CLAUDE I SHOULD’VE KNOWN better. Maybe I did. Maybe I just didn’t want to admit it. But thinking Nikolai wasn’t dangerous? Yeah, that was stupid. His words last night sent shivers down my spine—less like a warning, more like a threat. Still, I wasn’t a threat to him. Hell, I wasn’t a threat to anyone here. I didn’t belong here. And that wasn’t even my biggest problem. I was changing. The pills. If I’d had them, none of this would be happening. My body wouldn’t be rebelling, shedding the beta facade I’d spent so many years maintaining. But without them, I could feel my omega surfacing, clawing its way back to the forefront. And with that came the inevitable: heat. It was coming for me, and when it hit, there’d be no stopping it. Nikolai stood behind me, his presence commanding without even trying. His hands rested on my shoulders, firm with a light squeeze and his thumbs brushing over my collarbone. His gaze pierced through the mirror in front of us, pinning me in place."You
NIKOLAI“Jonny," I drawled, crossing one leg over the other as I lounged against the railing, a cigarette dangling from my fingers. I didn't look at him, not yet. Men like him were so fucking predictable. They couldn't stop themselves from spilling everything the second the tension hit and I knew it was coming sooner.He shuffled closer, fists clenched at his sides, his face flushed red like he was choking on his fear. He thrust a crumpled piece of paper at me, the coordinates scribbled in haste. “Here. These are the coordinates for your cargo. I didn’t sell them—not yet. The buyer was supposed to meet me here on this ship, but he couldn’t make it. When I dock in New York, that’s where the exchange was supposed to happen.”I took the paper from his trembling hands, my lips curling into a slow, menacing grin. “Khoroshiy mal'chik, Jonny,” I murmured, my voice mocking as I tapped his cheek with the back of my hand. He flinched, jerking away like I’d burned him. "Don't fucking touch me,"
Trigger Warning: This chapter contains scenes of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.CLAUDEEVEEYTHING FELT OFF. My head was spinning, my body on fire, and my muscles too weak to respond the way I needed them to. Voices swirled around me, muffled and distant, as if they were happening in some other reality. But they weren’t. They were here. Too close. I forced my eyes open and stared up at the harsh glow of a yellow light. A groan escaped me as I turned my head and realized I wasn’t alone. Three men were in the room with me, their shadows stretching across the walls like predators.“What...the…” I tried to sit up, but my body refused to cooperate. A wave of dizziness slammed me back down, my breaths coming in shallow pants. Heat. No, it wasn’t just that—I was in heat, but it wasn’t normal. It wasn’t right. Something was wrong.Before I could process what was happening, a camera was shoved in my face.“Smile for the people watching you, Tate,” a voice sneered. “You’ve got ov
NIKOLAICLAUDE’S BODY WAS like ice beneath my hands, his skin pale, his limbs limp. His bare feet shuffled against the carpeted hallway, and I cursed under my breath as I shrugged off my shirt and pulled it over his trembling frame—enough to cover his bits."Come on," I muttered, gripping his waist as I practically carried him down the corridor.We reached the door, and I swiped the key card. The lock beeped, the door clicked open, and I pushed us inside. Claude stumbled, collapsing onto the bed with a groan, his face twisting in discomfort as his hands clawed at his thighs. He shifted restlessly, his head slipping under the shirt, his fingers curling around his cock as he let out another broken moan.I crossed the room, grabbed his face, and forced his eyes open. They were glazed and dilated, his lips parted as his tongue darted out to wet them."You were drugged," I said, my tone flat, though anger burned hot in my chest.He groaned, his hand shooting out to grip the back of my neck
CLAUDE THREE DAYS. Three fucking days. My heat had taken hold of me, and Nikolai had been my anchor through every second of it. The heat, the sweat, the insatiable need—he had taken it all, consumed it, and matched me at every turn. A choked moan escaped my lips, and Nikolai swallowed it, his tongue sweeping into my mouth as his fingers worked my entrance with practiced precision. My hand shot out, gripping his ass, pulling him closer as if I could drag every inch of him into me. “Fuck,” I gasped, my head tilting back as his mouth found my jaw, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin before he sucked, hard enough to leave a mark. He pulled back slightly, his lips swollen, his dark eyes hooded with lust as he looked down at me. The way he sprawled beside me, his body glistening with sweat, his cock rigid and pressed against my thigh, was enough to make my breath hitch. “You good?” he asked, his voice rough and gravelly, but his fingers never stopped their teasing. “Yes,” I w
NIKOLAICLAUDE WAS SPRAWLED across the bed, limbs slack, lips slightly parted. He’d passed out after three days of pure hedonism, and I couldn’t blame him. Even my stamina had its limits. “Claude,” I murmured, brushing my knuckles over his jaw before giving his shoulder a nudge. He groaned, stirring sluggishly before his eyes cracked open—those haunting eyes, slit and feral before they softened into something resembling humanity. Even now, I hadn’t decided if I hated or loved how those eyes unsettled me. But I had bigger concerns. “Who did this to you?” My voice was low, deceptively calm. He blinked up at me, his lips curving into a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Nikolai,” he rasped, pulling me closer, his arms wrapping around my neck. Instinct took over, my hands finding the heat of his skin, the press of his back beneath my palms as I dragged him against me. I kissed the sharp edge of his jaw, my teeth grazing his skin hard enough to leave a mark—a warning for
