secret Citadel opera

h. "Well, at least you haven

, half-wondering if she rea

alent of yours collect dust is a crime I refuse to watch any longer. I've scoured the entire Imperial Mind-Linguistic

her grinding her teeth on

anor Beaumont's legendary final protege, and before I could even debut you to the High Council,

my own defense. Over the years, the list of people I had genuinely w

"Truly. Even if I can't say I regret

t out a heavy sigh. "Forget it. What's done is done. A

actually thinking of taking some tim

know exactly what you're capable of, even rusty. You

raid I

down in Southport hosting an oil-baron pack delegation from the Middle East. They're short an interpreter fluent in their rare anci

tning. It took me several seconds to

job and don't

won

the bond is broken, let it stay broken. Life rarely goes the way we plan, and a o

le truth about the debt I thought I was repaying. It

m the past doesn't mean you have to live like a nun. That guy in the photos that le

ding there with my ears burning bright red. Had living abroad

t's conversation. A wave of frustrated heat washed over me. Sure, the man was built like

it came to

e phantom pressure of those sinfully shaped lips t

was how I got into trouble in the first place. I had just pried Corbett Harrell off my back; the last thing I neede