Chapter: Chapter 230Chapter 230RianHe looked so good in my hoodie.It was way too big on him. The sleeves came down past his fingers and the hood was bunched up behind his neck, and the gray made his red hair look even brighter on the pillow. I put it on him myself around one thirty. It took forever. He was so heavy and floppy from the pill that I had to hold his arm up and feed it through the sleeve one finger at a time, and he didn't even open his eyes. He just made this little sound and turned his face into my shoulder.I almost cried. I'm serious.Now I was sitting in the chair by his desk with my knees pulled up and my chin on them, and I was just watching him breathe."You know what the best part of today was?" I said.He didn't answer. Obviously."The flashlight." I smiled. "When the nurse said open, and you opened. When she said lift, and you lifted. You looked so mad, baby. Your ears went all red. But you did it anyway. You did exactly what you were told."I hugged my knees tighter."I've been
Last Updated: 2026-10-14
Chapter: Chapter 229Chapter 229Jovian "Dr. Whitlow wants to see you.""Now? I'm eating."She looked at my eggs. "No, you're not. Come on."Dr. Whitlow's door was open. I walked in and stopped.Rian was sitting on the couch.My couch. The couch where I cried every Tuesday and Friday about the other one, about the drawings, about waking up in the hallway with cold feet. He was sitting right in the middle of it with a tissue balled up in his hand and his eyes all red and puffy. When he saw me he made this little broken sound and covered his mouth."Sit down, Jovian," Dr. Whitlow said.I didn't sit down. "What's going on?""Rian came to me this morning. He's very worried about you.""I'm sorry," Rian said, before I could say anything. His voice cracked right down the middle. "I'm so sorry, Jo. Please don't hate me. I didn't know what else to do.""What did you do?""He found a pill under your mattress," Dr. Whitlow said. "Your sleeping pill. From the night before last."I looked at Rian. He looked at the f
Last Updated: 2026-10-13
Chapter: Chapter 228Chapter 228JovianI stood in the bathroom doorway with toothpaste still on my lip and my whole body went cold.Rian kept turning the pill between his fingers. Slow. Patient. He wasn't angry. That was the worst part. He looked at me the way you look at a little kid who drew on the wall with a marker and is now trying to hide the marker behind his back."Baby," he said again. "I asked you a question.""It made me throw up."It came out of my mouth so fast I didn't even know I was going to say it until it was already out there in the room between us.Rian tilted his head. "What?""Last week. Thursday, I think. Maybe Wednesday, I don't know, the days all look the same in here." I wiped the toothpaste off my lip with the back of my hand and made myself walk toward him instead of away. "I took it and I threw up in the sink like ten minutes later. Everything. Dinner, the pill, all of it. So last night I spat it out because I didn't want to spend another night with my face in that gross meta
Last Updated: 2026-10-13
Chapter: Chapter 227Chapter 227JovianI didn't move.Rian's fingers kept going through my hair, slow, over and over. I kept my breathing heavy and even, and inside my chest my heart was trying to climb out through my throat."You were so brave today," he whispered. "Standing up to Marcus. But you don't have to be brave, baby. That's my job."I kept my eyes almost closed. Just a slit. I could see the edge of his gray sleeve in the dark."He left you, you know," Rian whispered. "Aiden. Two months, and not one call. Not one letter. He's carrying boxes into some rich guy's building, and he hasn't thought about you once." He leaned closer. His breath was warm on my ear. "Everybody leaves you. Your mom. Him. I'm the only one who stays. Say it in your sleep for me. I'm the only one who stays."I didn't say anything. Dead asleep people don't say anything.He waited. Then he sighed, soft, like he wasn't disappointed, just patient."That's okay," he said. "We've got time."He stood up. His knees cracked. He walke
Last Updated: 2026-10-12
Chapter: Chapter 226Chapter 226JovianNobody said anything in that hallway for a long time.Marcus stood in the doorway of the quiet room with his arms crossed. Rian stood behind me with his arm around my waist. And I stood in the middle in my bare feet, cold all the way up to my teeth, looking from one of them to the other."He's confused," Rian said again, softer. "Come on, baby. Let's get you back to bed.""I'm not confused," Marcus said. "I've got a window. I've got eyes.""You've got a lot of medication in you, Marcus.""So does he." Marcus nodded at me. "Doesn't mean I didn't see what I saw."The night aide's chair squeaked at the end of the hall. Somebody was waking up. Rian's arm tightened around my waist, just a little."Jovian," he said in my ear. "Let's go."I let him walk me back to my room. I let him tuck the blanket around me like I was five. I let him kiss my forehead and tell me I was safe and he'd see me at breakfast. He slipped out the door, pushed up and lifted, and the lock clicked b
