Alexei's POV

I walked up to Novel. She was still sitting, and while she offered a smile, it didn’t reach her eyes. My gaze dropped to her neck, landing on the Mark. My Mark. A wave of primal satisfaction washed over me, pulling a genuine smile to my lips.

“Let’s go eat,” I said, reaching down to help her up.

As she stood, I made a mental note to dig into her worries. Now that the immediate chaos was over, I had a list of things to settle, dealing with the man who attacked her and solving the theory of that necklace. I doubted Novel realized the danger she was...