Knot Beneath the Mistletoe

15

RUBY

T he purr of Knox’s Range Rover fades as we pull into the parking lot. I can’t help but think this place looks like something out of those Hallmark movies I refuse to watch. Three stories of rustic wooden grandeur stretch before us, all perfect logs and gleaming windows, practically dripping with old money. What am I doing here?

“An Alpha will only hurt you, Ruby. They’re all the same in the end.” My mother’s words echo in my head, the same warning she’d whisper every time she covered another bruise with makeup. I push the thought away, focusing instead on how the snow catches the light from the wrought-iron lanterns lining the circular drive.