Alaric's POV

I had never been so eager for one of these cursed Alliance Meetings to end than I was right now. But once again this evening, I was thrust on a rollercoaster ride. It began when Marku asked Echo, "Are you on track to pay back the $1M you owe me in six months?"

Oh fuck! Now, I understood why Marku had been so willing for Raine to assume ownership of Echo's country - it put her in debt to him! If he couldn't obtain her one way, he would try another.

This couldn't possibly be happening!

And I already knew Echo's answer, because he had told us the...