CHAPTER ONE

THE GOLDEN LEASH.

​"I am twenty-two years old, father, not a child”.

Katerina Romano’s voice shook in anger . She stood in the middle of the room, her chest heaving underneath her silk blouse, her blue eyes blaring with a fire.

​Don Romano did not even spare her a glance, his eyes fixed on his ledger. He poured himself a glass of red wine with a steady hand—releaxed oblivious to Katerina fury.

​"You are a Romano," he said, his voice low, with a terrifying rumble.

 "And until you learn that your casual life in university is a threat on your back, you will have a personal bodyguard. The last one was a failure because he was ridiculously soft and polite. This one... this one is strict and different"

​"I don't want ‘different'!....I don't want any of this, I just want to be left alone!" Katerina spun toward the tall glassed windows.

 "I have got a lecture in an hour. I’m going on my own”.

​"You’re going with him, and that's final." her father commanded. Finally looking up, from his ledger a cruel smirk touching his lips.

 "He’s waiting in the foyer. Try to run this time, Katerina, i'm curious of how far you would get”

Katerina's throat tightened 

“ I wish mom was here ... .she…..she wouldn't condone this ill treatment!!” Katerina screamed in frustration.

“ Unfortunately she isn't, too bad” her father shrugged nonchalantly.

​Katerina stormed out of her fathers study, banging the door in the process, her heels clicking a hit on the marble floor, declaring war. She was ready to tear the new recruit apart to pieces, to taunt his life until he quit just like the previous ones.

​But as she rounded the corner into the grand foyer, the air in her lungs simply... disappear, lost in her wind pipe.

​Standing by the heavy oak doors was a man leaning on a marble pillar like he owned the place with a black suit that clung to his muscular physique.

He was taller than Jackson, more broader, and radiated a level of intensity that made the room feel small.

​His eyes—sharp, —observing her every movement.

​"Katerina Romano," he said. It wasn't a greeting; But confirmation.

His rough and deep that sent chills to the bone.

​"And you’re the new babysitter?" she mocked, trying to mask the sudden momentary pull she felt toward him. She stepped into his personal space, her perfume overwhelming his senses as he inhaled her scent.

"Let’s get one thing straight, around here Mr..."

​"Xavier,— Xavier Carter" he interrupted, his gaze dropping to her slender throat for a fraction of a second. 

"And I don’t take orders from children, Katerina. I take them directly from the Don himself. My job here is to keep you alive. Whether you find it convenient or not."

​He reached out, his gloved hand moving toward her face. Katerina froze, her heart hammering against her ribs. 

He didn't strike her; he simply tucked a loose strand of her platinum hair behind her ear.

It was nothing, but it made her skin prickled with a tingling sensation anyway.

​"The car is waiting," he whispered.

"Don't make me carry you, It’ll be… messy. And we both wouldn't want that, would we?"

​Katerina scoffed, climbing into the back of the SUV, her skin still tingling where he had touched her. As Xavier slid into the driver's seat and checked the rearview mirror.

His eyes met hers briefly.

​It wasn’t the loyal look of a guard. It was focused. Measuring.

Like he’d just found something he’d been looking for.

Katerina looked away first.

                   ****************

The black SUV glided into the university’s faculty parking lot creating attention to the keen eyes of the students on their grand entrance. Katerina didn't wait for Xavier to open her door. She shoved it open herself, her heels hitting the pavement with a fast, sharp clink.

​"Stay in the car, Xavier," she commanded, not looking back. "This is a campus, not…. where ever it is your coming from……You'll come off scary”

A​ beat

​Xavier stepped out, his presence immediately pulling the air from the courtyard. He didn't look like a student, and certainly not a babysitter.—but someone who owns the place as people stared at his ethereal beauty shamelessly.

He adjusted his dark blazer, his focused eyes already scanning the rooftops, exit and the crowd of students.

​Katerina marched toward the building, her heart racing. Every time she looked over her shoulder, he was always there—exactly three steps behind, his demeanor smooth and composed 

​"You're making people nervous!" she hissed, stopping abruptly near the fountain.

​Xavier stopped instantly, his expression cold and intimidating.

 "Good. Nervous people pay attention to details"

“ You don't have to stalk me like that “ she snapped her patience running thin for the obnoxious man before her.

“ I'm simply doing my job”

“ Well stalking is creepy ... .I'm not some hostage!”

“its not stalking, its called coverage “

Katerina tried to retort back—

​"Kat! Over here!"

​Jackson was jogging toward them, a bright, warm smile on his face that usually made Katerina safe.

But today, with Xavier’s heavy gaze boring into the back of her head, Jackson looked... Odd and fragile.

“ Hey beautiful” Jackson teased, looking behind Katerina “ Whose the new guy?” he asked overly checking Xavier out.

​Jackson reached for Katerina’s hand, but before his fingers could touch her skin, Xavier stepped between them. The move was so fast, it felt like a glitch in reality.

​"Back off!!," Xavier rumbled, his voice dropping into that darker than hatred register.

​"Whoa, hey!" Jackson stumbled back, his face flushing with embarrassment. "I'm her boyfriend, man. Who the hell are you?"

​"I’m the reason she makes it to her 10:00 AM lecture," Xavier said coldly 

  "And you’re a security variable I haven't cleared yet."

​"Xavier, stop it!" Katerina stepped forward. She grabbed Xavier’s arm to pull him back away from Jackson.

​The moment her palm touched his bicep, she felt the rock-hard tension in his muscles. He didn't move, but he looked down at her, his eyes flashing with a possessiveness that made her breath hitch. 

​"He’s fine, Jackson," 

Katerina managed to say, her voice trembling. "He’s just... new."

​Jackson looked at Xavier, then eyeing the way Katerina was still touching the bodyguards.arm. 

"I'll see you after class, Kat? Maybe we can get away from... the guard?"

​Jackson hurried off, clearly shaken. Katerina turned to glare at Xavier, but the words died in her throat. He was leaning down, his face inches from hers.

“ Yeah” Katerina mumbled wearily “ After”

When he was gone, Katerina glared at Xavier. “You can’t just—”

“You keep calling him ‘boyfriend’ like it’s a shield,” Xavier said, voice quiet now. “It’s not.”

Katerina’s throat tightened. “You don’t know anything about him.”

Xavier leaned in just enough that she had to tilt her chin up.

“I know what I see,” he said. “And I see a man who thinks your name is a prize.”

​Clearly infuriated as she stormed towards her lecture hall, but her hand went to her pocket. She felt the vibration of a text. With a shaky finger, she swiped the screen, arching her eyebrows in utter confusion.

​[Unknown]: “Check his left wrist, Kat. Under the watch. The Valdemir scar doesn't lie”.

​She stopped in the doorway, her breath hitching a wave of paranoia washed over her as she scanned the school environment frantically searching for…….probably a stalker?

When she found no one in particular that could access her private number anonymously, she reluctantly looked back at Xavier, who was standing at the end of the hall, his eyes locked on her. 

He slowly raised his left hand to check his watch, and for a split second, the sleeve shifted—revealing a jagged, white scar in the shape of a cross.

​THE EXACT MARK OF THE VALDEMIR SURVIVOR!.