Page 78 of Eternally Yours

Instead, they’d chosen to lie to us.

Fury danced inside the walls of my chest, spurring the beast to claw herself out. As I felt the rage building, I caught my reflection in the full-length mirror. My eyes glowed red and my canines descended, gums throbbing with a thirst for vengeance. I clenched my fists. What they’d done was unforgivable, but feeding the beast was exactly what they would want from me. To turn into the monster they’d claimed me to be.

I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t fight for the man I loved. Still, I knew Nic was a man of his word, and despite his disapproval of his coven’s ways, he’d do anything to protect his family, including agreeing to a bloodbond with someone he didn’t love.

But he deserved the truth before making that choice. And in the end, if after seeing that truth with his very own eyes he still chose his family, I would walk away.

Looking over to the gown hanging on the rack, I questioned my resolve, wondering if I possessed the strength to face his rejection. As I went to reach for it, a heavy weight settled over my chest. I gasped and pressed a hand over my heart.

“Loren, are you okay?” Cat asked as she walked back into the room and saw me slouched over.

“Something’s off.”

“What is it?”

“The bond. I… can feel him.”

“Your body is healing and all your senses are finally coming back online.”

Turning toward her, I said, “There’s so much sadness, Cat.”

“In all the lifetimes since I’ve known him, never once has he felt for anyone what he feels for you, Loren. What happened with Elizabeth broke his heart, but the news of your death destroyed his soul.”

“His pulse is racing.”

She checked her watch. “That means we need to get going, then. Come, let me help you into your gown.”

I grunted as she tightened my corset. Death might still come for me, after all. I could hardly breathe in the torture contraption. As I slipped into the skirt, she scanned me over, her mouth dropping open.

“How do I look?” I asked.

“Like you might actually kill Nic this time. But in a good way.”

I turned toward the full-length mirror and my eyes widened. The rich, blood-red gown cascaded to the floor in rivers of fabric that swooshed with every turn. The bustier accentuated my breasts while trimming down my waist, shaping an hourglass figure I only wished I actually possessed. I couldn’t help thinking back to the erotic dream I’d had the first night in this room. It was as if I had foreseen this moment.

“You look breathtaking, Loren.”

A smile crept at the corners of my mouth, but the joy was short-lived. This all felt too dreamlike. Who was I to think I could just waltz into a vampire mating ceremonial soiree and disrupt one of their most sacred rituals?

“What if something goes wrong?” I asked. “What if something triggers my beast and I… attack him again?”

She spun me around. “You didn’t attack Nic because you were a beast. You attacked him because you were under the control of the Order.”

I lowered my head, a shiver running down my spine at the memory of that night. Looking at my hands, I wondered how it would feel to touch him again. To run my fingers through his hair and kiss his lips. “And what of the coven?” I asked. “They all just going to be okay with me walking in and stealing their prince?”

Her lips curved into an icy grin that made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle like tiny needles. “I have a plan,” she said as she gestured for me to follow.

Somehow her smile didn’t make me feel any better. Reaching into a satchel laying on the bed, she pulled out an elaborate mask fancied in the likeness of a she-wolf.

Taking the beautiful mask from her hands, I slid my fingers over the golden lacquer facade and ruby-encrusted trim. “You certainly have a flair for irony.”

She chuckled. “No matter what the world throws at you, never lose your sense of humor. It will keep you sane during your darkest moments. Besides, this mask is how we’re getting you into the party. Everyone has to wear one. They’ll never guess it’s you under there. With my invite and Janus at your arm playing the part of your blood-host, no one will question it.”

She helped tie the mask securely to my face. “Let's go steal you a prince,” Cat said, leading me away.

When I looked at myself in the mirror one last time, I released a temperate breath.

Don’t mess this up.

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