“Did you see the article about the glass shoe?” Her voice was more curious than accusatory. There was no rational reason why she’d ever think it was mine.

  “Oh, yeah, that they’re going to give someone a ton of money if they find the owner,” I agreed. “So many people had dresses down to their feet. I don’t remember what shoes anyone was wearing.”

  “Wouldn’t it be nice to cash in on that if we found the girl? You could buy the store from Vivian.”

  “She’d claim the money was hers because I live under her roof,” I laughed. “There’s no way she’d let me keep it.”

  “If the castle even actually paid it out. King Henri is a cheapskate,” she groaned.

  I laughed, being careful not to say anything negative back. Getting used to shit-talking about the current ruling king wasn’t a good idea.

  Even if he wasn’t the best for the people that he ruled over.

  Taxes were higher, properties were unaffordable, and despite all of that, it felt like the clan just kept getting smaller and smaller.

  “Were you really locked out of the ball?” I turned the conversation back to her.

  Beth laughed, and I could picture the exact expression on her face. Taking the chicken out of the pan, I started tossing in the chopped veggies so they could also brown.

  “The outside of the castle was fine. Some people started dancing to the music out by the gates since we could hear it out there, which was entertaining. I got bored after a couple of hours and finally went home.”

  “Did you get any dress customers?”

  “No,” she sighed. “I saw Michaela and Zara make it into the ball, which means my dress had some very rich eyes on it, and nobody knew I had made it.”

  “I’m so sorry.” I really meant it.

  “Thank you. Maybe the glass shoe girl will never appear, and he’ll throw another ball. We could always try again.”

  “I’d like that. We could pair up and look at everyone’s shoes to ensure she doesn’t get away this time,” I laughed. Leaning over the stove, I turned on the oven and let it start preheating.

  “What are you cooking anyway?”

  “Chicken and vegetables. Going to make butter sauce and serve it with bread.”

  “You’re too good to them, move in with me instead,” Beth whined.

  I smiled against the phone, setting the cutting board in the sink. “I just want things to go back to normal. All my customers are still talking about the ball, and it’s exhausting.”

  “What did you even wear? I don’t remember seeing you,” she cut in.

  I had to be careful. “Hazel, my mom’s friend, lent me an old dress.” There was no way in hell I would describe it to her. Anything that could link me to the glass heel was trouble.

  “That was nice of her,” Beth sighed. “I should let you go, I need to heat myself a frozen meal.”

  “You could always come over for dinner.” It was an empty offer, but if she had taken me up on it, I would have happily fed her.

  As we hung up, the oven beeped, and I happily slid the chicken and vegetables into it. Based on when they usually showed up, I had at least half an hour of peace and quiet left in the house.

  Washing my hands, I went up the stairs to my room.

  The idea of shifting came to mind, and for a moment, I entertained it. If I could shift, it would be worth ruining my clothing. I could be worthy. Standing at the top of the stairs, I thought hard about it.

  When I shifted that night, it felt like I was plunging into a cold lake.

  Exhilarating.

  I could smell and see everything, and despite how dark it was, I felt like I could have done anything. Focusing on that feeling, I tensed up and tried to shift. Nothing happened.

  I’d think this whole thing was a dream if it wasn’t for the shoe and dress.

  Stepping into my bedroom, I pulled open my dresser and opened the bundled heel in my hands. It was beautiful—crystal clear and impossibly thin—and yet they carried me as I danced for hours and had my first kiss with Harris.

  Turning the heel in my fingertips, I couldn’t help but wish I had the guts to go to the castle myself.

  I wasn’t the perfect match for him, but didn’t he deserve the truth?

  Prince Harris was looking for a version of me that didn’t exist, which wasn’t fair to him. Sitting on my bed, I focused on the shoe and the sensation of shifting, just trying to get anything to happen.

  Closing my eyes, I saw stars in the darkness, but nothing happened.

  Nothing except a voice that spoke out.

  “What is that?”

  I gasped, opening my eyes instantly. Zara was standing in my doorway, looking directly at the heel.

  “It’s nothing,” I shook my head. “A wine glass I need to polish better.”

  “Shut up, Nema, stop lying to me. That’s the heel everyone is looking for, isn’t it?”

  There she was, calling me Nema again.

  I would have thought I’d be used to that nickname by now. They’d called me it since we were kids together. Time didn’t make it any less painful.

  Walking over to me, she snatched the heel out from my hands.

  “Where did you get this?”

  “It’s mine,” I couldn’t lie about this. “I was the one wearing it at the ball.”

  Zara scoffed at me, looking at the heel. “You are absolutely not the one the prince danced with. You were here all night.”

  I shook my head, knowing I was caught.

  “I snuck out after you left and got back a couple of hours before you returned.”

  Vivian came into the doorway, and I felt my skin crawl. How much did she hear? How long had she been home?

  “The glass heel,” she gasped.

  Zara handed it to her, still glaring at me. “Nema here says it’s hers.”

  “It’s not yours, Ella. Who did you steal this from?” Vivian frowned.

