LOGINCHAPTER THIRTY FOURSpeeding away into the night without a backward glance.Leaving me standing on the side of the road in an expensive dress with absolutely nothing.I watch his taillights disappear around a corner.Then I look around.I'm somewhere in the city. I recognize the area vaguely, maybe fifteen minutes from campus by car. But on foot? In heels? At night?My heart sinks as reality sets in.I don't have my phone. Dante took it when he first kidnapped me.I don't have my wallet. Don't have money. Don't have ID.I have nothing except this dress and the shoes on my feet.No way to call anyone. No way to get help. No way to even prove who I am if someone asks.Ariel. My best friend The thought comes suddenly.Ariel's apartment isn't far from here. Maybe a thirty-minute walk? Forty-five?I don't have any other choice.I kick off the heels, there's no way I'm walking that far in them, and pick them up to carry. The pavement is rough and cold under my bare feet, but it's better t
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREEThe car ride is silent at first.Just the hum of the engine. The blur of streetlights passing by. The sound of my own breathing.Then I explode."I'm tired!" The words burst out of me like they've been building pressure for days. "I'm tired of all of this, Dante! I don't care if you lock me up. I don't care if you kill me right now. I don't care if you sell me. I don't care what you do to me anymore!"His hands tighten on the steering wheel. I watch his knuckles turn white from the pressure.Good. Let him be angry. I'm past caring."But I think it's about time you understand something," I continue, my voice rising higher with each word. "There are certain things you don't force. You don't force love. You don't force desire. You don't force connection or feelings or any of it. Because at the end of the day, I don't belong to you and you don't belong to me. We are two separate individuals. You are a stranger to me, and I don't know why you're just...just all over me
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO"Elena?" Miguel's voice cuts through the distance between us. "Who is this?"I can't answer. Can't form words. Can't do anything but stand there frozen between the two men who represent completely different worlds.Miguel reaches us, his eyes moving from me to Dante and back again. The confusion on his face is morphing into something else. Something darker."Who is this person?" he demands, his voice rising slightly. "And why is he holding you like that?"Dante's arm tightens around my waist. Pulling me closer. Making a statement without saying a word."I've been trying to reach you for two days, Elena," Miguel continues, stepping closer. "Two days. No texts. No calls. Nothing. Your best friend Ariel has been losing her mind trying to contact you too. Where the hell have you been?"My throat closes up.Two days. Has it really only been two days since Dante brought me to California? It feels like a lifetime."I've been..." I start, but Dante leans down and kisses me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONEThe dining hall is warm. Soft. Almost inviting.His mother pours tea with practiced elegance, steam rising from the delicate porcelain cup. She smiles at me, genuinely smiles, like I'm someone worth smiling at.It's unsettling."So tell me, Elena," she says, setting down the teapot. "Where are you from? What family do you come from?"I glance at Dante. He's sitting across from me, his expression unreadable as he cuts into his food.This is a test. It has to be.She asked me this same question earlier. Called me trash when I answered. Demanded Dante get rid of me.But she doesn't remember that.Her eyes are genuinely curious. Kind, even.Do I tell her the truth and risk her remembering? Risk her turning cold again?Or do I lie?"I..." I pause, my fingers tightening around my napkin. "I don't have a family. Not anymore. My uncle raised me, but he's... he's not someone I maintain contact with."She nods, like this is perfectly reasonable."And your pack?" she asks gent
Chapter 30I barely recognized myself.The girl in the mirror looked composed. Elegant. Like she belonged in this house, in this life.I didn’t.I smoothed my hands over the fabric of the dress, trying to ignore the uneasiness crawling under my skin. Something about tonight felt wrong, and I could not explain why.Maybe it was him.Maybe it was everything.I took a breath and stepped out of the room.The hallway stretched out in silence, heavy and suffocating. My heels clicked softly against the floor as I walked toward the staircase.And then I saw him.Adrian.He stood at the top of the stairs, one hand resting lazily on the railing, like he had all the time in the world. Like he had been waiting.His eyes found me instantly.They moved slowly over my body, assessing, calculating.Then his lips curved slightly.“You look…” he paused, tilting his head as if reconsidering his words, “acceptable.”I almost scoffed.That was the closest thing to a compliment I was ever going to get from
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINEI stand under the shower until the water runs cold.Letting it wash away the tears. The humiliation. The confusion churning in my stomach.You can't have it both ways, Elena.His words keep echoing in my head. Infuriating because they're true. Because he caught me in a trap of my own making.I don't believe the bond exists. But I wanted him to claim me anyway.Hypocrite.I turn off the water and wrap myself in one of the plush towels hanging nearby. The bathroom is all marble and gold fixtures, excessive in a way that would normally make me uncomfortable.Right now, I barely notice it.I'm halfway through drying my hair when I hear it.Knock. Knock. Knock.Three sharp raps on the bedroom door.I freeze.It has to be Dante. Who else would it be?Coming to gloat, probably. To twist the knife a little deeper. To remind me how powerless I am here.I don't move toward the door. Don't answer.Just stand there in the bathroom, towel wrapped around me, waiting.Knock. Knoc
CHAPTER ELEVEN Before I can process that, before I can respond, he bends and scoops me up into his arms.Bridal style. Like I weigh nothing.One arm under my knees, the other supporting my back. My head falls against his chest automatically.I can hear his heartbeat. Fast. Pounding with barely con
CHAPTER TENMy eyes flood with relief and anticipation I don't want to feel.He came. He actually came.Dante walks into the auction hall like he owns it. His hand is casually in his pocket, but there's nothing casual about the fury radiating off him in waves.Behind him, five men in identical blac
CHAPTER NINE A man in a pristine white suit steps onto the stage. The auctioneer. He has a microphone and a practiced smile that makes my skin crawl."Ladies and gentlemen," he says, his voice booming through speakers. "Welcome to this evening's exclusive auction. We have exceptional products for
CHAPTER EIGHTI step out of the bathroom on shaking legs, trying to pull myself together.My makeup is fixed. My dress is smoothed down. On the outside, I look presentable again.On the inside, I'm still trembling from what just happened. From his hands on my body. His words in my ear. The way he l







