Chapter 241

• Once, in the Ebonclaw Pack, Riley had been forced under Ronan Duskcliff’s command to kneel before Tessa of the Blackmaw Pack’s sickbed and kowtow until her forehead split open and bled. The thick white bandage that covered her injury had been glaringly obvious, yet not a single member of the Ebonclaw Pack had spared her a glance.
• Now, her eyes were merely red and faintly swollen from crying, yet the elderly Matriarch Duskgrave spotted the difference instantly.
• Riley drew in a slow breath, forcing back the wave of hot emotion threatening to spill over. She lifted her face into a gentle smile and explained lightly, “A gust of wind blew some grit into my eyes just now. I rubbed them for a while, that’s all.”