"Untie her this instant," Nickolas commands, his voice firm. The guard immediately begins to work on the knots binding me, but his hands pause at her words.

"But she bit me," Ember protests, pouting. She extends her hand to Nickolas, revealing the slowly healing wound due to it being a werewolf bite.

"And you think the appropriate response is to whip her?" Nickolas's voice carries a hint of disbelief as he fixes Ember with a piercing stare, his dark brow raised in questioning. Ember's ...