"Sure," I said.

Lumine brought the tips of her fingers i frot of her face. " Is that the only word you have to offer about your auspicious future?" My father barked a laugh. " Calla's not the romantic her mother is, Mistress."

His tone remaind confident, but his graze fell on me. I ran my tongue along my canines, which were sharpening in my mouth. " I see," she said, eyes moving up and down my body. I crossed my arms over my chest.

" stephen, you might teach her better manners. I exect my alpha females to embody finesse. Naomi has always had the utmost grace role."

She continued to watch me, so I couldn't bare my teeth at her the way I wanted to. 

" I thought you might be pleased with the match, dear girl," she said. " You're a beautiful alpha. And there hasn't been a bane male the likes of renier before. Even Emile admits that. The union bodes well for all of us. You should be grateful to have such a mate."

My jaw clenched, but I met her eyes without blinking. " I respect ren. He's a friend. 

A friend . . . sort of. Ren watches me like I'm a cookie jar he wouldn't mind geting caught with his hands in. And he's not the one who'd pay for the theft. Though I'd been stuck with the lock and key from day one of our betrothal, I hadn't thought playing policeman over our relationship would be that hard. But Ren didn't like to play by the rules. He was just tempting enough to make me wonder whether giving him a taste might be worth  the risk.