MasukThe underground hall was still burning when Ferald dragged Selene into the ruined corridor by her arm.She stumbled to her knees with a cry, her once-perfect hair disheveled, her dress torn, ash smeared across her face. For the first time since Violetta had known her, Selene didn’t look polished or untouchable.She looked afraid.Good.Violetta stood beside Draven, her hand still trapped in his bloodstained one. His grip was not painful, but it was firm. Unyielding. Possessive.As if now that he had found her again, the world would have to rip her from his corpse before he let her go.And somehow…that terrified her almost as much as it comforted her.Selene’s eyes lifted.The moment she saw Violetta standing in Draven’s arms, alive, bruised, and trembling—her face drained of color.“No…” she whispered.Draven’s expression turned glacial.“Start talking.”Selene swallowed hard, trying to push herself up, but Gerald shoved her back down with the tip of his boot.“I said kneel,” he mut
She didn’t know why she obeyed.Maybe because of the tone. Maybe because something in his face told her she would never forget what came next if she watched.So slowly—shakily—Violetta closed her eyes.And then she heard it.A scream.Then another.Wet sounds.Bones cracking.Something tearing.Gerald muttered under his breath, “Christ…”Nyra exhaled shakily. “Remind me never to piss off your mate again.”Violetta’s stomach churned, but she kept her eyes shut.Then silence.Heavy.Final.When Draven spoke again, his voice was softer.“You can open them now.”She did.The Collector was no longer recognizable.Violetta inhaled sharply.Draven stood over what remained of him, chest heaving, blood dripping from his claws.Then he turned.And the second his gaze landed on her again—The violence vanished.Like she alone could command the beast back into its cage.He stepped toward her once more.Slower this time.Carefully.Like he was approaching a prayer he didn’t deserve to be answe
“Which one of us gets to keep her first?”The Collector’s words had barely finished echoing through the corridor when something monstrous snapped loose inside Draven.No warning.No restraint.No humanity.One second he was standing in front of Violetta, breathing like a man barely holding himself together.The next—he was gone.A blur.A force.A storm wrapped in flesh and claws.The corridor exploded into chaos.The Collector barely had time to shove Nyra aside before Draven reached him.The wall behind them caved in from the impact.Concrete cracked.Steel groaned.Violetta screamed as the two men vanished into a cloud of dust and splintered stone.“Draven!”A roar answered her.Not a man’s.A beast’s.Something primal and terrifying shook the entire underground corridor.Then she saw him.Not fully shifted.Worse.Half-shifted.His claws had torn through his fingertips. His canines were lengthened, sharp and brutal. Black veins ran along the side of his neck, his eyes no longer j
The underground auction floor had become a massacre.Bodies littered the black marble floor.Blood splashed across the walls, soaking velvet chairs and gold railings alike.Draven moved through the chaos like divine punishment.One guard lunged at him with silver blades.Draven caught his throat mid-step and ripped it open with his bare claws.Another fired a shot.Gerald put a bullet through his skull before he could blink.Dimitri slammed a man through a glass bidding table so hard that it shattered beneath him.Gerald barked into the comms, “Lower west tunnel secured! Move! Move!”Men screamed.Glass shattered.Wolves howled.And at the center of it all—Draven.Covered in blood. Breathing death. Eyes black as hell.He tore through anyone in his path with merciless precision.“WHERE IS SHE?” he roared, grabbing a bleeding auctioneer by the jaw.The man sobbed. “S-second level—special holding—please—”Draven snapped his neck.Then kept walking.* * *Violetta ran toward the gunf
The underground chamber smelled like sin Expensive liquor. Blood. Sweat. Fear.Violetta sat curled in the far corner of the lavish prison suite, her knees drawn to her chest, one trembling hand gripping the torn hem of the skimpy dress they had forced her into. The cold metal collar around her neck felt heavier with every breath she took.The bruises on her wrists had darkened into angry purple marks.Her scalp still stung where that bastard had dragged her by the hair.But none of it compared to the terror clawing through her chest.Her children.Her babies.Were they crying for her right now?Were they safe?Did Kael call out for her when he woke up in the middle of the night?Did Elara ask where Mama went?Her breathing shook.“No…” she whispered hoarsely, pressing her hand to her mouth. “No, no, no…”She squeezed her eyes shut, but it only made everything worse.The memory of her parents’ smiling faces.The sting at her neck.The cage.The men bidding on her like she was breeding
The moment Ferald finished speaking, the air inside the study went lethal. Draven didn’t move. Didn’t blink. But something in him… snapped. “Say that again,” he said quietly. Ferald swallowed. “All the hidden guards you assigned to Luna Violetta… they’re dead. Not a single one survived.” Silence Heavy Suffocating Draven’s fingers curled slowly into fists, the veins along his arms rising as his wolf surged violently beneath his skin. “They were elite,” Dimitri muttered from the side, his voice tight. “No ordinary attackers could take them down.” Gerald’s jaw hardened. “This was planned.” Draven’s head tilted slightly, his gaze turning dark—too dark. “Or funded,” he added coldly. A dangerous realization settled in the room. This wasn’t random. This was betrayal. Without another word, Draven turned and stormed out. The mansion shook with the force of his aura. “Prepare the cars,” he ordered sharply. “Now.” The convoy tore through the streets like a storm unleashed.
Across the city, Selene smiled at her reflection.The rumors were spreading beautifully.Whispers of a monster. Of red eyes seen in the dark. Of a beast guarding its territory.She had fed them carefully—anonymous posts, frightened “witnesses,” leaked photos edited just enough to feel real.A sha
The office floor went unnaturally quiet when Asher arrived.Not because he raised his voice. Not because he caused a scene.But because something about him shifted the air. Everyone knew about his power and authority and how much Alpha Draven gave value to his private guard. Even Gerald came after
The projector hummed softly as it came to life.A white screen descended at the front of the office floor, drawing everyone’s attention. Conversations died down, curiosity replacing judgment. Asher stood beside the senior, one hand tucked into his pocket, posture relaxed—but his presence commanded
The house stayed awake even when Violetta couldn’t.Paper covered the dining table, spilled onto the floor, and was stacked on the couch. Half-drawn silhouettes, fabric swatches, color palettes taped together with trembling fingers. She had been working for hours—erasing, redrawing, starting over—h







