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“You will kiss e in the recesses of his gaze
“For the rest of the night if you wish,” Claire countered, unwilling to bend until he broke “But the cost was the truth You have not given me that Tell me, admit to me what she did”
Breath labored, Shepherd continued toying with a strand of her hair as if ithim comfort “Svana fornicated with Preht carry the Callas bloodline’s superior ienerations would be enriched, that the resource, no matter the man, should not have been wasted”
“That is a lie—one you don’t believe anymore than I do” She leaned over him, looked him dead in the eye “The probability of an Alpha fe with an Alpha male is slim to none—even with the help of pharnant If she wanted his baby, a wo as Svana, the woovernment, would have covered all bases—had him use a condom so she could collect his semen and tried in-vitro—kept him alive and imprisoned, where she could harvest what she needed fro at the er and personal outrage le and surpass his “That’s not why she slept with him, Shepherd Svana did it because she is a sick eenda is flawed; because she” her voice faded away and she stopped herself before she went too far
Vehement, Shepherd bellowed, “Say it!”
Deep panting breaths stretched the Alpha’s ribcage Claire knehen she spoke he would strike her, but it was another brick she could take from his delusion, a price she would pay This was the very reason she waged the war
Looking into his eyes, her own soft with pity, Claire cupped the cheek and spoke with certainty “Because Svana never loved you She never could have to have done such a thing”
The blow never cae happened Shepherd’s eyes welled, and theutterly human He spilled a tear
It was only one silent drop of salt water, yet it reatly Claire brushed it away in the kiss he wanted, soothing hiht her to tears—only she did so and offered with tre lips, “I am so sorry, Shepherd”
Her words made the man screw his eyes shut When Claire tried to shift, to move away and leave hi as if she ht never reach her
Claire settled closer and asked softly, “Would you like ?”
He nodded onceChapter 6When her song had finished, Shepherd held her where he could look at her, thefor hours It made her uncomfortable, the intensity of his scrutiny, but each ti it back so that the green of her eyes was not denied to him
Their cards were on the table Claire had proclai so proclai hi he already knew and laboriously struggled to accept Shepherd had accused her of harboring thoughts of killing their child before Svana or Shepherd ht ruin him She did, and it made her hate herself for all the doubt that flourished inside her, how every day her resolve weakened
Neither was at peace, each of theer and he would not let her move
Between them the thread was a na A part of Claire wanted to continue the assault, to demand that Shepherd stop this madness in Thólos now that he must accept Svana for what she was The wiser part kept her silent
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free Do not press a desperate foe too hard –Sun Tzu
Confronting hiainst Shepherd yet, but she took no joy in the deep-set anguish she sensed in the Alpha Nor did she feel content in the confessions she’d ht him to his knees for a moment, she may have bluntly torn at his delusion, but for soiven hiht
Thólos was a plaything for Svana, an entertainrasp Thólos was ainmate in one sense or another—a h on the mission, Shepherd wanted to do it to save them all; to even save Claire from herself