Last Updated: 2026-10-11
Chapter: Chapter 225Chapter 225 Aiden The house came out of the trees like something from a movie. Ethan turned off the highway onto a road with no lights, then onto a gravel driveway that went on forever, and then there it was, sitting right on the edge of a black lake. Three floors. Glass everywhere. Every window dark. “Home sweet home,” Ethan said, and turned off the engine. I didn’t move. I sat there with one shoe on and one shoe in my lap, staring at it. “Nobody’s here,” I said. “My parents are in Italy. Some wine thing. They’ll be back next week.” He pulled the key out and smiled at me. “So it’s just us. Isn’t that great?” “That’s the opposite of great, Ethan.” “You haven’t even seen the inside yet.” He got out and came around to my side and opened my door, like a gentleman, like this was a date. The child lock clicked off. Cold air came in, smelling like pine trees and wet dirt. I looked down the driveway. It was pitch black. No streetlights. No other houses. I didn’t even know which di
Last Updated: 2026-10-10
Chapter: A Note From The Author:To everyone who made it to the end, Thank you for staying with Alex. I know he wasn’t always the easiest character to understand. He could be stubborn, sarcastic, and downright frustrating sometimes. He had a habit of pushing people away, even when he needed them. He made mistakes, made the wrong choices, and got hurt more times than he probably deserved. But somehow, he kept going. That’s probably what I love most about him. Alex didn’t have everything figured out. He wasn’t suddenly okay after one big moment, and healing didn’t come easily to him. He just kept trying, even on the days when trying was the hardest thing he could do. Writing his journey reminded me that sometimes surviving isn’t the end of the story. You still have to learn how to live afterward. You have to learn how to trust again, how to let people care about you, and how to believe that maybe your life can still turn into something good. I hope you saw a little bit of Alex in yourself. Maybe not in his m
Last Updated: 2026-08-28
Chapter: Chapter 192Alex's POV The rink was empty when I arrived that morning, and the ice was smooth and white and untouched by any skates or sticks or the chaos of a game, and the lights were off except for the ones near the entrance, and the air was cold and still and quiet in a way that felt like stepping into a memory that I had been carrying for years and years. I stood at the boards and looked out at the ice, and I thought about everything that had happened here, because this was where it all started, this was where Damien had slammed me into the boards on that first day and whispered those filthy things in my ear, and this was where I had felt so alone and so scared and so determined to survive, and this was where I had first learned to fight for myself even when I did not know who I was fighting for or why I was fighting at all. I pulled on my skates and the laces felt familiar under my fingers because I had done this a thousand times before, but this time felt different because this time I
Last Updated: 2026-08-28
Chapter: Chapter 192Nancy’s POVThe estate felt too quiet. The adults had left for the foundation gala hours ago. Alex, Damien, Jax, Lila, and Lily were all gone. The younger kids were already asleep upstairs. That left the big house empty except for me.I sat in the living room with an old photo album open on my lap. The pictures showed my mom when she was younger. Some showed Alex as a boy. Some showed the house before everything got complicated. I turned the pages slowly because looking at the past always made my chest feel heavy. Secrets. Lies. People who left. People who stayed but changed. It was a lot to carry alone.I was still looking at one photo of my mom smiling when I heard a soft knock at the front door. The sound was quiet, almost careful. I closed the album and stood up. My heart beat a little faster even though I told myself it was probably nothing.When I opened the door Sara stood there. She wore a simple dress and her hair was a little messy from the wind. She looked at me with those
Last Updated: 2026-08-28
