HATED BY THE ALPHA

"Maeve!" Her father's voice thundered down the hallway, rattling the porcelain figurines on the shelf beside her. She smoothed her skirts and stepped into the study, where

Liam leaned against her father's desk, one corner of his mouth lifting when he saw her. The same mouth that had once whispered "crybaby" when she fell from the oak tree, now made her pulse quicken traitorously.

Her mother stood by the crackling fireplace, fingers laced together. "We've had an offer from the Rivera family. Their eldest son."

Maeve's gaze collided with Liam's. His smile vanished. His eyes darkened like storm clouds, pupils dilating as they dropped momentarily to her lips. She pressed them together, remembering how his breath had caught when she'd appeared in his doorway that night, how his hand had frozen on the buttons of his nightshirt.

As they exchanged one last look, her chest tightened-her breath shallow-and she knew, deep down, nothing would ever be quite the same again. Never again.