Nobela ni Asmodeus

It had been more than a year since Caspian confessed his feelings to me, and life was finally finding a sense of normalcy. Derek was safe, though he remained permanently in hiding. The Salvatores had not only survived the disaster but had emerged stronger than before. The PR team had worked wonders in reshaping their image, and those who had attempted to bring them down for their own gain were now behind bars. The money laundering case was no longer casting shadows over their name, it was a thing of the past. The FBI cleared their name from any involvement in the money laundering—the world saw them as victims of their dad's actions. The business was doing good; Caspian joined the company, while on the other side, our relationship got pretty strong. We found a balance that allowed us to grow separately as well, because I moved into an apartment with my mom, helping her build a new life for herself. Meanwhile, Caspian remained at the mansion with his brothers. They asked me to stay,

I was always good at fixing things, maybe because I was broken from the inside and knew I couldn't be fixed. I became a lawyer to help my family, to help my brothers. I thought if I knew the ways of law and legal system, I could use it to my advantage, to protect them in any way needed. Yet, it had been more than a month and I was still fighting a battle with no end in sight. I gave up on too many things in my life, thinking I never deserved them. There was always a reason to hold myself back from being truly happy, about something or with someone. There were these little voices in my head that would make me question everything. For years, they had been silent, but ever since I learned the truth about Dad's involvement in the money laundering, they came back. ‘How could you let yourself be happy when your brothers are in trouble?’‘How could you be that selfish?’I couldn't rub my love for Kat on my brothers' faces, especially when most of them wanted her, too. It was not fair to

The sky was cloudless, the bright light of the moon covered the Salvatore property. We just had dinner, and it wasn't like the regular Salvatore family dinner. It hasn't been so ever since we returned to the mansion. Lucas was in Chicago, meeting with some of the investors whereas Caspian had himself locked in his room. Mom was back in Texas, and the twins went to their grandparents (mother's parents). We were all scattered, and the frustration over the situation was torturing us. The news about the Salvatores reached my dad in London and he had been calling and texting me constantly. He wanted me to leave them and come back to London. I almost laughed when he suggested that, but I controlled myself and told him that I would pay a visit soon.He wasn't satisfied with the answer, so I reminded him that I was an adult and he couldn't force me to leave. That shut him up for the moment, and I hung up the phone soon after. He had been texting me ever since, apologizing and asking me if

The Salvatore mansion didn't feel like home anymore. As I walked through the mansion once again, I felt the same way I did the first time—cold and out of place. The strange environment loomed around me, and with each step I took inside, I sensed a profound emptiness, the lingering ghosts of everything that had happened. Perhaps we changed while we were in the safe house, or maybe it was the mansion that had endured too much destruction in a very short period of time. The mansion was still recovering from the nightmares, and the gloom was maybe its way of narrating the pain. Not long ago secrets had been unraveled, trusts were shattered between the family members, and blood was spilled in the very entrance hall I was standing inside. In just a month, it was just a house again—not a home like it used to be. The brothers felt the changes, too; it was apparent on their faces. They could hear the silence everywhere inside the house, and the winds of winter that seemed to fill every c

Caspian barely slept in a week and it was showing. None of us really got any sleep, but it was a little different with Caspian. The lack of sleep wasn't the only reason for the permanent exhaustion in his eyes like us, it was the weight of everything he was letting press down on him—crushing him, consuming his thoughts. It had been a whole week since the news about Derek's involvement in the money laundering was aired all across the country. Everything had only gotten worse after that. The Salvatore name was plastered across every news outlet—big or small. Everyone had their own take on the case, be it the editors of the Washington Post or The New York Times, anchors from CNN or Fox News, and even the social media influencers who were reporting the controversy in the hope of getting views and likes.In no time it became one of the biggest scandals in recent times. And Caspian being the oldest, took it all upon himself. Although we knew it was the politicians and businessmen whose

The main purpose of us getting a safe house was to be safe, but the FBI made it feel anything but safe for us. The air inside the house felt suffocating to me, thick with an unspoken fear that we all felt, but none of us dared to voice. In the last three days, the FBI has visited us five times. The first day they took statements from us and collected evidence—the standard protocol—nothing more than that. We thought it was all, but Caspian warned us that it was just the beginning, and just like he said, they came back once again. This time they took our individual statements and cross-examined us. Since we were already prepared with our answers, nothing felt out of the ordinary. However, I noticed the way some of the officers were looking at us. They knew we were hiding something, but they had no proof. Caspian made sure that everything in the house was how it was supposed to be after Derek left. It was their sixth visit that day. The FBI agents sat across from us in the living ro

