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“Not at all. I was momentarily blown away by how much you love me,” I replied, smiling up at him.

He placed a kiss on the tip of my nose, and I had to force myself not to pull back. I cared about Victor a lot. He’s been a great friend to me, but I just wasn’t attracted to him in that way.

It didn’t feel good that I had to use him to fish out my friend’s murderer, but it was the only way I could get uninterrupted entry into the palace and make investigations for myself.

I didn’t believe the bullshit about her death being an accident. It was very unlikely that she’d get into an accident she couldn’t heal from days after I was almost abducted. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone had gone through our texts, seen where I told her about my suspicions, and decided to silence her. A part of me felt responsible, and not even Griffin’s promise to get to the bottom of things could ease my resolve. He had already betrayed me once, and as honorable as he was, I didn’t trust him.

And I figured running away wasn’t going to fix anything. I would eventually have to return to New York. I have businesses here, and living in hiding was a life I wouldn’t want for Noah. I wanted himto be free to do whatever he wanted with his life without fear. So, if I had to throw myself into the lion’s den to ensure my freedom and justice for my friend, I was more than willing to do that. I’d been running for a long time, but now, I was ready to fight. I was certain the goddess was on my side. If not, she wouldn’t have presented me with an opportunity to fight.

“I still have a lifetime to show you how much more I can love you,” he beamed at me. “Come on, we’re almost late for the ceremony.”

Victor had informed me to prepare to attend multiple ceremonies before we arrived at the palace. He said it’s customary to hold welcome ceremonies if a royal was getting married to someone who is not originally a pack member, and there would be some rituals to help me get acquainted with the traditions and customs of the pack. The information left me with a great sense of unease, but I tried my best to tuck my nerves away, wearing a polite smile.

As we walked down the halls, I could hear whispers of a few maids talking about my ceremonial exit from the palace years ago and how surprised they were to see me return as Prince Victor’s bride.

Others concerned themselves with the drama that was to ensue and wondered how Griffin felt about the new development. Of course, the whispers were not complete without the bunch who thought me a gold digger and concluded I was solely after the throne and Victor was my new victim.

Victor tried to warn them, but I prevented him from engaging, preferring to ignore their foolishness. I had far more pressing issues to focus on.

On the other hand, I couldn’t miss the wide berth some of the women gave Victor. It was almost as though they were scared to be in the same space with him.

Some of them shrunk into themselves, their shoulders hunched and images growing smaller with every step closer he took.

Griffin’s accusations in the court echoed in my head, but I found it difficult to reconcile the image he painted of Victor with the man I’ve known for two years. Surely, a person can’t pretend for that long, and Victor has never given me a reason not to trust him. Griffin, on the other hand, had cut me deep, and I was wary of him.

Regardless, I couldn’t pretend not to see the women avoiding Victor like the plague.

“Your majesties,” Elder Edmond beamed, bowing his head to Victor and me. The gesture felt weird to me, but I plastered a smile on my face, pretending it was just another day.

“You make such a wonderful couple, a soothing sight to sore eyes. I hope the people will learn what true love is with the example you both will set.”

The subtle jab at Griffin was obvious and even more evident was the declaration of expectations. I was to play the role of the loving wife to keep the faith of the court on us.

I moved closer to Victor, resting my head on his shoulders and batting my lashes at him. “Thank you, Elder. It’s easy because he loves me so much, and I can’t imagine what my life would be without him.”

Victor was momentarily surprised by my sudden display of affection, but he caught on fast, placing a kiss on my head and telling Elder Edmond how much I mean to him.

I heaved a sigh of relief at the same time my wolf hissed. We were both happy to be done with the display, but unlike me, she was reaching for the dashing Prince in the charcoal black suit and a face that would give a sculptor a hard-on. Griffin always looked like a god.

I tore my gaze from him, keeping my wolf at bay and reminding myself of the mission at hand. Avenging Mary’s death was far moreimportant than my wolf and the heat she was currently dealing with. While suppressants can help regulate the feelings of the human and shield you from the attention of the opposite sex, they do very little for your wolf. Our eyes met briefly, and in that moment, a wild variety of emotions coursed through me before I looked away, choosing to keep my gaze on the man next to me.

“Are you having fun?” Victor asked when the wrestling match was over, and I nodded in reply. It all felt surreal to me.

Years ago, I always watched the ceremony of the white moon from the sidelines, and my contributions to the celebration ranged from serving to cleaning up. I grew to dread the opening of the mating period because of the workload that it came with, but from this perspective, it was the most glamorous thing ever.

Everyone looked happy, including the maids. No one appeared to be overworked, and those in service seemed to perform their duties with joy. I knew without doubt that such an environment could’ve been fostered by Griffin.

My eyes strayed to him to find him already looking at me. His eyes were drilling holes into Victor’s hands, which were resting casually on my thighs. I fought against the sudden urge to shove Victor’s hand away, and instead, I rested my hands on his to prove a point.

Griffin’s jaw flexed, the vein in his forehead looking dangerously close to popping. My little display got him to look away. I looked up to find Victor smiling at me. He witnessed everything and was happy I chose him. If I continued this way, I would achieve my aim at a faster rate. All I had to do was stay away from Griffin. That should be easy—right?

******

My palms were sweaty as I steered my car out of the palace parking lot. Sneaking out had proven more difficult than I anticipated, witheveryone wanting to get to know me and Victor constantly holding me to his side.

I knew my mission was going to be a dangerous one, so I hired extra security details and a private investigator. I changed Noah’s school arrangements to a homeschooling plan before leaving, but the call from the PI had kept my mind racing the entire day.

He didn’t say Noah was in immediate danger, but he mentioned his source getting intel on threats directed to my son from the palace. Lilith probably figured she could pull a fast one in my absence.