LOGINMelissa.For a brief, fleeting moment, I thought it was Louis.The way my name echoed behind me, sharp and urgent, made my heart skip instinctively, hope rising before I could stop it. My steps faltered, and I lifted my head, almost too quickly, almost eager.But the moment my eyes landed on the figure approaching me, that fragile hope shattered just as fast. Disappointment clung to me like a second skin, heavy and suffocating.It wasn’t Louis.It was Davian.Of course, it was.A quiet sigh slipped past my lips, irritation bubbling up almost instantly. What does he want again?At this point, anyone related to the Stone family felt like nothing but trouble, endless, unavoidable trouble. And Davian was no exception.I couldn’t help it, as my eyes rolled on their own.“Melissa, baby,” Davian called again, his voice smoother this time, almost coaxing as he closed the distance between us.Before I could react, before I could even step back, his hands were already on me, sliding around my w
MELISSA.“Why are you sorry?” I asked, the words slipping out before I could stop them, my voice edged with confusion. His apology had caught me completely off guard, leaving me momentarily unbalanced, unsure of how to process it. My brows furrowed slightly as my thoughts began to race.Did he not enjoy kissing me?Or… was it just a moment of impulse for him? Something he acted on without thinking—only to regret it the very next second?The thought stung more than I expected.“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath, the word barely audible, yet heavy with the frustration building inside me.Almost instantly, a dull ache spread across my chest, slow and suffocating, like something was tearing me apart from the inside. It wasn’t sharp or loud, it was worse than that. Quiet. Persistent. Lingering in a way that made it impossible to ignore.“I—I… You were crying, Melissa!” he said, his voice uneven, as if he was struggling to keep up with everything happening between us. He paused, draggin
LOUIS.I honestly did not like the way Mr. Copper was staring at my sister. There was something in his gaze, something cold, something calculating, that made my jaw tighten instinctively. He was an asshole, that much was clear. A man who could treat his own sister the way he did… Goddess knew what he was capable of doing to any other woman who didn’t hold the same place Amelia did in his life.The thought alone made my blood run hot.I exhaled slowly, trying to rein in the irritation clawing at my chest, but it didn’t help much. If anything, it only sharpened my thoughts, darkening them.I just hoped—no, I needed him—to stay far away from Ann.Because if he didn’t… if he so much as crossed a line with her, I wouldn’t hesitate. Not for a second. I had taken down men far worse than him over the years, and adding his head to that number wouldn’t weigh on my conscience in the slightest.Not even a little.Ann had left me a few minutes ago, and I didn’t need anyone to tell me where she was
Melissa.I felt…I didn’t quite know what I was feeling. It was confusing, tangled, like two emotions fighting for space inside me. Maybe I was happy. Yes, there was a lightness somewhere deep within me, something soft and warm. But at the same time, a dull ache spread slowly across my chest, heavy and persistent, refusing to be ignored. It wasn’t sharp enough to hurt, yet it lingered, pressing quietly against my ribs.I exhaled and waved it off, as though dismissing it would make it disappear.And then, suddenly, without warning, one thought pushed through everything else.I wanted to see Louis.A small, almost embarrassed smile curved on my lips as his image slipped into my mind so vividly it startled me. The memory came uninvited—the way I had walked into his room without knocking, careless, unaware… and then froze. The sight of him had caught me completely off guard, stealing the air from my lungs.My smile deepened, turning sheepish as heat crept up my neck.That moment… it had do
Melissa.I hated this damn mate bond.Hated it with everything in me.It felt less like a connection and more like a curse, something that kept pulling at me, dragging me toward a place I had no intention of going. No matter how much I resisted, no matter how loudly my mind screamed against it, my body betrayed me in ways I couldn’t control.And right now, it was doing exactly that.I hated the man whose lips were on mine.I hated him.And yet…I couldn’t find the strength to push him away immediately.My body reacted before my mind could catch up, softening against him, melting into his embrace like it remembered something I wished I could erase. His presence surrounded me, overwhelming, suffocating, and yet… familiar in the most dangerous way.My fingers moved on their own—tangling into his hair, and gripping tightly, not out of affection…but because I needed something.An outlet.A way to release everything that had been building inside me for years, anger, betrayal, pain, humiliat
Fredrick.I had only stepped out for a moment.Just briefly, long enough to get something Amelia and I could eat. It wasn’t meant to take time. I had even quickened my pace on the way, mindful of how particular she could be with her meals.Amelia didn’t like cold food.Not even slightly.And my parents had made it clear, more than once, that I was to take proper care of her. Their words still lingered in my mind as I made my way back, firm and expectant.So I didn’t delay.But the moment I got to the room and pushed the door open…She wasn’t there.I paused, my grip tightening slightly on the tray in my hand as my gaze swept across the space.Empty.Completely empty.A small frown formed on my face as realization settled in almost instantly.There was only one place she could be.The triplets’ room.Of course.I let out a quiet breath and turned immediately, my steps quickening without hesitation. If she was there, then I needed to get to her quickly, before the food got cold, before sh
Cypril.“Put off the fire!” I shouted immediately, my voice cutting through the chaos with a force that surprised even me.Guards scattered at once, scrambling toward the well, forming frantic lines with buckets as flames roared higher into the night sky.But even before Cain pointed fully toward t
Melissa.I don’t know how I managed to leave that room with my legs steady.After Cyril left the room, after whatever storm had burned through his eyes dulled into something distant and unreadable, I stood there for a long second, listening to the silence he left behind. It rang in my ears, heavy a
Melissa.By the time dinner was ready, my arm felt numb.Not because the pain had faded.But because I had grown used to it.The burn from the oil hadn’t disappeared; it had simply settled into something constant, a dull, persistent sting that no longer startled me but refused to be ignored. It thr
Caleb.I was burning from the inside out.It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t simple frustration. It was something far more primal, an ache that settled deep in my bones and spread through my veins like wildfire. My skin felt too tight for my body, my breaths uneven, my thoughts tangled with the restless gr







