Chapter: Chapter Forty-fourAvery's POV. I stood in the middle of the garden, watering the plants behind the manor. It wasn't just me; other girls were busy chatting, their laughter floating through the air like they had no problems in life. They smiled at the blooming roses, completely oblivious to the rot beneath the stone foundations of this manor. The others usually get a day off. I don’t. I had never left the walls of this manor since the day I was dragged through the gates. "I can't keep living like this," I muttered to myself, aggressively tilting the watering can to increase the rushing flow of water over the soil. "Is there a problem?" Lilith, the new girl, asked. She was right beside me, working on trimming the overgrown hedges. "No, there's no problem," I answered quickly, keeping my voice neutral. "Well, your face says otherwise," she insisted. She put down her iron shears and looked straight into my eyes, trying to read the truth from them. I looked elsewhere, refusing to allow her to read
Last Updated: 2026-07-16
Chapter: Chapter Forty-threeAvery's POV. I stopped moving the moment his voice hit me. A sharp pulse of pain shot through my abdomen as I rose from the wet stone floor. My legs trembled beneath me, but I forced myself upright. I would rather collapse than face Lucian on my knees. The tip of his cane struck the stone as he closed the distance between us. He moved without hurry, as though he already knew I couldn't escape. “What do you want, Lucian?” I asked through clenched teeth, gripping the wooden handle of my brush to keep my balance. “I have the floors to finish.” "The Lycan King is sending his guard," Lucian said calmly. The words fell between us like heavy blocks of ice. I kept my chin high, refusing to let him see the sudden jolt of alarm behind my eyes. "Someone inside these walls leaked word that a second-fated mate has appeared," he continued, as though the news meant nothing to him. "The king's advisors are pushing him to revoke my title and secure the northern border. His elite scouts ride fas
Last Updated: 2026-07-15
Chapter: Chapter Forty-twoAvery's POV The kitchen was hot and stuffy, with the smell of roasted meat, fresh bread, and herbs. Near the washing corner, the scent of soap and dirty water lingered in the air. I straightened my spine and walked in. Marla set the scrubbing brush on the counter between us without a word. I picked up the brush and moved to the far corner of the courtyard, where the stone floor was darkest, stained with old grease and water. I lowered myself to my knees. The cold stone of the kitchen courtyard bit ruthlessly through the thin fabric of my worn skirts. Every time I pushed the brush forward, a sharp pain flared across my abdomen, pulling violently at the fresh stitches. I sucked in a deep breath, teeth clenched tight, my jaw aching from the strain. I leaned against the wooden handle to keep my knees from buckling. “Easy, child,” Marla’s voice broke through the noise of the courtyard, softer than usual. I paused, gripping the scrubbing brush tighter. She was standing near the lar
Last Updated: 2026-07-14
Chapter: Chapter Forty-oneLucian’s POV Vance went completely rigid. I didn't need eyes to sense his shock; the sudden hitch in his breath and the quick spike in his heartbeat told me everything. "Dorian's daughter?" Vance choked out, his voice cracking in utter disbelief. "Alpha, tell me you are joking. You cannot be serious.” “Do I sound like I am joking, Vance?” I countered, my voice matching the freezing wind blowing through the open window. "She is an unshifted Omega!" Vance argued, his heavy leather boots slamming against the floorboards as he took two aggressive steps closer to me. “A fragile, raised servant with a traitor for a father, and more importantly, she hates you.” "Her hatred is irrelevant to my laws," I murmured, keeping my hands clasped behind my back. "It is entirely relevant if you need her to willingly accept the bond to break the curse!" Vance shouted, his heartbeat hammering so hard I could hear the rhythm bouncing off the stone walls. "The king is sending his elite royal guar
Last Updated: 2026-07-14
Chapter: Chapter FortyLucian’s POV The heavy bronze bells of the northern tower shattered the silence of the morning, their metallic tolls vibrating through the stone floorboards beneath my boots. Every toll rang in my ears, rooting me to the ground. Three sharp strikes. “Riders returning!” a voice bellowed from the courtyard below. The announcement echoed through the fortress halls. Servants stirred. Boots thundered against stone. Somewhere in the courtyard, horses whinnied in protest. I stood by the arched window of my study, one hand resting against the cold stone frame. The freezing wind brushed against my face, carrying the scent of damp earth and horses. Vance was back. My Gamma had returned from the Lycan King’s court a week earlier than expected. I knew it the moment I heard the horses crossing the drawbridge. The hurried, uneven sound of hooves told me he had ridden without rest, pushing his mount harder than any messenger should. A soft, hesitant knock sounded at my door. "Enter," I com
Last Updated: 2026-07-13
Chapter: Chapter Thirty-nineAvery's POV I braced myself for his fury, expecting his massive fingers to crush my throat or snap my collarbone. Instead, the tension in his jaw slowly melted away. A calm smile spread across his lips. He let out a soft, low chuckle that sent a wave of goosebumps down my arms. "Fierce," he murmured, his thumb dragging slowly along my jawline. "It makes the eventual submission taste so much sweeter.” He stood up to his full height, the heavy black fabric of his shirt casting a massive shadow over my bed. “Heal. You are not permitted to die yet.” He turned his back on me. "Every day your body mends is one day closer to my light. You cannot run from a bond that is woven into your soul.” I watched his rigid shoulders slide into the shadows as he walked toward the door. He navigated the room perfectly without his cane, opening the heavy mahogany door and stepping out into the corridor without looking back. The heavy wood slammed shut behind him, the lock clicking into place. Th
Last Updated: 2026-07-12
