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Orion moved to his desk, pulling out a sheet of parchment. "One more thing. Send Verna to get the necklace from the vault, and include this note." He scribbled a note quickly, his handwriting bold and decisive. "Have it delivered to Seraphina's quarters within the hour."

ELEVEN

SERAPHINA

Seraphina stretched beneath the Egyptian cotton sheets and was momentarily disoriented by the unfamiliar texture against her skin. Sunlight streamed through gauzy curtains, illuminating the opulent bedroom with its ornate furniture and high ceilings.

For one blissful moment, she forgot where she was. Then reality crashed back like a wave.

"Wolf shifters. Psychic visions. Kings and Lunas." She covered her face with her hands. "And me caught in the middle of it all."

The silk pajamas she'd found in the massive armoire last night whispered against her skin as she sat up. They were the exact shade of emerald that matched her eyes—a coincidence she found unsettling.

Seraphina padded to the window and gazed out at the private island. Crystal blue waters, lush tropical vegetation, and beyond that... nothing but ocean. Miami felt a lifetime away, though it had been less than twenty-four hours since she'd been kidnapped—or rescued, depending on whose version of events you believed.

Her fingers traced the window frame. "I should be freaking out more than I am."

The strange part was, she wasn't panicking. Part of her wanted desperately to return to her orderly life of research and telescopes, of data and predictability. That was the rational astronomer in her—the woman who lived by science and logic.

But another part...

Heat flashed across her skin as memories of last night in the observatory flooded back. Orion stood so close behind her that she could feel his body heat radiating against her back. His scent—woodsy and primal—enveloping her senses as she looked through the telescope.

"Your vision," he'd said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through her core. "The one you shared when we touched. It could become reality."

The way he'd placed his hands on either side of the telescope, creating a cage of his body around hers without actually touching her had left her breathless.

Seraphina shivered, remembering the vision they'd shared—her naked body in his royal chambers, standing vulnerable yet empowered as his hands and mouth explored every inch of her.

The raw hunger in his eyes last night had fully awakened something primal inside her. She had nearly let him kiss her. She had wanted it with an intensity that frightened her.

A soft knock at the door jolted her from her reverie.

"Miss Seraphina?" a female voice called through the door.

"Just a minute."

As she moved toward the door, she caught her reflection in the mirror. The woman staring back looked the same—black hair, green eyes, curves she'd always felt self-conscious about—but something had changed. A new awareness flickered in her eyes.

"What are you going to do, Seraphina?" she asked her reflection. "Run home to your telescope and pretend none of this happened? Or stay and discover what these 'powers' really mean?"

And what about Orion? The vision of them together flashed through her mind again, sending heat spiraling through her body.

Her old life beckoned with its comfortable predictability. But it couldn't explain the visions. Or the electric connection she felt with the wolf king.

"One day," she decided. "I'll give myself one more day to decide."

Seraphina finally opened her door, and Verna stood in the hallway. Her brown ponytail bobbed as she gave a small curtsy, balancing a silver breakfast tray in her hands.

"Good morning, Miss Seraphina. I've brought your breakfast."

"Thank you." Seraphina tugged at the emerald silk pajamas that clung to her curves, suddenly aware of how exposed she felt. "Please, come in."

Verna swept into the room with practiced efficiency and set the tray on the small table by the window. The sunlight that streamed in through the white gauzy curtains highlighted an array of fruits, pastries, and what smelled like the most divine coffee Seraphina had encountered.

But what caught her eye wasn't the food. It was a small velvet box positioned prominently on the tray.

"What's that?" Seraphina asked, though she already suspected.