  “It’s mine, please give it back,” I didn’t want to beg

  Vivian looked at the heel and shook her head. “It’s not yours, I don’t believe it.”

  “When I ran from the ball, I tripped on those steps and lost one of my shoes. You were at the gate arguing with a guard and didn’t recognize me,” I admitted.

  Vivian’s expression turned ice cold.

  “It was you.”

  “I’m not going to marry the prince. I’m not going to come forward with the shoe. If you let me keep it, I won’t tell anyone what happened,” I said.

  Vivian laughed. “No, we’re not wasting fifty thousand dollars and a marriage to a prince on you.”

  My blood ran cold. There was something scary about how calm she was.

  “I’ll contact the guard and tell them my daughter Zara was wearing these shoes. Do you still have the dress?” Vivian set into motion quickly. I could tell she already had a plan for how she wanted this to play out.

  Why was she such a miserable woman?

  She had already stolen my father and property from me, but now she was clearly vying to take the last couple of things that mattered to me as well.

  I couldn’t help but glance at my closet, and Zara ran for it. Tearing open a few boxes, she found the dress and held it against her body. It was clearly too small in the hips for her, but the fabric shimmered and glittered under her touches. “It’ll fit, right?” She sounded disgustingly excited.

  That was my mother’s dress, and she would ruin it to try and marry a prince. “Please don’t do this, don’t lie to him—”

  “Don’t you dare try to talk to me about lying, child,” Vivian’s face flared angrily. “If you speak a word about you being at the ball or that you’ve ever worn these shoes, I’ll lock you in the basement and burn the bakery to the damn ground for the insurance money. I’ve given you nothing but a spoiled, easy life. Repayment is due,” she hissed.

  I flinched, looking away from her in fear that she’d hit me.

  “I’m going to call and let them know I discovered the shoe in my daughter’s room. If you can behave yourself, I may allow you to have the bakery when the king moves his son’s mother-in-law into the castle.”

  I could keep the bakery?

  The idea sent my head spinning.

  Giving up Harris felt like death, but knowing I could keep the thing that was more like home to me than anything else felt like destiny. I’d wanted the bakery as my own ever since my father died.

  It was time.

  “Okay,” I relinquished.

  He’d never want me if he knew I wasn’t a shifter. At least this way, I could still have a happy ending.

  Vivian started to step away and then quickly stepped back and punched me hard in the chest, knocking the wind out of me and laying me flat out on my bed. “If you ever try to sneak something past me like this again, you’re done for.”

  She stormed out, followed by Zara, and I had to take a moment to catch my breath. Feeling my chest with slow fingertips, I was relieved that none of my ribs felt broken. I could still work.

  My phone’s alarm rang out on my desk, and I winced as I sat up to turn it off. Dinner was ready. I needed to keep serving them.

  10

  Harris

  In four days, over a hundred people reported stating they knew the owner of the glass shoe or that they were the woman I danced with. My men had to vet every single one of them.

  None were her.

  Someone even got creative and made a shoe out of ice, thinking the royal guard wouldn’t notice anything strange.

  Frustrated and longing for her, I spent more time than I’d like to admit running through the clan’s lands in search of her scent.

  Anything to tell me where she was.

  I tried to pass it off as doing my job protecting the perimeter of our lands, but that was thrown out the window when I started to run between buildings and city streets. My wolf form had a better sense of smell and blended in more with the average shifter, so it was a natural choice that I stayed with paws on the cobbled roads.

  On the first day, I found the bakery where the lying woman’s food came from. Still, I understood that the last thing I needed to do was storm in there and scare someone doing their job.

  From there, I started seeking out anything I could.

  None of the wolves I saw were white, either.

  That was one detail I left out, in fear that anyone with a white and silver wolf form would step forward and claim they were my dance partner.

  It was exhausting and enraging, but I had to find her.

  I needed to know where she was.

  As the days passed, I found myself going back north to the water and checking if any more pieces of debris were carried downstream. Was she tied to that flag?

  Did she not even belong in the clan’s land?

  Legs aching from another long day, I headed back home. Up the castle’s stairs, down the halls, and further away from my chances of finding that woman. My mate. Thinking of her like that felt right.

  Shifting back into my human form, I forced myself into the shower and washed away another failed day.

  “You’re shirking your responsibilities.”

  My father’s voice snapped me out of my fog as I dried off and pulled on comfortable clothing. I could hear my mother shushing him, standing outside my bed chambers to tell me off. “This isn’t right. He’s failing at everything he needs to be doing.”

  “He’s protecting our kingdom.”

  “He’s pining for some woman who isn’t even the right fit for him,” my father shouted at her.

  “Don’t yell at her just because you’re mad at me,” I growled as I left my room.

  My father’s face was red with fury.

  Great.

  “You haven’t gone to any meetings, you didn’t go to the new school opening, and if I hear correctly, you’re also getting lax with the guard.”

  “My men are well trained. They know their roles.”

  “Do you?” He shoved it back in my face. “You have a responsibility, and you’re failing it.”