Chapter: Chapter 191Lila’s POVI gave her more. I sucked harder. I used my tongue. I switched sides while she kept moaning. Her hips rocked against me as the soft sounds filled the small room. Every noise she made pulled something warm from deep inside my chest. I wanted to hear more of them.I let my hand slide down her stomach. Her skin felt warm and smooth under my palm. I moved slowly because I wanted to feel every part of her. When my fingers finally found the heat between her legs, she was already wet. So wet. She gasped the moment I touched her soft folds. Her body jumped a little, yet she did not pull away.“Lily,” I whispered, “I need to feel you.”“Then feel me.”Her voice came out low and full of need. I slid my fingers inside her. She cried out while her body arched against me. I felt how tight she was, how warm, how ready. For a moment I stayed still just so I could feel her around my fingers. This felt more intimate than any kiss I had ever shared. It felt more real than any plan or scheme
Last Updated: 2026-08-28
Chapter: Chapter 190Lila’s POVThe gala was over. The Rivera Foundation had officially launched. Everyone was celebrating. Everyone except me.I stood in the corner of the ballroom as I watched the crowd. Alex was surrounded by reporters and asked him many questions. He smiled and answered them all. Damien was talking to some lawyers. They looked serious. Jax was laughing with Nancy. They seemed happy together. Everyone looked happy. Everyone looked like they belonged here.I did not belong.I had spent years trying to control everyone around me. I had blackmailed Alex, I had threatened Damien. I had used people like they were tools and I had lied. I had hurt people. And now I was trying to be better. But it was hard. Every day was hard. I woke up and told myself to be good. I went to bed and still felt like the old me. The old me was always there. She whispered in my ear. She told me I was not good enough. She told me I would fail.I looked at the people around me. They all had friends. They all had fa
Last Updated: 2026-08-28
Chapter: Chapter 189Damien's POVI sat in the visitor's room at the federal detention center. Victor sat across from me. He was in an orange jumpsuit now. His hands were cuffed to the table. His hair was grayer than I remembered. His eyes still had that cold fire, but it was dying."Damien," he said. "I was wondering when you would come.""I needed to see you. One last time."He laughed. It was the same cold laugh I had heard my whole life. "One last time? You think this is goodbye?""Yes.""You're here to gloat. To tell me how you won.""No. I'm here to say goodbye."Victor leaned forward. His voice dropped. "You're pathetic. You always were. Running after that Rivera boy. Letting him control you. You were never strong enough to stand on your own."I did not react. I just looked at him."I spent my whole life trying to earn your approval," I said. "I broke people for you. I lied for you. I hurt Alex for you. I did everything you asked. And it was never enough."Victor's face remained stone. But somethi
Last Updated: 2026-08-28
Chapter: Chapter 51Rowan I burst through the main gates with Areum limp in my arms, his head lolling against my shoulder like dead weight, skin clammy and way too pale, every shallow breath he took hitting me like a punch because fuck, he looked half-gone already, that void-pain thing eating him from the inside even while he was out cold. The compound was buzzing, pack members clustered everywhere some on the steps, some spilling out from the mess hall, all staring, whispers flying fast and ugly the second they saw us. "Rowan actually did it, raided the bastards?" "Heard the Luna took the curse hit, idiot hero move." "Who's the girl? And that smug fucker trailing her like he owns the place?" I didn't stop, just barked over my shoulder at the nearest betas, "Clear the infirmary room now! Get the doc here, he's crashing hard!" One of them jumped, scrambling, "On it, alpha!" but the murmurs kept coming, louder, angrier, "We lost three good ones out there for what? A fake Luna and her babysitter?" "Yeah,
Last Updated: 2026-01-27
Chapter: Chapter 50~Rowan~We sat there in that stuffy room for what felt like forever after he dropped his bomb about using Elara as a stand-in, me, Jace, Niki, and him hashing out the details like we were planning a heist instead of trying to save our asses from a pack meltdown, and yeah, it was tense, everyone throwing ideas back and forth, Jace cracking stupid jokes to lighten the mood but nobody really laughing because this was serious shit, life-or-death serious, and I kept glancing at Areum, his face all determined but eyes showing that flicker of hurt like he hated the idea of hiding but knew it was the only play."Alright, so Elara it is," Jace said finally, rubbing his hands together like he was excited, "but how do we get her without starting a full-blown war with her dad's pack? Because that's exactly what we don't want, right, more enemies?" I nodded, leaning back, arms crossed, "Yeah, but think about it, a mini war with them is better than civil war here, at least it's external, we can con
