LOGINThe tension in Enzo’s house was thick enough to cut with a knife.I’d arrived early, my weapons case in hand, and found the main room converted into a makeshift command center. Ben was hunched over a laptop displaying the warehouse’s layout. Dahlia was checking ammunition. Three other members of Enzo’s team—people I’d been briefly introduced to but whose names I’d already forgotten—were suiting up in tactical gear.And Enzo was standing by the window, his back to everyone, radiating barely controlled violence.I set my case down on the table and opened it.My babies.Two custom daggers with serrated edges, perfectly balanced for throwing or close combat. Two Glock 19s that would strap to my waist beneath my jacket. And a dozen small throwing knives, each one sharp enough to slice through bone.Tools of my trade. Extensions of myself.I started strapping them on. Daggers in thigh holsters, guns at my waist, knives distributed across my body in hidden pockets I’d sewn into my tactical g
“Be your boyfriend.”The words hung in the air between us, and I felt something twist painfully in my chest.The term sounded so fucking cheesy, and it was almost funny. Like something teenagers said. But hearing it from him—from Enzo, with those intense grey eyes fixed on me like I was the only thing that mattered—made it sound different. Hot, even.The idea of him being mine alone, of this being more than just sex and supernatural bonds. Of actually having someone who wanted me, chose me, committed to me.For a moment, I let myself imagine it. What it would be like to be his girlfriend. To wake up next to him every morning, to have someone who knew the real me and wanted me anyway.But that was all it could be…an imagination. Because I am not the kind of woman who deserves to have a happy ending.Besides, I was dying anyway.Four months. Less than four months, actually.That’s all I had left, and then I’d be gone, leaving him with nothing but grief and another person he’d lost becau
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I hissed, rubbing my stinging palm.The people around us were staring now, whispers already starting to spread through the ballroom. But I was too angry to care about who was staring or listening to our conversation.“What is wrong with me?” Enzo grabbed my arm. “What the hell are you doing here? Flirting with every man you see?”I gaped at him. The fucking nerve of this bastard.“What I do and where I do it is none of your fucking business, mister!” I yelled, wrenching my arm away from his grip.“Like hell it isn’t, Kamari.” He stepped closer, and I could see the fury radiating off him. “You are my mate. Body and soul, which means that you belong to me. Get it? You are fucking mine so you have no right—”I slapped him again.Harder this time, putting real force behind it. His head snapped to the side before turning to me and, for a short moment, he said nothing—just staring at me with a heated gaze, chest heaving up and down as if he was barely stop
About twenty-four hours later, I was standing in front of the mirror, staring back at a reflection I could barely recognize.The dress I’d found buried in the back of Kamari-2’s closet was stunning—a floor-length sky-blue gown with a fitted bodice and flowing skirt that made me look like I’d stepped out of a fairy tale. The fabric shimmered when I moved, catching the light in ways that made my skin glow.I’d never worn anything like this before.In my world, my life had been tactical gear and dark colors designed to help me disappear. Practicality over beauty… so I was taught. There was never time or need to pay attention to looking pretty or any of that shit.But this?This was pure femininity.I turned slowly, watching the dress swirl around my legs, and felt something unfamiliar bloom in my chest at how beautiful I actually looked.Not just attractive or presentable—but feminine in a way I’d never allowed myself to be. The dress hugged my curves, the neckline showed just enough ski
When I got back home the house was still quiet — thank the gods for small mercies. Daniel and Sage were out, probably spending his money on whatever overpriced restaurant she’d picked — which meant I could collapse without having to maintain the façade of being the broken housewife.I went straight to my room, not bothering to change out of my clothes, and fell onto the bed.It didn’t take long before sleep claimed me.🪷🪷🪷The fire started small.Just a flicker at first, dancing across my mother’s fingertips as she tried to teach me control. I was ten years old, sitting cross-legged on the floor of our living room, concentrating so hard my head hurt.“Focus, baby,” she said gently. “Feel the magic, don’t force it.”But I couldn’t feel it. Couldn’t control it. The harder I tried, the more it slipped away from me.And then something inside me snapped.The fire exploded outward, engulfing everything. The curtains, the furniture, and my mother.She screamed—God, she screamed—and I coul
I had no idea how long I’d slept, but when I finally opened my eyes, the sun was streaming through the windows at an angle that suggested it was well past morning.Noon, maybe. Or later.I stretched, my body deliciously sore in ways that made the events of a few hours ago come flooding back in vivid detail. The feeling of Enzo inside me, the way he’d made me scream his name, his tongue stroking my clit until—I reached across the bed, expecting to find him beside me, but the sheets were cold.He was gone.A small pang of hurt shot through my chest before I could stop it, and I immediately shoved it down, annoyed at myself for even feeling it.What was I expecting? Cuddles and breakfast in bed?I sat up, looking around the empty room. His side of the bed was rumpled, which meant he’d slept here at some point, but there was no sign of him now.With a frown, I grabbed the first thing I could find…which turned out to be one of his oversized T-shirts that smelled like him. I pulled it on b







