INICIAR SESIÓNLYRA“Excuse me. I’ll be back,” Malaki murmured, already turning away before I could even lift a finger to stop him. His scent dark, woodsy, familiar lingered for a moment, then faded into the noise of the hall.And just like that, I was alone.The table beside me looked like something out of a royal banquet silver trays, glass bowls, food arranged like artwork. Steam curled from the grilled chicken, the spicy jollof shimmered under the lights, and the pastries looked delicate enough to crumble under a breath. Everything was perfect… and still, it wasn’t enough to fill the small, hollow ache forming in my chest.I drifted my eyes across the hall. Gold dripped everywhere chandeliers, decorations, jewelry catching the light as people laughed and leaned into each other. Couples moved like they belonged to a different world: the world where people didn’t get abandoned beside fancy food tables.My red gown suddenly felt too bright, too loud, like it was screaming for attention I didn’t wan
JOHN The moment Laura lifted her head, I felt the shift like the whole room braced itself. Her eyes sharpened, cold and deliberate, the way a blade gleams before it cuts. That expression… I’d grown up watching it turn men into corpses. It belonged to our father. And now it sat perfectly on Laura’s face as if she’d borrowed it for the evening. A true Romano heirloom. She stepped forward, spine straight, chin lifted with that dangerous confidence only my sister could wear. Adam noticed it too he always noticed threats quickly and instead of stepping back, he smiled like he’d just found a new toy to break. He offered his hand. Laura didn’t hesitate. She slid her palm into his, and the moment their skin touched, something electric snapped in the air. Not attraction no, this was something darker. Two storms meeting. Two predators circling the same kill. Laura’s fingers tightened. Adam’s smirk deepened. The handshake lasted too long, too deliberate, and neither of them blinked. The t
LAURA His gaze drilled into me, sharp, unyielding, like it could strip me bare if I let it. I felt it in the hollow of my stomach, in the quick hitch of my breath like someone had thrown a spotlight over me, exposing every thought I tried to hide.“I want to be your master,” he said, casual, almost lazy, like he wasn’t confessing something insane but making an ordinary request.A short, startled laugh burst from me before I could stop it.“Oh, really? Do I look like someone you can turn into a pet? Like your brother Malaki did to my friend?”The memory flared behind my ribs, sharp and hot, and the anger behind it propelled my words forward.“Laura!” my brother’s voice cut through the tension like a whip, harsh and immediate.The stranger didn’t flinch. Not a muscle moved except that slow, dangerous smile spreading across his lips, the kind that made your skin prickle and your instincts scream both warning and curiosity.“Interesting,” he murmured, leaning just a fraction closer. “How
LAURA"If I don’t…" his voice slid out slow and venomous, each syllable dripping into the quiet like poison, "Kael will."The name punched through me with an irritation I didn’t bother hiding.Kael.He said it like it should scare me.Like the threat of another man waiting in line to “handle” me was supposed to make me tremble.Who the hell did they think they were?Talking about me like some object passed between hands.Like a problem they needed to “deal with.”As if I was a leash away from obedience.My fingers curled against the balcony rail.I’m not a pet.Pets listen.Pets stay.Pets lower their heads when their master approaches.I lift mine higher.This mansion may look beautiful from the outside, but inside it feels like a jeweled cage. Every hallway has a guard, every corner an unwanted pair of eyes. My father says it’s for my protection, but it feels more like he’s waiting for me to crack under the pressure he’s been putting on me since the day I challenged him—him and his
ADAMThe balcony was drenched in night. City lights sprawled beneath us like molten gold, the hum of distant traffic a soft, constant thrum. I drew on my cigarette, letting the smoke curl around my fingers before drifting into the darkness, and felt the tension in my shoulders loosen just a fraction."Why didn’t you tell me you were back in the city?" John’s voice cut sharp through the quiet, his tone calm but edged with steel.I shrugged, tilting my head, a faint smirk tugging at my lips. "I wanted to surprise you."His eyes lingered on me, piercing. "Is Alpha aware you’re back?"I chuckled softly, the sound low, almost playful. "Funny… they all quake at the sight of Malaki, my brother. And yet… here I am, standing in his city, breathing freely."John’s gaze sharpened, his jaw tightening. "Who wouldn’t be afraid of him? That man… he’s a devil. In his werewolf form… he could kill thousands in five minutes.""I know." I let the words drift, watching the smoke curl upward like ghostly f
ADAMThe city welcomed me with a chill I didn’t miss. The skyline looked smaller, the lights dimmer, yet the air still carried that sharp, metallic warning I grew up breathing. Four years away, and the streets still called my name like a curse I couldn’t outrun.Malaki will sense me the moment my shadow touches his territory. He’ll stiffen, pretend it doesn’t bother him, pretend he didn’t miss the threat I bring with me. But he knows me too well. And I know him even better.Kael, too.That traitor will feel the shift.His wolf will twitch. His spine will tighten. His heartbeat will stutter the way it always did when he knew danger had returned.I clenched my jaw at his memory. My elder brother. My own blood. The first person who should have stood beside me. Instead, he was the reason the warmth in my chest froze into something cruel.Back then, I thought loyalty came with bloodlines. I thought family couldn’t stab you in the back without thinking twice. I was wrong. Kael didn’t hesita