Last Updated: 2026-01-25
Chapter: Chapter 49AreumI sat on the edge of the bed with my hands locked together so tight my fingers hurt, staring at absolutely nothing, thinking about everything at the same time, which was my least favorite mental activity because it always ended with either a headache or me saying something unhinged out loud and Rowan giving me that look like he loved me but was also preparing for chaos.Rowan kept pacing. He paced like a man whose world was one bad sentence away from exploding, boots hitting the floor too hard, turning too sharp, muttering under his breath like the walls personally offended him.“Stop pacing,” I said.“I can’t,” he snapped.“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor.”“I’ll replace the floor.”“That’s not the point.”He stopped suddenly and looked at me, eyes sharp, jaw tight, and for a second the room felt too small for the amount of tension sitting between us.“They know,” he said.“There won’t be an issue if the Elder does not open his mouth.”I exhaled through my nose, lean
Last Updated: 2026-01-24
Chapter: Chapter 48Areum's POVI was curled up in the corner of the hall, knees to my chest, because being me meant that every five minutes the universe decided it was hilarious to put me in a position where I could either scream or pass out, and honestly, both sounded equally appealing right now. My chest was tight, my breaths coming too fast and too short, and I could feel Rowan right there beside me, his presence like a damn steel wall I wanted to cling to but also punch because panic doesn’t care about logic.The guard, yes, that idiot, the one who had eyes like a squirrel on meth and clearly no concept of personal boundaries was back, and I swear I could feel his smug grin all the way from here. He looked like he had just realized he might have actually screwed up, and I was supposed to find sympathy for him? Nope. Not today. Not ever.“Areum,” Rowan’s voice cut through the chaos, low and rough and terrifyingly calm, and I swear I almost lunged at him like a lifeline. “Look at me.”I tried. I real
Last Updated: 2026-01-24
Chapter: Chapter 47~Areum~“Good.”“You sure?”I twisted my head, glared at him over my shoulder even though tears were running down my face now not sad tears, just overload. “If you stop I will literally murder you. Keep going.”He stared at me another second really looked. Then something shifted in his expression. Not softer. Hungrier. Like he finally understood.“Okay,” he said quietly. “Okay.”The next hit wasn’t with his hand.He doubled the belt over in his fist, snapped it once against his own palm like he was testing. The crack made me flinch.Then he brought it down across my ass.I screamed full-throated, broken. Fire streaked across skin. My whole body locked up, then shuddered hard.“Again,” I choked out.He did. Twice more. Each one landing exactly where the last one had so the pain stacked. I was shaking now, ass on fire, wrists throbbing, cock so hard it hurt worse than the belt.Rowan dropped to his knees behind me suddenly, mouth on the welts hot, wet, soothing. Licking over the marks
Last Updated: 2026-01-21
Chapter: Chapter 46~Areum~The knot finally went down enough that I could peel myself off Rowan without feeling like my guts were being yanked out backward, but the second I tried to roll away, another cramp hit like someone kicked me square in the lower belly. Not the slow build this time straight-up vicious, made my vision tunnel and my thighs clamp together so hard I nearly crushed his dick still half-inside me.“Fuck fuck fuck,” I hissed through my teeth, curling forward until my forehead smacked his collarbone. “Not done. Not even close. Why is this heat trying to murder me today?”Rowan’s arms came around me instantly, big hands sliding up my back like he could hold the cramps in place with sheer willpower. “Breathe, Luna. I got you.” His voice was wrecked, hoarse from all the begging and groaning, but still stupidly gentle. It pissed me off how much I liked it.“Don’t ‘Luna’ me right now,” I snapped, shoving at his chest even though I didn’t actually want him to let go. “I’m not in the mood for
Last Updated: 2026-01-21
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