CLAUDEThe bathroom was still warm, steam curling up toward the ceiling as I wiped the fog from the mirror. My reflection stared back at me, neck and jaw covered in hickeys and bruises that ran down to my collarbone. I leaned in closer, my fingers brushing over one of the darker marks, and something tightened in my chest. They’d fade in a day or two—I knew that—but the idea of them disappearing made my throat dry. The towel around my waist was still damp as I turned away from the mirror and stepped out of the bathroom. The bedroom felt colder without Nikolai in it, the bed still rumpled, his scent faintly clinging to the sheets. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been in the shower, but the stillness was nerve wracking. I’d just pulled on a fresh shirt when the door beeped, and Nikolai walked in. The smell hit me first. Food. My stomach growled, but beneath that was something sharper, something that made me freeze mid-step. Blood.And something else. Him. Antonio. The bag in Nik
CLAUDEOur time was up. It was as simple as that. The words didn’t make it any easier. No. What I wanted, what I had always wanted, was Nikolai. Even though we barely knew each other. Even though we were on opposite sides of the world, with lives that could never truly align.My fingers gripped my bag tighter, my pulse picking up as I felt Nikolai beside me. I didn’t dare look at him—not yet. “The money’s been wired to your account,” he said, his voice low, sending a shiver down my spine. The heat of his breath brushed my neck, even as the sharp sting of the ocean wind battered us both.The account he spoke of wasn’t mine. The money wasn’t even going to me. It was going to the real Tate, but in that moment, it didn’t matter. None of it mattered.The deck was alive with people, eager to get off the ship, to escape to wherever they were going. But me? I wanted more time. A little more of this, whatever it was.Nikolai’s voice cut through the buzz, low and amused. “What’s going through t
CLAUDEI HAVEN’T SLEPT. Not really. I might’ve closed my eyes once or twice, but it didn’t count—not when the nightmares didn’t wait for sleep to drag me under. Didn’t count when every soft beep from the monitor made my heart lurch, when silence stretched too long and I thought—this is it. He’s gone.But Nikolai still hadn’t opened his eyes.They said he was unstable.Said the poison from the blade was flushed out but now all I had to do was pray.Said it like it meant something, like their words could undo what I saw—his blood, too dark and too much, slipping between my fingers while he laid there. I didn’t care what they said. He was still here. Too still. Too pale. Too wrong.The bed barely dipped with his weight. His chest rose and fell, but it was shallow, mechanical, like his body had forgotten how to breathe without fighting for it.I sat curled at the edge, knees tight to my chest, arms locked around them like I could keep myself from falling apart. My palms had been covered i
CLAUDEI DIDNT FEEL the ride.I didn’t feel the hands on me or the arms that held me down when I fought like a cornered animal. I didn’t feel the cold of the floor under my knees or the sting where my nails broke skin, clawing at the cement, at my own skin—anything that wasn’t him.What I felt was the bond.Or what was left of it.Fading. Dimming like a dying star. The tether we’d only just built peeling thread by thread.He was slipping through my fingers, and I couldn’t stop it.I couldn’t fucking stop it.My body shook with it—with pain, with anger, with fear so sharp it chewed through my ribs like acid. The moment they ripped him from my arms, something cracked. I didn’t know if it was in my chest or my head or my soul, but it broke and I couldn’t find it again.And when the metal door slammed shut behind the men working on him—Enzo’s people, his men, strangers who weren’t bleeding, who weren’t me—I hit the wall and slid down, my back scraping raw as I dropped.I curled into mysel
CLAUDEI SIGHED—FOR what had to be the hundredth time today. I’d eaten, showered, done everything I was supposed to do. And now… now I was just waiting. It hadn’t even been four hours since he left, but the quiet was starting to press in, and I was already tired of sitting here, pretending I wasn’t checking the time.Like I wasn’t curious what had him leaving early in the morning.I pushed myself up from the couch and made my way to the elevator and pressed the button to the lobby. When the door opened, the noise hit fast. Loud. Busy. A mess of conversations, suitcases rolling, heels clicking. I kept my head forward and moved through it.Then I stopped. Every part of my body freezing. My ears twitching and my body on alert.It felt like I was being watched.I turned quickly, sniffed the air, tried to find who it was but all that hit me was the scent of heavy perfumes and sweat.“Claude,” A hand touched my shoulder and I jerked, turning, my eyes wide before a breath left my lips and th
