“You’re flashing your nervousness all over the arena,” he said, changing the subject so abruptly it took me aback. “The horse can smell it on you.”
I crossed my arms, holding the reins at my chest. “He hasn’t been trained. And he’s young—”
“Not willing to assume responsibility, I see. Perhaps you need a bit of training yourself.”
“Perhaps—” I blinked “—you should mind your own goddamn business and leave, before my father’s goons snap your neck.”
He fell quiet for a moment, almost as if lost in thought. What was he thinking? Whowasthis man?
“Victoria, get inside.” Sasha finally stepped forward, seeing the wolf for the first time just then. Shielding me as best as he could.
And I wanted to do just what he suggested.God, I really did, but I didn’t want this man to think I was scared. Cowering in front of a predator was never a good idea.
“Why should I be the one to leave? He’s the one who interrupted us.”
“Now, Victoria.”
Sasha had never raised his voice at me before.
Startled, my gaze shifted between the two men. The air was tense, thick with the promise of danger and blood. And the way this wolf continued to look through me still flustered me. The gesture itself was so simple, so distant, yet so utterly terrifying as if… as if he could see all that I had never revealed to the world about myself—my darkest thoughts, my hopes and dreams. Everything.
My lips parted. I almost stepped back, desperately wanting to leave. But the wolf clasped his hands in front of him calmly and said–
“He isn’t untrained. He just doesn’t understand English.”
I scowled. “W-what?”
The horse. He’s talking about the horse.
“He understands his commands in Russian.”
“And you know that, how?”
Behind him, a black, spotless Rolls-Royce stopped in the driveway. A driver, dressed in an impeccable coat, opened the door to the backseat.
“Because the horse is mine.”
My eyes shifted from the driveway to the stranger in front of me, widening at the new information. His long coat billowed behind him, caught in the gentle wind as he walked away. Lethal—so lethal was that walk, and the way he’d spoken, and the way he’d showed up with no one noticing.
I blinked once more before he disappeared into the car completely, and the engine roared back to life. The wind whooshed past my ears, and the chirping of sparrows resumed all around me, like a forest coming back to life after a predator left the area. But my goosebumps… they never stopped crawling down my spine. Because even though the windows were tinted and I couldn’t see inside the car, I knew those sunset-colored eyes kept watching.
2
VICTORIA
One month ago
It had been a month since I saw the wolf, and I hadn’t told anybody about him.
Sasha didn’t come back. He was too busy playing local royalty, organizing the Alemont City Horse Trials like he did every damn year. If I’d cared about competing, I would’ve been out there too—measuring the terrain with the others, schmoozing with the judges, pretending to give a shit. But riding had never been about medals or applause.
It was escape. Control. It was indulgence, as my mother liked to spit with a glass of Chardonnay in hand—an expensive little distraction. And apparently, I wasn’t allowed distractions.
I wanted to go to riding school in Europe after graduation. A dream I dared to whisper once that ended with my father laughing in my face. I wasn’t even at the college I chose. He decided for me. Enrolled me, paid the fees, and expected me to thrive. All I had to do was show up and smile pretty. And yet, the idea of finishing his degree made my stomach churn. Why force me through it, when he’d already anointed my sister?
Anya was the chosen one, the golden child. The future CEO of Romanov Enterprises. I was just a loose end, and a reputation risk. Apparently, my dream of becoming a riding instructor was childish. Embarrassing. “Not something you bring up around business partners.” Because God forbid Nikolai Romanov’s daughter got her hands dirty teaching kids how to saddle a horse. No, he’d rather choke me with expectations and call it legacy.
Still, I was going to do it as soon as I graduated, regardless of what he thought. Only a few months kept me away from that dream. And then… then I would be free. Free of family obligations, free of the scrutiny of other wealthy families in Alemont City. Free of the expectations people had of me.
