ARIEL'S POV

The words had slipped out before I could stop it.

Alpha Viktor's frown deepened, and I immediately wished I could disappear—vanish into the ground and bury myself under a mountain of sand.

Why did he have to be so terrifying?

Thick silence settled between us for less than a minute but it felt like eternity.

"I—sorry," I muttered quickly.

He towered over me, and I didn’t dare raise my head, even after remembering what he said at the porch.

Then came his clawed index finger, slipping under my chin, tilting my face slowly until I was forced to meet his emotionless gaze. I looked everywhere but his eyes....