RYAN'S POV,“It’s the Shadow Pack. Julian hired them to find Elena.” Corbin called in the middle of the night to give me the information.He had been tailing Julian for a long time, to collect information about his movements and cause problems in his search for Elena. He had been mostly successful because Julian still had no clue where Elena was, yet the involvement of Shadow Pack was going to turn the table. I was sure of that.The Shadow Pack was a pack of very intelligent wolves who had been solving cases and collecting clues for decades. They were the best detectives in the world and they had clients everywhere. Due to their fame, it wasn't easy to hire them. Their clients were big businessmen and politicians, so I was shocked to find out they were working for Julian.It made me wonder what connections Julian had, and that made him quite intriguing to me.“They had us fooled. I think they know about Elena.” I groaned in anger, throwing the blanket on the floor and jumped out of th

ELENA’S POV,The days passed faster than I expected and nothing like that horrible night occurred again.I never saw those two men anywhere around the city centre or in the restaurant, though I was extra cautious whenever I stepped out of the apartment. I refrained from walking alone on the street or keeping my windows open at night. I was living in fear, looking over my shoulder whenever I felt commotion happening behind me or a shadow appear from behind.However, as days passed I knew they were gone for good and started to ease little by little. My guess was that Ryan took care of the situation. He probably exiled them from the city, or did something worse, but I never wondered what he could have done to them. I was afraid that I wouldn't like the answer.On the work side, my routine held steady—waking early, folding aprons and towels, chopping vegetables, taking orders, and balancing trays loaded with food, among other things. I wasn't thinking much about the past because I didn’t

ELENA'S POV,Ryan was standing in a tailored suit with an air of confidence and raw anger surrounding him from everywhere. His hair was parted sideways and his presence filled the small space inside. Although he was a customer like me, he looked more like he owned the restaurant.“President Ryan!” I whispered his name in relief and could feel the fear radiating from the two men behind me.Ryan didn’t stop glaring; his eyes were fixed on them. The coldness and anger in his eyes terrified me, though I saw the subtle change in his gaze when he looked down at me from them. But, it vanished as soon as one of them moved to come forward. Probably to convince Ryan that he was innocent“Is there a problem here?” Ryan asked, and his voice wasn't loud, yet it echoed throughout the restaurant. It even startled my wolf, and that startled me.“N-no, President Ryan.” The man who was holding me by my wrist earlier stammered. “W-we weren't doing anything to her. It was just a misunderstanding. We're s

ELENA'S POV,The restaurant I started working at wasn’t a Michelin star, but it was quite popular among the crowds that craved more than your regular burger and fries. It was a small European-style restaurant that served authentic European cuisine along with some famous fusion dishes.It was in the city centre—a corner place with twelve tables and a long bar with a grill. The owner, Mrs. Smith, was a very strict and punctual middle-aged British lady who came to the city a long time ago, leaving everything behind to start a new life. Unknowingly, she gave me the strength I needed when I started to question my decisions at the beginning.She gave me the much-needed hope that no matter what, if a woman decides, she can start a new life without any help. She was the cook, and cared a lot about two things—taste and hygiene. Which was probably the reason why we had more regular customers than new ones, and all of them were kind-hearted people.To most of them, The Crown, was more than a rest

RYAN'S POV,It was a beautiful morning when my Beta, Corbin, entered my home office after a light tap on the door.I was on the small balcony, looking at the back of the property. Ollie was in the backyard downstairs, playing under the watchful eyes of her new security team. They were supposed to be the best in the country, yet after the incident with Mia, I couldn't trust anyone with her safety.I tried to be with her as much as possible, and when I couldn't be there, Corbin watched over her. He was the only other person I could trust with my daughter's safety. We were still looking for a nanny, but didn't have much luck with it.Ollie had been quiet since we returned, clinging to me whenever she thought I might leave the room. I knew it would be hard for her to trust someone after being betrayed like that by Mia. She wasn't very comfortable around Corbin either, and I could see how it was affecting him.He always saw her as a younger sister, so I could only imagine how heartbreaking

JULIAN'S POV,I didn’t remember the drive back home.The most I could remember was leaving the doctor behind and running away from the hospital, thinking I could run away from the truth, too. However, that was not the case because just as I got in the car, his voice echoed inside my head.I slammed the car door so hard it rattled the frame, vibrating my whole body, but my heart trembled the most. I started the engine and held the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned white. Even as I pulled away from the hospital, its empty walls seemed to chase me. I could still hear the doctor’s voice in my head, over and over again.‘Molly is... she's gone.’The words stuck to me like hot wax—thick and suffocating. It wasn't me who left the hospital that day; it was someone else. A ghost. Because I died the moment I heard about Molly's death, and what caused it. I couldn't believe she was gone, but at the back of my head, I guess I'd known it for a very long time.‘She's gone,’ I remembered Ele

