“What the fuck…?” I whispered, flipping to the next page.

    The third page was worse. It was a report on my family, going back years. My father’s business dealings, my stepmother’s social connections, even details about pack members I’d grown up with.

    Someone had been digging into every aspect of my background, cataloging rtionships and looking

    for… what? Evidence of something?

    My hands shook as I continued reading. There were photographs tucked between the pages–pictures of

    me that I didn’t even remember being taken. Walking through the garden. Sitting in the library. Talking to

    pack members at various events.

    Someone had been watching me. Documenting my every move.

    And Alexander had authorized it.

    I stared at the pages for a long time. I stared at them until the bathroom around them faded away and all

    that was left was me and that damning evidence, floating in a dark void.

    No matter how long I looked at it, I couldn’t seem to find any indication that it wasn’t real. This evidence

    … It was all urate. All of the information on me was correct. This felt like far more than a prank or a

    misunderstanding. It felt like a damning window into a world I was never meant to see.

    Alexander had been spying on me. On my family. This entire time.

    But why? What did he think he was going to find? What did he want?

    My stomach churned so violently that I thought I was going to be sick right then and there. I wasn’t sure why, but Alexander was spying on me, potentially for the entire duration of our marriage.

    Was he trying ito /iget closer to my family? Did he want something from my parents? It made no sense-

    Stormhollow had nothing left to give–but there must have been some reason. The packnd, perhaps. Or

    maybe the family jewels that my father kept locked up in the vault beneath the estate, although Ashw

    had plenty of wealth.

    Even our night together–had that been part of the investigation too? Was he lying to me on top of it all, using me to get whatever information he wanted? Hell, had every moment where it seemed like he might be falling for me just been a lie to keep mecent while he spied on my family?

    And most of all… What about our child?

    bI /bpressed my hand to my belly, feeling the smallest sensation of movement beneath my skin. This baby that I already loved so much–what if Alexander saw it as nothing more than a way to keep me tied to him while he continued his investigation?

    The thought made me actually gag so hard that I had to cover my mouth with my hand to keep down my

    dinner.

    Goddess, I’d fallen in love with this man. Completely, utterly, stupidly in love. Despite everything, I’d let myself believe that underneath it all, he might care about me too.

    What a fucking fool I was.

    I gathered up the papers with shaking hands and clutched them to my chest.

    A small voice in the back of my head urged me to crumple them up and flush them down the toilet as if that might make them not real, but I knew it was best if I held onto them. I might need to use them in the

    future.

    For now, though, I had to get out of here. I needed to think.

    But I couldn’t go back to that ballroom and pretend everything was fine. I couldn’t stand next to Alexander and smile for the cameras, knowing what I now knew.

    So instead of returning ito /ithe banquet, I rushed out of the bathroom and out the side door of the cathedral, disappearing into the night.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!