Chapter: Chapter Forty-threeThe smell of Frank's fresh blood on the kitchen floor was a harsh reminder that our victory over Elena had come at a terrible cost. With the help of Marco and Darius, we managed to carry Frank back upstairs. By the time the first light of dawn slipped through the heavy curtains of his bedroom, Elena's sleek black sedan had already disappeared down the gravel driveway, leaving the house entirely ours. Frank drifted in and out of a restless sleep, caught between fever and exhaustion. His skin burned beneath my touch, yet his body shook with violent chills every few minutes. The stitches I had carefully sewn only hours earlier had torn open, leaking blood and clear fluid onto the fresh sheets. “Jane...” His voice was weak, his eyes fluttering beneath heavy lids. He tried to turn onto his side, but the movement pulled at his wound, and a sharp gasp of pain escaped him. "Don't move, Frank. Please, just stay still," I begged, my bare knees dug into the edge of the mattress as I pressed
Last Updated: 2026-07-09
Chapter: Chapter Forty-twoFrank had finally fallen into a fitful, shallow sleep. His fever was rising, his broad shoulders twitching every few minutes as his body fought the trauma of the twenty lashes. I had used up the last of the ice in his room, trying to keep his temperature down.Leaving him wrapped in clean sheets, I quietly slipped through his bedroom door, clutching the empty silver ice bucket against my chest like a shield.I kept my bare feet silent against the cold stairs, heading toward the kitchen. All I wanted was ice, a glass of water, and a single moment to breathe without the weight of Frank’s agonizing groans crashing down on me.I pushed open the heavy swinging door to the kitchen. The room was dark, illuminated only by the silver moonlight cutting through the arched windows."You walk through these halls as if you belong here." A voice sliced through the darkness. I flinched, nearly dropping the ice bucket. Elena sat at the massive marble island, a half-empty crystal glass of amber liquid
Last Updated: 2026-07-07
Chapter: Chapter forty-oneThe sound of the fifth strike tore through the study, and with it, a piece of my own soul felt like it was being ripped away. I kept my hands pressed so tightly over my mouth that my own teeth bit into my knuckles.I couldn’t look away. Frank had told me to stay hidden with his eyes, but he hadn't told me to close them. If he was going to bleed for me, the very least I could do was bear witness to his sacrifice.By the tenth strike, Frank's white shirt was ruined, torn apart and soaked with blood. Deep red marks covered his back, and blood ran down his skin with every blow. He sucked in uneven breaths through clenched teeth. His arms were shaking violently, his large hands gripping the edge of the desk so hard that the wood groaned under his weight. Yet, he didn't scream. Not once. Every time the cane fell, he swallowed the pain, letting out only a low grunt.Across the room, Elena had turned her face away, weeping softly into a lace handkerchief, but her tears weren't for her son’s
Last Updated: 2026-07-06
Chapter: Chapter fortyBefore Enzo could take the insult any further, Frank raised a hand, his expression softening as he turned his attention away from the angry father and looked directly at the young woman sitting across from him. "Layla," Frank said, his voice dropping into a calm, respectful tone. "Look at me." Layla paused, her manicured fingers freezing against her diamond ring as she slowly lifted her gaze to meet his. "You are an exceptionally beautiful woman," Frank said, and though the words sent a tiny squeeze through my heart, his tone was entirely devoid of lust. It was the voice of a man stating an undeniable fact. "You are intelligent, you are mafia royalty, and I am certain there is a long line of men in this city who would give everything they own just to have a fraction of your attention. You deserve a husband who looks at you like you are the only thing that matters in this world. You deserve a man who is entirely whole, and entirely yours." Frank took a slow, heavy breath, leaning
Last Updated: 2026-07-04
Chapter: Chapter Thirty-nineWhen he opened his eyes, he had a desperate and confused look I had never seen on him before."No," he hissed, his grip on my arm tightening just enough to make me feel his desperation. "Nothing has been decided. Do you hear me, Jane? Nothing.""Your mother seems to think it has," I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs, wanting to believe him so badly."My mother doesn't run this family. I do," he muttered, his breath warm against my cheek. He glanced back nervously at the study, the muffled sound of Enzo Valenti’s deep, rumbling laughter filtering through the thick wood. "But you cannot be down here." He released my arm, his fingers brushing against my cheek one last time in a way that felt like a goodbye."Go back upstairs. Lock the door," he pleaded. "Let me handle this. I swear to you, I will come for you the second they leave."Before I could answer, he turned on his heel, straightened the cuffs of his shirt, and smoothed down his jacket. In the span of a single breat
Last Updated: 2026-07-03
Chapter: Chapter Thirty eightThe zipper of my ruined silk dress caught against the fabric, a sharp snag that sounded deafening in the empty bedroom. I didn’t care. I yanked it up, ignoring the way the torn seam exposed a slice of my thigh.I didn’t look in the mirror. I didn’t need to see the dark bruises blooming on my collarbone or the ghost of Frank’s touch written in red flushes across my skin. Elena wanted me to slink away in the dark, carrying the scent of her son like a brand of shame. But my spine, once collapsed under her cruelty, was rigid now. I stepped out of the bedroom, my bare feet sinking into the hallway carpet. I had abandoned my heels; they were weapons Elena had thrown, and I refused to stumble on my way to the truth. The house, which had been a sanctuary, a quiet fortress where Frank’s murmurs against my ear made the rest of the world vanish, now felt like the ribs of a great beast that had swallowed me whole.As I approached the staircase, the muffled voices grew distinct. Elena hadn't li
Last Updated: 2026-07-02
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