IZZY'S POV,When I got home that evening, I was exhausted to my bones, more exhausted than I’d realized earlier. And all I wanted was to jump on my bed and fall asleep.The exhaustion wasn't due to the work or due to the little encounter with Tyler at work, though that was very draining, but from everything that had been happening in my life lately. I was responsible for most of them in one way or another, but that doesn't mean I couldn't complain. The castle, the fireworks, the feeling of being seen, really seen by someone for the first time, was all I wanted, and then on the other hand, I was ready to burn it to the ground.'Don't overthink, you're making the right decision,' I told myself as I unlocked the door to my apartment, bracing myself for more loneliness to force me into the well of overthinking. However, that's not what happened because as soon as I was inside, I heard, “Elizabeth Mary Winters, where the hell have you been for the last few days?”I blinked, stunned for a

IZZY'S POV, “I guess you didn't know, we're acquiring this company.” He had a proud look in his eyes when he announced it, not just to me but also to those around us. I glanced around the room and felt embarrassed by all the eyes focused on me. I wanted to run away, knowing well that it was going to lead to another round of gossip about my life. They barely moved away from the wedding drama; now, thanks to Tyler, they had another topic. I sighed and focused on the man in front of me. His eyes were sparkling, and the way he was leaning against the wall made it look like he already owned the company. I took a deep breath before speaking. “What do you mean by that?” His smile only deepened when I was done with my question. “We are in the early stages of negotiation, but it's pretty much a done deal.” “Why would Mr. McKelly sell the company all of a sudden?” I mumbled, trying to think about the conversations that occurred around the office, in the past few days. “I didn't even

IZZY'S POV,I was back at my desk, leaving the Castle and the magical life I had to live for the past two days behind. However, my mind never came back with me to the corporate life of Austin. It was still wrapped around the scent of roses and old stone walls that I fell in love with. I was still in front of that giant fireplace, wrapped in a blanket while it rained outside. Jasper was with me, kissing me on the neck while reading me one of his favorite French romances. We were both naked—it was his idea—to get in the head of the characters. It was a stupid idea, but when he started stripping, I couldn't help myself either. So, while he translated the story for me, I played with him. It was my way of connecting with the eighteen-year-old maid, the naive girl who fell in love with her master, the duke, thrice his age. “Everyone around warned him that she was going to poison him one day for his riches, but he was so in love with her that he never listened to them,” he read, and that

JASPER'S POV, I never knew Elizabeth was so outspoken and wild. I always thought of her as a timid little girl who was a little bit opinionated, but I had never known her other side. She hid it well, and now I couldn't help but feel like learning everything else about her. She is what I always wanted, yet this distance between us didn't seem to disappear. At times, looking at her I couldn't shake the feeling that her affection for me wasn't true, making it seem as though she wasn't in love with me. Yet, other times, I could only see love in her beautiful eyes, leaving me both confused and uncertain. Despite the mixed signals, the only thing I was certain of was my feelings for her. I knew that my love for her was genuine and unwavering, and it would remain so till the very end. With each passing day, my feelings for her were only growing stronger. Initially, I thought it was Daniel's words that got to me because he wasn't happy about me dating her. We talked before I left for

IZZY'S POV,I felt Jasper's hands on my hips, and his warning sent chills down my spine. Weirdly enough, that made me want him even more. On one hand, I didn't want to feel those emotions because I knew it was going to end soon, and quite badly, while on the other, I wanted to surrender myself to him. “I am going to have you now!”He turned me on my back and soon he was inside me, connecting us together once again. I was so perfectly filled that it began to hurt, but not physically. Instead, I could feel Jasper in my chest, buried somewhere under my ribs. He felt like a cluster of nerves that throb with each stroke. He moved slowly in the beginning, and that only emphasized the pain. I felt every inch of him, erupting fire inside my body, and the pleasure of it chased the pain that his words had left in their wake. He was grinding into me and it felt like a weird combination of pleasure and pain. When he started pumping faster, pinning my hands above my hand, tears sprang to

IZZY'S POV, “I... I love you, Izzy.” The words echoed in my head as I woke up the next day, feeling thoroughly exhausted. My body was loose like every single muscle and tendon had been reduced to the finest thread. I was sore, too; just shifting my hips sent sparks of electricity flying throughout my body. I also realized that I was pressed up against Jasper, the same way we did that day. His muscular arms were draped against my small frame, securing me in place. I wasn't sure how we ended up in that position, but I wasn't complaining about it because it felt nice. Waking up dad after day, on an empty bed reminded me of the betrayal. I yawned because, once again, parts of what happened after the time we spent in the backseat of his SUV were a blur to me. I clearly remembered that we went for a hike, got wet in the heavy rain, got hot in the truck, and did the deeds two times in a row—the first time he was on the top, while on the second, I rode him. After that, everything was