My hand tightened on the pen. The paper was thick and off-white. Black lines marred the surface in elegant strokes. Her name stared back at me, standing out from the rest. Like her.

I frowned. Maybe that was the problem. She was too different.

If the council still insisted we wed after the divorce, I would pick the wife as I should have from the beginning. I would ensure to find one who would fit in with the rest of the nobles.

I sighed and rubbed my sore eyes with a thumb and forefinger. Axel's pheromones had worked through my system faster than the others. While my body, which had been trained since I was young to withstand potions, toxins, and poisons, had burned through the pheromones that he had been releasing from the moment he had fed, the others were still facing the irrational, heightened emotions that were affecting and leading their thoughts. I should have predicted that Axel would have gotten high on the feed. He was too far gone to control himself enough. Plus, he was different. They all were. It was what drew me to them. The power that ran through their veins. It was odd to find such pure and concentrated power in men of such low creed. I should have know that could have an impact on the effects and outcomes that were to be expected.

As for the others? This would serve as a lesson to them. Once the hormones wore off and they realized the sheer ridiculousness of the accusations that they fell for, they would learn the importance of being calm and observant. Not to act impulsively.

Hopefully, the effects would last until after I had already gotten a chance to file the paperwork for the divorce. If Ezra realized his mistake beforehand and stopped me, that would just increase the headache this girl had become for me.

She needed to go before the other three had a chance to grow attached. I could already see it slowly happening. As time went on and she continued to not behave as expected, the less threatened the others became. Their past traumas in this forsaken land were the reason why the other 3 were hostile and kept the distance between them, but now it was shortening. I could see the others heading in a similar direction as Ezra even if it was at the very early stages. It was in the small actions they thought no one noticed.

It was the reason Axel had considered stopping for even a moment after starving for days.

It was in the was Jaxon hide smiles at her annoyance and frustration when she wasn't looking.

It was the reason why Zev had informed the rest of the staff that the communal baths were closed after 10 pm.

Even if they were acts of minimal consideration or outcomes of cruelty, they were still out of the ordinary. They showed the changing effect she was having on them.

I could hear laughter sound somewhere off in the distance of the manor. The sounds of shuffling feet and clattering utensils still made it to my heightened senses through the soundproofed walls.

Her name kept staring back at me.

My eyes narrowed and my teeth ground together. I tugged at the small, metal, cuff that adorned my ear. The enchanted earring felt heavier than usual as it weighted down on my lobe.

To think, a small creature such as her was able to derail my plans, even if it was slightly. But it was better to nip the problem in the bud before it could grow. The other four knew the deal. We may have become family since then, but the deal still stood.

They helped me, I helped them.

The High Moon was almost upon us. Once it appeared, I would be able to weaken the enchantment embedded in the metal piercing through my ear with the help of the four and I would be able to summon a portal to get us out of Arradona.

I clenched my fist as memories of why I was in this predicament flashed through my head. Memories that that were better left forgotten memories that shouldn't exist in the first place. I had been able to save myself from public humiliation with the help of Zev, Axel, Ezra, and Jaxon, but that couldn't erase the memories that lead to this moment. That lead to me sitting here with a metal cuff on my ear with a pen in my hand, ready to sign documents to deal with a hindrance the council had thrown our way. If I hadn't wanted to keep my predicament quiet, the council wouldn't have been an issue in the slightest.

A door slammed further into the manor. I sighed. Zev must have locked her in her room. Judging by his behaviour, he must have felt more differently about her than he let anyone see. Axel's pheromones seemed to have hit him the hardest right after Ezra. His anger and shock were enough to make him overlook logic and reason, something he lived by. It worked in my favour, but it also increased my concerns regarding the broody Fae. It would take a blind fool to believe that a magic-less, twig of a girl caused that much damage to a boy.

A flash of her body, broken and beaten like the boy from earlier, flashed through my mind as I moved my pen to sign the papers. This world was a cruel place. Would she look like that boy once she learned that for herself?

She would be fine.

I pressed the tip of the pen into the thick parchment and signed the bottom of the page. I didn't need to dwell on the well-being of a woman I barely knew. It was what had gotten me here in the first place. Luckily, with the help of Lady June and Lady Rose, we'd be divorced from Ms. Riar by next week. I'd be rid of the risk she posed.

Hopefully, Axel's hormones would stay in the others systems for a while. It would make removing the possible danger less of a pain.

* * *

I braced my hands on the countertop and hissed in a breath. No amount of sucking in reduced the pressure restricting my ribcage.

"Sorry, Lady Riar!" Cindy exclaimed, red-faced as she tugged the lace strings of my corset. "Just-" pull, "-a little-" pull, "-more."

I wondered if organs knew where they belonged and would return to their original locations once I had taken off the suffocating and stiff piece of clothing.

"There!" Cindy said and she tied off the ends of the ribbons. She seemed satisfied with her work if the beaming smile on her face was anything to go by.

I, on the other hand, hated it. It restricted my movements, was painful and made it difficult to breathe. Each breath I took dug my ribs into the corset as they stopped them from functioning like intended.

She tucked her vibrantly coloured hair behind her ear. "You look beautiful, Lady Riar!" She said on a breathy sigh as she swooned dreamily. Fussing around me, she threw out random comments and compliments while unnecessary straightening the fabric of the dress or the loose curls of hairs hanging around my neck.