NIKOLAITHE SOUND OF Claude stirring behind me pulled me from the window.I turned, and there he was—eyes half-lidded, lashes brushing high cheekbones, pupils sharpening into slits as he blinked up at me. His smile broke through, lazy and unguarded—and just like that, I felt it. That punch in the chest I always got when I looked at him too long.Christ, he was beautiful.“Hey,” I said, walking back to him, my hand already reaching for his hair like it always did. The strands were still a little messy from sleep, golden where the light touched and soft under my fingers. I brushed them back gently.“Hi,” he breathed, trying to stifle his grin. He failed.My thumb grazed the corner of his mouth, then dragged across his lower lip. Soft. Warm. Addictive. I leaned down, took his mouth in a slow kiss, one that started sweet but cracked open with heat, and I had to pull back before I forgot where the hell I was going.I straightened my tie. Smoothed the edge of my coat. Tried to find the part
CLAUDEI COULDN’T THINK. Couldn’t breathe—all that mattered was Nikolai. His hands, his mouth, his body—slamming into me, over and over and over, like nothing existed but the two of us. The heat inside me was like fire, burning me up from the inside out. It consumed me, devoured me, and the only thing that could quench it was him. Only him.His hands were tight on my thighs, forcing me harder against the wall, his thrusts so deep, so punishing, that I gasped—no, gasped wasn’t right—my breath shattered every time he pushed inside, his cock filling me to the point of breaking, of splitting. It felt like fire, every inch of him. A fire I couldn’t put out, a drug I couldn’t quit.His grip was tight on my hips, pulling me back against him with each stroke, driving me harder, deeper, like he was determined to claim every part of me. And I wanted it. Needed it.I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of my heart, the sound of skin on skin, the heat betwee
NIKOLAIHE WAS SHAKING.Not from pleasure. Not from the come-down.I stayed deep inside him, hands locked on his hips, my body tense as steel. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it in the way his pulse hammered beneath my fingers, in the way his body kept clenching around me, like he was trying to pull me in deeper. But he was too hot—way too fucking hot.I didn’t move. Not yet. I had to figure out what was happening. But the instinct to move was clawing at me.“Claude,” I bit out, my voice low, brows pulled tightly. I brushed the damp strands of hair from his neck. “You’re burning up.”He gasped, pushing back into me, his hips grinding against mine like he needed this to breathe. His fingers dug into the sheets, shaking like his body wasn’t his own anymore. Like I was the only thing keeping him from falling apart.“Talk to me.”There was a beat—just ragged breaths, broken and shallow. And then the words hit like a bullet.“I… I think I’m in heat.”The world stilled.Iknew what that
CLAUDETHE SUN HAD dipped behind the sky when we got to the hotel. It was big—absolutely gorgeous and luxurious—and his hand never left my back as we were escorted to the elevator.The doors opened directly into the suite. No hallway. No detour. Just the quiet click behind us as we stepped inside.Nikolai didn’t say a word. He took off his jacket, dropped it over a chair then looked over his shoulder at me, one brow raised.“You must be hungry,” he said.I rubbed the back of my neck, exhaled through my nose. “I’m not.”He didn’t push. Just nodded once, already moving past me toward the bar. “Shower, then. Take your time.”The bathroom was as beautiful as the rest of it—sleek, gold-trimmed, expensive. I locked the door, and stepped in. Water hit tile, steam rising almost instantly. I stood under the spray longer than I should’ve, eyes closed, hands braced on the wall, as a deep sigh slide past my lips.When I stepped out, the scent of food filled the air—rich and warm, but it wasn’t hu
CLAUDEMY LEGS WOULDN’T stop moving, twitching against the floor like they wanted to be anywhere but inside this car. I pushed out a breath, slowly and leaned my head back against the seat.The AC was on, but I couldn’t breathe.Before I could think, my hand was on the door, pushing it open, and I stepped out. The air slapped me first, a cold bite to my skin, but there was something else—something different that wrapped around it, choking out the relief. A scent. A wolf’s scent.My spine snapped straight and I didn’t even realize I was moving until my feet carried me around the corner, down the path, feet crunching on gravel.Then I saw them.Pressed up against the wall. A guard—tall, broad—gripping the front of someone’s shirt, like he owned him. Their mouths were fused together, sloppy and hungry and completely oblivious.The wolf under him was young. Small. Soft, with flushed skin and a trembling throat that looked too exposed, too breakable. But it wasn’t that.It was when he open
NIKOLAISHE LOOKED LIKE hell.Dress torn, smeared with dirt, lip still split from the slap I gave her two nights ago that still hasn’t heal. She should’ve been ashamed. She should’ve known better. But there she was, with her hand on him—like she had any right.I stood by the car, arms folded, fingers twitching near the grip of the gun holstered under my coat. Claude wasn’t moving. Just standing there like a statue, like if he stared hard enough past her shoulder, this whole fucking moment would vanish. That’s how he coped—with silence, with absence.Then her hand found his.Gentle. Softly.She slid it to her stomach like it meant something, like she hadn’t pinned him down and stolen something that was never hers to take.A child.My jaw locked. Pain bloomed down the side of my face, but I didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe.She turned her head and met my eyes. That goddamn smile—thin, cracked, and smug—like she thought carrying his baby made her immortal.Claude jerked his hand back like she