  “You told me that you wanted me married. I found a woman.”

  “The wrong woman,” he spat.

  My mother slid between us, trying to soften the energy we were putting off. “I think what your father means is that he wants you to actually meet the woman we tried to set you up with.”

  “I’m not interested in anyone except the woman I danced with.”

  “What if she’s not interested in you?” My mother answered. “There’s a chance she’s not up to the throne and kingdom. What then? Will you just throw everything away so that you can keep chasing someone who doesn’t want you?”

  I frowned, annoyed, and shook my head.

  “She’s my fated mate.”

  “She’s a stranger,” my dad butted in.

  I sighed, moving to go back into my room. My dad wouldn’t be able to say any of this once I finally found her. Nothing would take us apart if I had her back in my life. I needed to focus harder on seeing her.

  “Harris,” my mom’s voice softened. “Let’s make a deal. If you can’t find her by the end of the week, we’ll set up a meeting.”

  “A week? That’s not enough time.”

  “If she wanted to be found, she wouldn’t have run off in the first place,” my father shouted.

  I would have knocked him out for that if he were any other man.

  I needed to keep my head clear.

  “Fine, if she isn’t back in my life within a week, I’ll meet the woman you’re shoving at me. I’m not marrying her, though.”

  My dad started to shout, but my mom cut him off. “That’s fine. We can take that for now. That girl isn’t going to come back. It’s already Thursday. It’s almost been a week as it is.”

  As if on cue, Buck started running down the hall toward us.

  “Sir! We found her!” He shouted.

  My father’s jaw dropped, and I felt my mom reach out and grab my shirt to keep me still.

  “Come in with me, Buck. Let’s talk, and I’ll change into something better.”

  Before my parents could yell anything else, the two of us were in my chambers, and I was nearly running to grab clothing that wasn’t so depressing. “Tell me about her. How did you find her?”

  “Her mother owns a bakery,” he started.

  My mouth clicked open.

  I should have just gone in and checked.

  It really was her scent this entire goddamned time.

  “She was shy about all of the media attention the story was getting and was worried that you’d just think she was in it for the crown.”

  I pulled on a shirt and started buttoning it quickly.

  “And you saw the shoe?”

  “I held it in my hands. It’s a perfect match to the one on your table.”

  I pulled on better pants and tried to calm myself down.

  Did you see her?

  “She’s beautiful,” he smiled. “Also, there’s a coincidence.”

  “What’s that?”

  I couldn’t take any more surprises. I felt like I was running a million miles a minute.

  “She’s the sister of the girl I danced with.”

  Stunned, I wanted to shout.

  “You should have introduced us! I might have realized they probably look alike,” I said.

  He laughed and agreed.

  “They do, they’re both beautiful. The mother is stiff, but I think she protects them.”

  I nodded, not fully registering anything except that I would finally see her again. My mate. I’d have her back.

  My parents were gone as we finally left my bed chambers. I rushed through the halls, almost running as I went down and past the car. I didn’t need them to drive me. I knew exactly where I was going.

  “Sir, it’s miles away. Please, get in the car.”

  I stared off in the direction of the bakery and struggled with myself to agree to get in the car.

  I just wanted to get to her.

  To hold her.

  She was everything I never knew I could want, and I just had to slow it down and take it step by step. I would have her back in my arms in a matter of minutes.

  11

  Ella

  The king’s guardsmen arrived the afternoon after my secret was found.

  I was allowed to attend this part as long as I held my tongue. Vivian thought having a servant nearby would make her home look of higher standing. Although I didn’t like the title, I knew the role fit me.

  I was their servant.

  Here I was, giving up an entire lifetime of fortune and love to please them. My chest felt tight at the thought. It was so easy to agree to give up the prince for my bakery when it was an abstract thought, but now I knew exactly what I would miss out on.

  I was going to have to see him.

  Fortunately, for my stress, the man who arrived at our door wasn’t the prince at all. I vaguely recognized him from the party, but not enough to remember how. He was dressed in a well-tailored uniform and was kind as my stepmother invited him into the home.

  Michaela gasped when he walked in, and his face suddenly became clear.

  He was the one she was dancing with at the ball.

  “Michaela,” he murmured in surprise.

  “Buck,” she gasped. Running to him, they embraced, and a pang of jealousy shook me down to my core. “I was going to call you tomorrow to ask if you were busy this weekend, but I didn’t know what to say, and—”

  “Can we first focus on the glass slipper?” Vivian interrupted them. “Welcome to my home. This is my daughter Zara, and it seems you’ve met Michaela,” she said.

  He nodded, greeting each in turn. Glancing my way, he registered that I was there, but Vivan clarified that I was nothing but set dressing for the room. Instead, his eyes went back to Zara.

  “Do you have the shoe?”

  “It’s here,” Zara uncovered it. “I think I ran into you while you two were dancing, I’m so sorry I interrupted that.” She’d had me recount what I did at the ball, and I’d only included what happened within the ballroom.

 

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