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b54 /b

KILLIAN’S POV

We got dressed quietly, and as soon as we were ready, we headed out to Ryan’s school. I was driving with one hand on the wheel, and the other asionally reaching out to touch her thigh or brush her hand. Just to remind myself she was real.

That she was here. With mei. /i

We pulled up outside the school, but before we could even get out of the car, one of the staff members came out and said, ” Miss Rivers. Wee. Are you here to pick your son?”

“Yes, please,” Liana replied.

“Ryan was already picked up.”

She frowned. “Picked up? By who?”

My heart jumped a little.

“His grandmother,” the woman said politely. “She showed proper identification and said she was taking him home.”

“Ohh!” Liana eximed but I reached for my phone and dialed.

Mother picked up almost immediately. “Killian.”

“Mom. Is Ryan here with you?”

“Yes. He is. What about Liana. Is she okay nowb?/bb” /b

“Yes, Mom, she’s fine. She’s right here beside me.”

There was a pause like she was trying to decide whether to ask something deeper, but instead she said, “That’s great. Ryan’s

with me. Do you want to speak with him?b” /b

“Yeah, please.”

I heard her call Ryan in the background. A few secondster, his little voice came through the phone.

b“/bDaddyb!/bb” /b

God, I missed that voice.

“Hey, buddyb,/bb” /bI said, smiling as I turned to look at Liana. b“/bbYou /bbokay/bb?/bb” /b

b“/bbYes/b, I’m fine. I was just ying with Grandma. Where are byou/bb? /bIs Mommy there too?b” /b

“She is. Hold bon/bb./b” bI /bpassed the phone to Liana, and the way her eyes lit up just hearing his voice made my chest tighten.

“Babyb?/b” she said softly. “bAre /byou being a good bboy/bb?/bb” /b

“Yes, Mommy! I helped Grandma make cookies!b” /b

bShe /bughed a littleb. /b“That’s good bDon’t /bdisturb Grandma and Grandpa too much, bokay/bb? /bWe’lle pick you up soon.b” /b

“bOkay/bb, /bMommy. bI /bmiss byou/b.”

“I miss byou /bbtoo/bb, /bsweetie. Take bcare/bb, /bbokay/bb?/bb” /b

b“/bOkay bBye/b!”

She handed me bback /bthe phone and bwiped /bat bher /bbeyes /bbquickly /blike she didn’t want me bto /bbsee /bhow emotional that made bher/b.

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But bI /bsaw it. And I felt it too.

I ended the call and tossed my phone on the dashboard. “You okayb?/b”

She nodded, but her lips trembled just a little. “He sounds so happy.”

“He is. He’s safe. and he’ll be even happier when we’re all back together.”

She didn’t say anything, just reached out and grabbed my hand. Held it tightly. I squeezed back.

Without another word, I started the engine, pulled out of the parking lot and turned the car toward the most expensive boutique in town. I knew exactly where to take her. If she was going to be on my arm tonight, she was going to look like the goddess she was.

And this time, I wasn’t letting her walk behind me. She was going to walk beside me. Where she belonged.

The moment we stepped into the boutique, I already spotted a few familiar faces, pack members who lived scattered across the city but never, missed a biannual meeting. They stood straighter the second they saw me, eyes widening just a little before they bowed in quiet respect.

But then their gazes shifted.

To her.

To Liana.

I felt her tense beside me. She noticed it too,.the way their eyes lingered just a little too long, the way a few of them narrowed their gaze slightly like they were trying to figure out who the hell she was. Because they knew Cynthia. Cynthia had walked these halls. She had stood beside me before. But this… this was someone new.

A stranger.

A woman with no title. No announcement.

Yet she was standing at bmy /bside like she belonged there.

“This is my woman,” I said simply, my hand resting on the small of Liana’s back as we walked deeper into the store.

They nodded again, murmuring soft greetings, but the confusion was still there. Still written across their faces. Jared, the boutique managerb, /ba young but loyal pack member, hurried bover /band asked what we needed.

