His Mercy

Kate POV 

The mansion was quiet that evening. Too quiet.

I wandered through the halls, trying to make sense of my new life. The walls were lined with paintings and awards I couldn’t even begin to understand. Servants moved silently in the shadows, their eyes on me, like I was something fragile— or dangerous. My heels clicked softly, the sound echoing off the marble floors, making me jump at every distant whisper.

I had been told to rest, to settle in, to get used to the mansion. But I couldn’t. My mind was spinning too fast. 

Noah. My brother still in jail. My family… who had shoved me into this nightmare. And Aiden… cold, unreadable, terrifying Aiden.

Curiosity—mixed with a reckless sort of fear—drove me forward. I found myself wandering into a corridor I hadn’t explored yet. At the end of the hall, a heavy wooden door caught my attention. No one had mentioned it. Something about it felt… off.

I hesitated.

And then, almost without thinking, I opened it.

Inside was Aiden’s private study.

The room smelled faintly of leather and old paper. Books lined the walls, floor-to-ceiling, but it wasn’t the books that made me pause. It was the desk. And the files.

I stepped closer, my heart thudding painfully in my chest. On the desk were neat stacks of papers, folders labeled with dates and names… and then I saw it.

A folder with my name.

My fingers trembled as I picked it up.

Inside were photos. Photos of me. School pictures. Family gatherings. Every major milestone I could think of. Even the small things, like me walking into the hospital that day, carrying files. There were notes… detailed notes… about my routines, my habits, my personality. My fears. My strengths.

I froze.

“He’s been… watching me.”

The words echoed in my mind, making my stomach twist into knots. Every move I had made, every step I had taken, somehow recorded, analyzed, cataloged. My chest tightened, my hands shook. I wanted to throw the file across the room, to scream, to run… but I couldn’t move.

The door slammed behind me.

I spun around, heart leaping into my throat.

Aiden stood there, framed by the doorway. Calm. Slow. Dangerous.

“Mr. Wolf!” I gasped, holding the folder to my chest like a shield. “I… I didn’t mean to—”

He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. His eyes, sharp and piercing, fixed on me with an intensity that made my knees weak. I could feel his power, the quiet danger that seemed to seep from him and fill the room.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my voice. “Why do you have all this?”

A faint smirk curved his lips. He stepped closer, each movement deliberate, measured, like a predator circling its prey.

“Because…” His voice was low, almost a whisper, but it cut through the room like ice. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

My fingers tightened on the folder. I could barely breathe. Waiting… for me? My mind raced. What did he mean? How long had he been planning this? Watching me? Studying me?

I took a small step back, but he mirrored me, closing the distance. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might explode.

“You… you’ve been watching me this whole time?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

His eyes never left mine. “Everything about you… everything I needed to know.”

I wanted to run, to tear out of the room, but the mansion seemed to close in around me. The walls, the books, the polished floors—all of it pressed down, heavy and suffocating. And then I realized… I didn’t even know what I was running from. Him? The mansion? My life before this?

“Kate,” he said, and the sound of my name on his lips made me shiver. “Do you have any idea how rare it is… to find someone like you?”

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog of fear and confusion. “I… I don’t understand. Why me? Why now?”

He tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was a puzzle he had finally solved. “Because you’re the one who didn’t know the truth. You’re the only one who could step into the life without hesitation… without lies clouding your mind.”

I swallowed hard, my voice trembling. “You… you’ve planned this? All of it?”

“Yes.” He stepped even closer, until I could feel the faint heat of his body. “Every step. Every detail. Waiting… for you.”

My heart skipped a beat. Waiting for me. The words echoed in my mind, chilling and intoxicating all at once.

I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit him. But I couldn’t. Something about the calm, dangerous way he moved, the sharp precision in his gaze, held me rooted in place.

“Kate,” he whispered, voice low and deliberate. “Do you trust me?”

I wanted to say no. I wanted to yell, “No, I don’t!” But my voice caught in my throat.

“I… I don’t even know you,” I admitted, finally.

He smirked, just the faintest curve of his lips, enough to make my stomach drop. “And yet… here you are. In my mansion. Holding my files. Listening to me. Trust me—or don’t. But you’re not leaving.”

I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw the folder at him. I wanted to flee into the night. But I couldn’t. His presence… his calm, dangerous control… it pinned me in place.

And for the first time since this nightmare began, I realized…

I was completely at his mercy.