Chapter: Crossing the LineThe rain started halfway home.It wasn't a gentle drizzle; it was a torrential downpour that hammered against the roof of the armored SUV. The rhythmic drumming filled the silence between us, but it did nothing to drown out the tension.The dens of the car were thick. Charged with electricity and the scent of the aroused wolves, they felt heavy.I sat in a corner of the vehicle, trying to create distance between us. My skin still tingled from the briefest graze of Dante's fingers at the gala. My heart raced, pounding against my ribs like a frantic thing.I stole a glance at him.Dante looked straight ahead, his jaw tight. Chiseled into marble; that was him, though I could see the tension gripping his shoulders. He rested both hands on his thighs, fingers clutching into fists, then relaxing, over and over."You're angry," I whispered, breaking the silence.Dante turned his head slowly. His eyes glowed like molten gold in flashes of streetlight."I'm not angry," he said, his voice low a
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-01-18
Chapter: The TrophyTwo weeks later, the girl in the mirror was almost unrecognizable.The hollow cheeks were filling out, giving my face a softness I hadn't seen since I was a child. The dark circles under my eyes had vanished, replaced by a healthy, porcelain glow. But the biggest change was the eyes themselves. They were no longer a muddy, bruised gray. They were a striking, vivid violet, bright enough to startle me every time I brushed my teeth.Rapid regeneration, Dr. Evans called it. He said that my body was overcompensating with the absence of the poison that malnourished it. My hair, which was brittle and dry, now fell in thick, shiny waves of hair.I'm not just healing, but I'm growing.I tapped the last key on my report at my desk in my new office, a small but sleek little room off the main library."Done," I whispered to the empty room.Finished with the audit of the security payroll. I found three "ghost guards" on the list: names that don't exist, yet they got paid. Another ten grand a month
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-01-18
Chapter: The AuditI didn't expect to be summoned so soon.After the incident in the dining hall, I had retreated back to my room. My heart was still pounding with adrenaline from standing up to Elena. I sat down on the edge of the very large bed while staring at my hands. Those hands were steady. The food I had forced down was taking effect. The fog in my mind cleared, and in its place, the sharp buzz of clarity set in—one I had not felt in years.I waited for punishment. Usually, any form of back-talk, however slight, to a higher-ranking wolf in the Silver River Pack lessened your chances of punishment and more defined the style of punishment to be meted out to you. I expected Elena to come back with guards. I expected to be thrown into the cellar.Instead, an hour later, a knock on my door.It wasn't a servant but one of the elite guards, a very large man in a black tactical uniform."Alpha requests your presence," he said, with no inflection whatsoever. Purely flat.My stomach squirmed. "Is that abo
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-01-18
Chapter: The Golden CageThree days.That was how long I had been confined to the "Guest Suite," which was really just a polite term for a high-security cell with 800-thread-count sheets.My recovery is slow but undeniable. Without that daily toxic slurry Miller had forced down my throat, my body began remembering how to function again. Now, the trembling of my hands has stopped. That constant, crushing headache that kept me company for five years has faded into a dull thrum at the base of my skull, where I don't notice it so much anymore.I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the bathroom, staring at the stranger looking back at me.Too thin still. My collarbones are sharp ridges against my pale skin, and my ribs are visible beneath the oversized silk shirt I swiped from Dante's closet because I own no clothes. But my eyes... they were different. The dull, muddy hazel was clearing, revealing a brighter, sharper shade of violet-gray."You are healing faster than I expected," Dr. Evans said from t
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-01-03
Chapter: Return on InvestmentI woke to the smell of coffee. Rich, dark, expensive coffee.For an instant, I didn't know where I was. The sheets were too soft—Egyptian cotton, cool against my skin. The ceiling was too high. Then the memories crashed back in.The sale. The car ride. The King.I sat up slowly. My body felt heavy like I was moving through water, but at least the nausea was gone. For the first time in years, the crushing fog which usually clouded my brain had been lifted. Clear. Sharper."You've been asleep for thirty-six hours," a deep voice rumbled from the corner.I jumped, pulling the duvet in and against my chin.Dante was sitting in a leather armchair by the window, arms propping up a tablet in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He wore a charcoal gray suit, no tie, top button of his shirt undone. He looked effortlessly powerful and completely out of place in a sickroom."Thirty-six?" I croaked. My throat felt dry."Dr. Evans flushed your system," Dante said without looking at me. "Lucky
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-01-03
Chapter: Buyer’s RemorseThe car ride was a blur of shadows and nausea.My body was revolting. I had skipped the evening dose of Miller's "medicine," and usually by now my hands would just be shaking. But this was different. My skin was burning; bones freezing.I curled into a ball against the cool leather of the passenger door, my teeth chattering loud enough to be heard over the hum of the engine."Stop that," Dante said. He didn't look up from the tablet in his lap. The blue light illuminated his sharp cheekbones, making him look even more like a marble statue than a man.I stammered back at him, wrapping my arms tightly around myself. "I ... c-c-can't. It's c-cold.""The climate control is set to seventy-two degrees," he replied flatly. "You are being dramatic."He tapped the glass partition separating us from the driver. "How long?""Ten minutes to the Estate, Sir," the driver replied.Dante sighed, a sound of pure irritation. He finally looked at me, his golden eyes narrowing as he took in my appearance
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2026-01-03
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