#Chapter 23: Possession and the Possessed

ELENA I kept my expression serene, my shoulders squared, my chin high. The room erupted into applause, but the sound barely registered. Inside, I was frozen, my mind racing to process what had just happened. Logan had just announced our engagement. He had done it without asking me. Without a proposal. Without so much as a damn conversation. I had known that Logan was playing the role of a dutiful Alpha, ensuring the world saw him as strong, connected, untouchable. I had even suspected he would use our alliance to further that image. But I had not expected this. He probably thought that he was doing me a favor. Protecting Aiden, protecting my secret. But I didn’t feel any kind of relief. Instead, I felt trapped. The room was watching, and I was already too well-trained in the art of composure to let them see me falter. If I so much as hesitated, if I didn’t meet the moment with the same calculated poise that had been ingrained in me since birth, they would sense it. Th