“Lyall deserves better,” another woman whispered.“Someone who understands what it is to be a wolf.”
“She’ll go mad,” someone added.“Bonded tae a wolf? It’s only a matter o’time before she starts foamin’at the mouth.”
“Ah cannae wait to see her get what’s comin’fur her,” Willow said with a snigger.
I didn’t stay to hear the rest. I made it to the bathroom and locked myself in a stall. The tears came silently, burning hot and sharp.
Was this how they saw me? Fragile. Temporary.
A toy for their Alpha to play with?
Then the tears stopped.
Because fuck that.
I wiped my face. Reapplied my lipstick. Fixed the small twist in my dress and turned toward the mirror. My reflection stared back at the fire in my eyes, spine straight, mouth curling into a slow smile.
If they thought I was going to slink back to London like some broken bitch, they didn’t know a damn thing about me.
Lyall was mine. Conall too. Not just because they claimed me, but because I claimed them.
And I would not be whispered about like some scandal.
I would be seen.
And I would be fucking heard.
Chapter 35
Lyall
She was gone from my sight. I felt it in the bond, first her raw and splintering sorrow. Then came the rage—a low ember that roared into molten fury. It scorched through our connection, rattling Conall.
I handed Ewan my glass and scanned the room.
Silver. I needed to see silver.
“Son? What is it?” my Da asked, but I was already moving, shouldering through the crowd.
The moment I pushed into the toilets, Katie gasped. I ignored her.
“Huv yae seen Nia?”
She shook her head, eyes wide. My pulse thundered in my ears as I stalked back toward the hall. And that’s when I saw her.
Storming across the floor like a bomb dressed in silk.
Straight toward the bar.
My heart tripped.“Nia—”
Too late. She didn't hear me.
“You can trash-talk behind my back all you want, Willow,” she snarled.“But your Alpha and Conall are mine. This human is the one they love to knot.”
A gasp shot through the pack like a gunshot. I paused, absorbing her words.
Conall surged forward.Ours, he whispered through the bond, drunk on pride.