Chapter 11: The First Crack

Cassian kept his word.

For the remainder of the day I remained locked inside the Alpha’s private chambers, wearing only his shirt, the scent of our repeated joinings saturating every surface. Food arrived on a covered tray left outside the door by a silent staff member who never saw my face.

I ate little. Most of the hours were spent in a heavy, sated daze, replaying the feel of his knot locking inside me and the low, possessive growls he made each time he came.

When the door finally opened again it was full dark. Cassian entered carrying a small leather bag and the sharp scent of the outside world. He locked the door, set the bag down, and crossed to the bed in three long strides.

Without speaking he pulled the shirt over my head, pushed me onto my back, and spread my thighs.

“Missed this cunt,” he muttered, already hard. He thrust into me in one smooth motion, burying himself to the root.

The stretch was still intense, my body still tender from the previous claims, yet the wet sound of my readiness filled the room. He fucked me with deep, measured strokes, eyes locked on mine, until the knot began to swell.

When it forced its way inside I came hard, nails digging into his shoulders. Cassian followed with a low roar, flooding me once more while his teeth closed carefully over the mark on my neck.

We remained locked together for nearly half an hour. Only when the knot eased did he withdraw, clean us both, and finally speak.

“Isolde is asking questions,” he said, voice calm but edged. “She noticed your absence from every meal. She asked why my scent is heavier than usual.

She asked why the east wing smells of sex and heat. I told her you were unwell and that I had been dealing with territory disputes. She did not fully believe me.”

I sat up, the sheet pooled around my waist. “What happens if she finds out?”

Cassian’s expression hardened. “Then the pack will demand answers. A mating bond between Alpha and stepdaughter is forbidden under every law we have. Some will call for blood. Others will call for exile.

A few of the darker elites will pay handsomely for the footage and the story. I will not allow any of those outcomes until I decide the terms.”

He opened the leather bag and withdrew a small black collar of soft, high-quality leather, lined with silver that would not burn a wolf’s skin. A single engraved tag hung from it.

“This stays on you from now on when we are alone,” he said, fastening it around my throat just above the mark. The fit was snug, possessive. “It is not a public claim. Not yet. But every time you feel it, you will remember who knots you, who fills you, and who owns this body.”

The weight of the collar settled against my skin like a second mark. My wolf preened.

Cassian’s phone vibrated on the nightstand. He glanced at the screen and his jaw tightened. “Kieran is downstairs. He scented the change the moment he entered the manor. He wants an explanation.”

My stomach tightened. Kieran Ashford—Cassian’s Beta, closest friend, and one of the most dangerous males in the pack—had always watched me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. If anyone could unravel the truth quickly, it was him.

Cassian dressed quickly in dark trousers and a black shirt, leaving the collar on me and the shirt unbuttoned at the throat so the edge of the leather remained visible only to him. He paused at the door.

“Stay here. Do not open this door for anyone but me. If Kieran pushes, I will handle him. Tonight we decide how far this secret spreads—and who else may be allowed to know.”

He left. The lock clicked.

I sat on the edge of the bed, fingers tracing the new collar, the dull ache of the latest knot still present between my legs, and opened my diary.

Dear Moon Diary,

He collared me.

Kieran is downstairs and already suspicious.

The first crack in the wall has appeared.

I do not know whether I am terrified or aroused by the thought of more males discovering what Daddy has done to me.

Perhaps both.

Outside the locked door, voices rose—Cassian’s deep and controlled, Kieran’s sharper, questioning. I could not make out the words, but the tension was unmistakable.

The secret would not remain contained much longer.

And part of me no longer wanted it to.