Azura's POV
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the stone wall until the cracks in the rock started to look like blurry lines. My jaw was locked so tight it actually hurt, and my hands were squeezed into balls in my lap.
I couldn't stop seeing it. No matter how many times I blinked, the image stayed burned into my brain.
The lip stain.
It was red. Faint, but definitely there, right on his neck. It was a mark that shouted to the world that someone else had been close to him. Someone else had touched him while I was busy worrying about my dress and my pride.
I don't care, I told myself, biting my lip so hard I tasted copper. I really, truly don't care what that big brute does with his face. He can kiss the whole pack for all I care. But my heart wasn't listening to my brain. It felt like a heavy stone was sitting in the middle of my chest, making it hard to breathe. It was a dull, hot ache that made me want to scream and hide under the blankets at the same time.
