LOGINCHAPTER EIGHTY-THREEMy head is pounding.That's the first thing I notice. A dull, throbbing ache behind my eyes. Making it hard to think. Hard to focus.The second thing I notice is that I can't move.My arms are pulled above my head. Wrists bound. Something tight around them. Metal. Cold against my skin.I try to move my legs. Same thing. Ankles bound. Secured to something solid.I force my eyes open.The room is small. Confined. More like a cell than a room.Concrete walls. No windows. A single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. Providing just enough light to see by but not enough to be comfortable.I'm lying on a bed. Metal frame. Thin mattress. The kind you'd find in a prison or psychiatric ward.And I'm tied to it. Thick leather straps around my wrists and ankles. Secured to the frame. Leaving me spread out. Vulnerable.Panic surges through me.What happened?I try to remember. Force my foggy brain to work through the confusion.School. The assembly. Ariel getting hurt. The blo
CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWODante sits at his desk, staring at his laptop screen without really seeing it.His jaw is clenched. Red eyes burning with barely restrained fury.She left. Elena left without telling him. Without permission. Without even a fucking text message to let him know where she was going.Just slipped out of his house like she has any right to make decisions without consulting him first.His phone sits on the desk. Silent. Mocking him.He's called her six times. Six fucking times.No answer.Just straight to voicemail. That cheerful automated voice telling him the person he's trying to reach is unavailable.She's ignoring him.Deliberately.And that makes his blood boil even hotter.He's the Lycan King. Alpha of alphas. Men tremble when he walks into a room. Enemies flee at the mention of his name.But one small omega girl, his supposed mate, thinks she can just walk out. Defy him. Ignore his direct orders to return home.His fingers drum on the desk. Agitated. Angry.The do
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONEThe auditorium is packed.Hundreds of students filling the seats. The low hum of conversation. Occasional laughter. The energy of young people forced to sit through an assembly but not really paying attention.I'm sitting between Miguel and Ariel. Trying to focus on what the student activities coordinator is saying onstage.Something about the upcoming Kappa Sigma masquerade party. About ticket sales. About the dress code."...and remember, masks are mandatory. No exceptions. This is a true masquerade ball, not just a costume party..."Miguel leans over. Whispers in my ear. "You're going to look amazing in a mask."I smile weakly. Try to look excited.But my mind is elsewhere. On Dante's angry phone call. On the way I lied to the guards. On the escape I'm planning.On how I'm going to disappear before this all gets worse."...tickets are fifty dollars per couple. Available at the student center starting tomorrow..."Ariel is on her phone. Scrolling through something
CHAPTER EIGHTYThe room is dark.Not the kind of dark where your eyes eventually adjust. The kind where darkness feels thick. Oppressive. Like it has weight.A dungeon. That's what this is. Deep beneath Seraphina's mansion. A place most people don't know exists.Stone walls. Iron bars. The smell of damp earth and old blood.And in the center, chained to the wall...Seraphina.Her hands are bound above her head. Silver manacles digging into her wrists. The metal burning into her skin. Sizzling. Smoking slightly where it makes contact.Silver. The one substance that can truly hurt a vampire. That can keep them weak. Keep them from healing.She kneels on the cold stone floor. Her back to the door. Blood flowing down her spine in thick rivulets. Pooling beneath her.Her clothing, what remains of it, is shredded. Torn. Soaked through with crimson.And standing behind her, whip in hand...A woman.Middle-aged but ageless in that way only old vampires can be. Long dark hair pulled back sever
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINEI inhale and exhale as I enter the taxi.My heart is racing. Not from exertion. From the lie I just told. From the escape I just made.Because that's what this is, isn't it? An escape.I was planning to go to college immediately. Head straight to the emergency assembly. Get it over with and return before Dante even noticed I was gone.But for some reason, I felt an urge to go to Ariel's house first.Maybe we could go to school together. Like we used to. Before everything got so complicated. Before my life became whatever this supernatural nightmare is.Especially since I haven't heard from her since the last time I told her I was going to Diamond Group for my internship. That was very much unlike her. Ariel usually texts me constantly. Calls to check in. Makes sure I'm okay.Radio silence for days? That's not normal.After Dante went to see whoever came to the house, that elder, though I don't know that, he never actually showed up again. Never came back to the ki
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHTDante walks into his study and slams the door behind him.His jaw is clenched. Red eyes blazing. Every muscle in his body taut with barely restrained violence.And sitting in one of the leather chairs near his desk, uninvited, unwelcome, is an older man.Late sixties. Gray hair. Weathered face. Wearing traditional clothing that marks him as someone important. Someone with authority.One of the elders."Why the fuck are you here?"Dante's voice is low. Dangerous. The kind of tone that makes most people scramble to explain themselves. To apologize. To leave immediately.But the elder doesn't flinch. Just sits there calmly. Like he has every right to be in Dante's private study without permission."Good evening to you too, Alpha." The elder's voice is measured. Formal. "I apologize for the intrusion. But this matter could not wait.""I don't care if the world is ending." Dante walks to his desk. Doesn't sit. Just plants his hands on the surface and leans forward. "Y
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWOIsabella leads me deeper into the store, past displays of elegant dresses and perfectly styled mannequins, through a doorway marked "Private" in discreet gold lettering.Beyond it is something else entirely."This is the VIP chamber," she announces, gesturing around the space wit
CHAPTER SIXTEENI look at him, feeling a confusing mix of emotions churning in my stomach.Shy. That's the dominant one. Followed closely by anger. And underneath it all, a thread of something I don't want to examine too closely."Is everything about sex to you?" The question comes out more timid t
CHAPTER FOURTEENI wake up with a pounding headache.The first thing I register is brightness. Sunlight streaming through those massive floor-to-ceiling windows, hitting me directly in the face with an intensity that makes my eyes water.I groan and squeeze my eyes shut again, turning my face away
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:I spread my arms wide. Stopped fighting."You've already taken everything from me. My freedom. My life. My future. You've separated me from everyone I know, paused my entire existence, trapped me in this gilded cage."My voice cracks."Might as well take this too. What's one more