I felt an involuntary smile tug the corner of my lips from her overdramatic antics. I was sure she had seen more beautiful women than me. I had seen more than five the previous day at breakfast and half of them didn't even look human with exotic features such as horns, fangs, and patches of scales on their skin. It was an interesting sight to take in at first, but once you got past the initial shock, it turned into more of a manual effort to not stare.

My stomach rumbled at the memory of breakfast. I hadn't left the confines of my room since Zev had locked me inside since yesterday. I hadn't been given food or had anyone come to see me since then. The only disturbance was when I had returned from the bathroom to find a few books on etiquette and mannerism.

I didn't expect much, but I at least expected to see a glimpse of Ezra's face. Maybe even a little concern. But that seemed to be asking too much. Not only did I not catch a brief glimpse of him, I hadn't gotten a glimpse of anyone except Cindy and Nicole who had arrived an hour or two ago.

A sharp knock at the door cut off Cindy,'s overly exaggerated compliments that made my cheeks darken in a blush. The knock made that colour drain My stomach tightened and grew heavy. I knew it would most likely be one of five people, but seeing as I had heard the constant arrival of guests all morning and afternoon so far, I couldn't be too sure. For all I knew, it could have just been a lost, wandering guest on the other side of that door.

It was not a lost, wandering guest.

Without waiting for a response or an invitation, the door swung open on its hinges. It opened to reveal a cold, even faced Zev standing on the other side.

I was taken back for a moment at the sight of him. He wore a sharp, sleek black suit with black leather shoes. His white hair was styled back, revealing the sharp points of his ears that were decorated in fine pieces of metal and jewels. His cool, lavender eyes were narrowed on me. I could almost feel the heat brush over my skin from his charged gaze.

Cindy gasped before dropping into a curtsy. "Lord Zev!" She greeted.

Bursting with excitement, before I could realize it, she grabbed my arm and started pulling me towards him. The girl was nice, but she was charged up like that drumming bunny from the battery commercials.

I had to carefully lift up the tool skirt of the dress to keep from tripping over it as Cindy forced me to match her slightly longer stride. She, on the other hand, seemed to have no problems as she marched me towards Zev. Even with the skirt of my dress eating half of her leg up, she showed no sign that it was a hindrance.

When we reached Zev, she passed me off to him like a father would a bride. I shot Cindy a strange look just as Nicole walked in carrying a pair of mauve heels that went with the tulle dress I wore. It had a dark, dusty rose fabric underneath that peeked out through the thin tulle and lace that was layered on top. The ruby necklace Cassius had given me rest at the hollow of my neck. My hair was pulled up and back, away from my face. The curls strategically fell from the updo that Nicole had given me, framing my face and neck perfectly.

As I looked up at him, Zev gave me a forced smile that didn't reach his eyes while he held out his arm for me to take. "You look lovely, doll."

My hand tensed in the crook of his elbow at the compliment that was equally as forced as his smile. It would have been less insulting if he had outright said he disliked the way I looked. The fact that he lied felt that he pitied me enough to do so. It meant I was pathetic enough.

I returned his strained smile with one of my own. When I turned to Nicole to grab the shoes as she handed them to me, it felt like I had severed two strings keeping the corners of my mouth up when the smile I was giving Zev dropped. I waved off Nicole's attempts at helping me put on the shoes and instead choose to lean against the bed as I buckled the straps in place. It proved more difficult than I thought it would be given that I couldn't bend over properly due to the suffocating corset I wore.

"Thank you, ladies, for taking care of and preparing my wife," he charmingly said to Cindy and Nicole as they stood stationed by the wall, side by side with their hands behind their backs as I put the shoes on. They both flushed at the compliment.

I don't know why, but I didn't like the hint of genuineness that appeared in Zev's eyes as he smiled at the two. I mentally shook my head. Who was I kidding, no one liked to be singled out.

Once I was done, I striated while smoothing out the fabric of my dress down the front. Noticing, Zev walked over to me and held out a hand for mine. I complied without much thought and placed my hand in his ice-cold one.

We said our goodbyes to the two blushing women before making our way out of the room. When we were out of sight I was positive Zev would drop my arm as though it was diseased, but no, he surprised me. Instead of dropping my arm, he tightened his hold and pulled me closer to his body.

I stumbled on a particularly sharp tug, crashing into his body. Instead of shoving me away, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer. I felt his hand as it firmly gripped my hip in his hold.

"Be careful," he warned as he steadied me.

My alarms instantly went off as my guard slammed up. This was too different, too considerate than it should have been after how he had left the other day.

A feeling of dread pooled in my gut.

My mouth dried as a foreboding sense of fear started blanketing me. Suddenly, I had an intense need to correct him about the events that took place yesterday. It was like something was telling me I needed to.

"Ze- Lord Zev," I started, choosing to stay safe and address him with his title. "I have to tell you something. Yesterday didn't happen like you think it did," I started explaining as we walked down the empty hallway. I had to just get it all out before the ice in his eyes made my words shrivel up in fear. "I didn't hurt that boy. Lady June did," I explained. "She started hitting him while Lady Rose held me back and acted like I was the one-"

"Shhh," I flinched when he trailed his fingers down my temple before tucking a few loose strands of my hair behind my ear. He had stopped us in the middle of the empty hallway. "You don't need to explain, doll. I understand completely."

My brows furrowed in confusion. He understood?

"Come on, the others are waiting for us," he said as he reached down and held my hand in his, locking our fingers together. He started pulling me down the hallway without looking back at me once.

The unease in my stomach twisted.

I didn't believe him.