“Why didn’t you tell me?” Vivienne asked, and I widened my eyes.
“I forgot. I’m so sorry, Viv.”
Vivienne’s lip curled as I used her nickname. She was the family’s PR coordinator, making sure our public image was squeaky clean, but had been roped into managing the whole Crimson Duchess celebrity image, something she resented me for thoroughly.
“No time to change now.” Angela clucked. “You’re expected, and the itinerary will start in ten.” She shook her head at me and opened the doors.
I stepped into the banquet hall, looking for my fiancés. I spotted Prince first, wearing a navy three-piece with his hair styled back.
I softened my face into a smile, despite the cold feeling that followed his eyes raking over me. Dax was close behind him, and Madison took up the rear, unusually attentive as he watched me approach. Though, with every step and slight twinge between my legs, I remembered Kaos’s promise.
You’re not theirs.
“What a wonderful party,” Prince said, looping his arm around my waist and tugging me close. I lifted my head to press a kiss to his cheek, but he caught my mouth instead.
“Come here.” Madison’s voice was curt as he beckoned me over. Dax put his arm on my back and guided me to stand in front of Madison.
I looked up at him. “Yes?” I asked, keeping my voice light. His eyes dropped to my neck. I swallowed. Did he want me to expose it for him? I wasn’t sure I’d be able to.
He brought his hands up, and something cold brushed against my skin. His thick hands arranged it, and I heard the click of a lock. He tilted his head to the side as he tugged one more time before dropping his hands. His eyes were fixed to it, glittering with satisfaction, a small smile playing on his face.
The metal was secured around me. I wanted to touch it, to tug it or even to see what it looked like, but instead, I cocked my head to the side slightly. “A gift?”
“Engagement present,” Prince said. “Our claim necklace.”
“How old-fashioned,” I said, my hand lifting up to touchthe metal. A claim necklace, just as much of a joke as our engagement.
“Traditions start for a reason,” Prince said with a shrug.
Dax was staring at me, his expression somewhere between satisfaction and lust.
Prince slung his arm around my shoulder, leaning close to breathe in my hair. “Finally mine,” he said, and I said nothing, just leaned in to his touch.
I’d been raised to be property.
But I wasn’t his.
I could never be his now, no matter how many collars they forced me to wear.
Finch was watching us from a table over, his jaw tense.
“Let’s go get some drinks,” Dax said, and we made our way over to the bar. The room was starting to fill with people, and I smiled as I made introduction after introduction.
“Duchess!” an unwelcome voice chimed in.
I turned to see Ashton Vass giving me his easy smile as he sauntered over. My heart started to race as I looked at his cowboy boots, the same as in the tapes. He knew what had happened to Jule. And he’d kept it secret for years.
“And there’s my boy.” Ashton clapped a hand on Prince’s shoulder. “You’ve caused quite the sensation, you know. Who are these mysterious, handsome alphas who have managed to swoop in and sweep the Crimson Duchess off her feet?” He laughed, and I joined in.
“Laurel, dear, it’s been ages,” came a smooth voice, and I turned to see my aunt Rosalind stepping up beside us.
“No Mark?” I asked her as she pressed a kiss to my cheek.
“He’s indisposed,” she said with a wave of her hand.
I suppressed a smirk. Rosalind, as my father’s sister and a beta, was supposed to be what I was—a trophy wife for a man looking for an in to the family. Mark had a successful importbusiness, perfect for smuggling in contraband and helping with money laundering, so they’d been wed years ago. And Rosalind’s husband had been “indisposed” for as long as I could remember. Completely absent from all events, leaving Rosalind, of course, to manage the day-to-day of his business on this side of the pond. No one was actually sure if she’d killed him, brainwashed him, or struck some kind of deal, but she lived as a free woman in a way the family couldn’t officially complain about.
She and I had a surface-level alliance that extended to sometimes bitching about the family, but I was under no delusions that she was in my corner. She dragged me over to my grandparents, Octavius and Edwina, and I had to deal with another round of congratulations and half lectures that made me want to scream.