“She needs a dress for tonight,” I said. “Something that makes every other woman in the room wish they were her.”

Jared grinned. “Right this bway/bb, /balpha. We just got in a new selection, imported, rare fabrics, high–end pieces. She’ll blove /bit.”

As he bturned /band began walking, Liana leaned closer to me. “bThey’re /bstaring.”

“Let them,” I murmured. “They’ll understand soon.”

We bwere /balmost at the private section when I heard it

Low whispers.

“She’s not Luna Cynthia… who is sheb?/bb” /b

‘She’s markedb./bb” /b

“What?”

“I saw it. On her neck. A bite. His markb./bb” /b

“He never marked Cynthia.”

b“/bNever?”

“Not even once. But this woman? He marked her. She’s his.”

They weren’t even trying to hide it well. But it didn’t matter. The second they realized what that mark meant, their posture changed. Every single one of them bowed a second time. This time, deeper.

“Luna,” they murmured.

Liana froze just a little. I looked at her face, shocked. She didn’t expect it. Not now. Maybe not ever.

She nced up at me like she needed confirmation, and I just gave her a tiny nod.

“Yes,” I whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. “You’re mine. and they know it now.”

They took us to a private section, one not open to the public. I could already tell from the way Liana’s eyes widened that she knew this was not your average boutique.

She moved to the first rack and ran her fingers across a silky deep red gown, but the second she saw the price tag, she dropped it so fast you’d think it burned her fingers.

b“/bNope,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Are these clothes made of gold or what?”

Iughed, watching her like I always did–like she was the only thing worth looking at. “Pick whatever you want, angel. I’ve got it all under control.”

She turned her head slowly, giving me a look that screamed ‘Are you serious right now?‘

“Killian, this one costs more than my life savings.”

“Exactly why you shouldn’t be saving,” I muttered under my breath, then louder, “Liana, I brought you here for a reason. Don’t look at the price. Just find what makes you feel like you own the room.”

She blinked, still a bit skeptical, but nodded. Slowly. Then she went back to the rack and picked out a few more dresses, holding them up to her frame while biting her lip.

b“/bbTry /bthem all,” I told her.

She did.

bOne /bafter the other, she walked out of the dressing room and stood there awkwardly while I sat on the plush couch flipping through a fashion magazine like I gave a damn about what was inside. Truth was, I didn’t. My eyes were on her.

“How about this one?b” /bshe asked, stepping out in a tight midnight blue gown that hugged bevery /bsingle bcurve /bof her body.

bMy /bmouth bwent /bdry.

“bHot/bb,/b” I said, barely managing the word.

She blushed, looking down at herself. b“/bbToo /bmuchb?/bb” /b

b“/bbNot /bbeven /bclose.”

bShe /bturned baround /band bwent /bback in. Then came bout /bin the second dress, a silver bone /bwith a thigh slit that could bruin /ba bman’s /bbself/b–control if bhe /bbwasn’t /bcareful. I was hanging on bby /bthreads.

But bit /bwas bthe /bthird bone /bthat did it. A bwine/bb–/bcoloredb, /bstrapless piece bthat /bpushed up her breasts and cinched her bwaist /bbin /bbthe /b

bmost /bsinful bway/bb. /b

My entire bbody /bbreacted/bb. /bFast.

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She stepped out slowlyb, /bas if unsure.

“This is… I don’t know, maybe too sexy,” she said quietly.

Too sexy? Hell, it was lethal.

I looked around quickly, and when I saw the attendant had walked to the far corner of the room, pretending not to watch us like the good little pack member he was, I stood up.

“Killian-” she started, but I was already closing the space between us.

She stepped back into the changing room, probably thinking she’d try onest dress, but I followed her in before the curtain even swayed back into ce.

She turned around fast. “What are byou-/bb” /b

I didn’t let her finish.

I grabbed her waist, pulled her against me, and mmed my lips on hers like I was starving.

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