~Valeria~
My stepfather just announced to an entire pack of werewolves that he's planning to use me in three days, and somehow I have to stand here smiling like this is totally normal and not the most messed up thing that's ever happened to me.
The pack square was absolutely packed with wolves from all over the territory. Cassian stood on the raised platform looking like he owned the world, his voice carrying across the crowd in that way that made everyone shut up and listen whether they wanted to or not.
"Brothers and sisters," he said, and I wanted to throw up at how fake he sounded. "On the next full moon, we will perform a royal ritual that hasn't been done in generations. A ceremony that will restore our pack to its rightful place among the ancient bloodlines."
The crowd murmured
