In the dim candlelight, his face was etched with hard angles, his expression cold and unreadable. His eyes gleamed with quiet calculation.
"Miss Belinda," he said, his voice deep and smooth. "I must admit, you seem quite sure I would come."
"I had faith," Belinda replied, her smile soft but knowing, as though she could see through him.
Sebastian's lips curved into a faint smile. "I assume the blackout doesn't count as cheating, does it?"
"In this world," she said, her voice silky with authority, "there are only winners and losers. History remembers those who win. And the winners? They write the rules."
Her tone was velvet over steel--the kind used by Alphas, cult leaders, and politicians.
"Sounds like your society and I have a lot in common," Sebastian said.
"Exactly why we want you
