LOGINBella’s entire body went rigid.She had almost made it to the door.Almost.Dave Stark’s voice, low and steady, cut through the room like a blade.“I don’t remember giving you permission to leave.”Her heart lurched violently in her chest.For a moment, Bella simply stood there with her hand still on the doorknob, frozen in place like a child caught stealing sweets.Slowly—painfully slowly—she turned around.Dave was watching her.He stood behind the massive desk, a marker still resting loosely between his fingers. His dark eyes were calm, almost unreadable, but there was a sharp glint of curiosity in them.Bella swallowed.Hard.Her mind scrambled for an excuse—any excuse—that didn’t involve admitting she had been hiding behind his cabinet like some jealous spy.Unfortunately, her brain had apparently decided to abandon her in this moment of crisis.Her mouth opened.Nothing came out.The silence stretched.Dave tilted his head slightly, studying her as if she were some rare creature
The corridor outside Dave Stark’s private office was unusually quiet.Bella moved slowly down the dimly lit hallway, her soft footsteps barely making a sound against the polished marble floor. The mansion at night had a different atmosphere—quieter, heavier, like it was holding secrets behind every wall.She had not intended to come here.After leaving Sandra’s room earlier, sleep refused to return. Her mind had been restless, replaying the events of the previous night over and over again. Dave’s voice. His touch. The mark on her skin that still tingled whenever she thought about it.So she wandered.And somehow, her wandering had brought her here.Bella paused when she noticed faint light leaking from beneath Dave Stark’s office door.The door wasn’t completely closed.Curiosity stirred in her chest.Before she could stop herself, she stepped closer.From where she stood, Bella couldn’t clearly see inside, but she caught the faint outline of a feminine silhouette. The woman had long
Bella still hadn’t completed her transformation.That realization sat heavily in her chest as she leaned against the cool marble railing of the Stark estate’s west balcony, watching the fading sunlight bleed into the horizon.The sky glowed in streaks of amber and violet, but Bella barely noticed its beauty.Her thoughts were elsewhere.Technically, she wasn’t wolfless anymore. The awakening had begun—her senses had sharpened, her instincts were louder, and something powerful stirred beneath her skin.But her wolf had not spoken yet.Not once.Most newly awakened werewolves described hearing their wolf’s voice immediately after the change. Some even shifted within hours.Bella had done neither.Her wolf—Tiara—remained silent.And that silence unsettled her.Bella folded her arms, exhaling slowly.Maybe something’s wrong with me.The thought surfaced again, unwelcome and stubborn.Her awakening had been chaotic. Her body had collapsed before the process finished, then her sudden heat h
Bella didn’t wake all at once.Sleep clung to her like warm silk.She lay curled deep within the massive bed, wrapped in layers of dark satin sheets that smelled faintly of cedarwood and something darker—something distinctly masculine.Dave Stark.Even in sleep, her body recognized the scent.The bed itself felt impossibly soft, almost like drifting on clouds. Despite its enormous size, Bella had somehow managed to curl herself into the center of it like a small, tangled bundle of limbs and hair.For several long moments, her mind floated in that strange space between dreaming and waking.Her body felt heavy.Too heavy.When she shifted even slightly, her muscles protested with dull aches that traveled down her spine and legs.Bella groaned softly, burying her face deeper into the pillows.Why did she feel like she had run through the forest all night?Then the memories came back.Not gently.Not gradually.They crashed into her mind all at once.The heat.The restless ache in her bod
Bella had never felt anything like this before.The moment Dave Stark touched her, something deep inside her awakened.Not just her wolf.Something far more dangerous.She stood near the edge of the bed, her breathing uneven as the Alpha King’s presence surrounded her like a storm closing in. The dim lighting of the room painted shadows across his broad frame, making him look even larger than usual.Dave Stark wasn’t simply a man.He was power.Authority.A force that commanded obedience even from the wildest wolves.And yet right now, his attention was fixed entirely on her.Bella swallowed hard as she watched him.Ever since he had kissed her earlier, her body had been restless. Every nerve felt alive, humming with anticipation.Her wolf paced beneath her skin, whispering the same thing over and over.Him.Dave stepped closer.Slow.Deliberate.The mattress dipped slightly when he sat down, his gaze never leaving her face.“You’re shaking,” he said quietly.Bella tried to steady her
Dave Stark did not move.Bella’s words still hung between them like a spark in dry grass.Claim me.For a moment, the powerful Alpha simply stared at her.The room was dim, lit only by the soft amber glow of a bedside lamp. Outside, the restless howls of wolves echoed across the estate grounds, but inside the chamber the tension felt even louder.Bella’s breathing was uneven.Her chest rose and fell as though every breath cost effort. Her fingers still gripped the front of Dave’s shirt, and her eyes—those stormy silver eyes that had changed ever since her wolf awakened—burned with a need she barely understood.Dave swallowed slowly.“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he said quietly.Bella shook her head stubbornly.“I do,” she insisted, though her voice trembled. “Everything inside me feels like it’s… tearing apart. My wolf—she won’t stop.”Dave knew that feeling.The awakening of a wolf was never easy.But Bella’s transformation had been chaotic from the start. Something about her







