LOGINIRIS'S POVThe first thing I registered was the cold.My head throbbed with a rhythmic, sickening pulse, a reminder of the cloth Mara had pressed over my mouth.Lavender and bleach. That’s what she had smelled like. The scent of a perfect, invisible maid.I tried to move my hands, but they were bound behind me, the rough hemp of the rope biting into my wrists. I was sitting on a cold stone floor. As my vision cleared, the darkness resolved into the grey, jagged edges of a cellar. High above, a single, barred window allowed a sliver of moonlight to cut through the gloom.I knew this place. This was the foundation of the Old Chapel, the historic site on the edge of the Calder territory where the wedding was supposed to take place in twelve days. It was a place for vows, for blood-sealed alliances. Now, it was my cage."You’re awake," a voice whispered.It was a soft, melodic sound that made my skin crawl. Venus stepped out of the shadows. She had changed. The frantic, bleeding woman fro
DARIUS’S POVThe room went cold. It wasn't the air conditioning; it was the sudden, sharp shift in the predatory balance. Jerome stood there, looking like a man who had already won. Beside him, Marcus, a Beta who had served the Calders for a decade, looked down at his feet. The smell of betrayal was thick—sour and sharp.I felt Iris stiffen beside me.Her hand, which had been resting on my arm with practiced grace, tightened. I could feel her pulse racing through her fingertips. She was terrified, but she didn't look away.I let a slow, dangerous smile touch my lips. I didn't pull away. I didn't show fear. I stepped forward, pulling Iris with me, closing the distance between us and Jerome."Jerome," I said, my voice smooth and heavy. "I didn't think you had the stomach for a charity event. And Marcus. I see you’ve found a new master. I hope he pays better than the Alphas you just betrayed."Jerome didn't flinch. He gestured to the crowd, which was now whispering loudly. The press had
IRIS'S POVThe tailor's shop smelled of expensive wool and raw adrenaline.Darius hadn't wasted a second. He had forced me into the back fitting room of his personal suit tailor, a small, discreet man named Mr. Finch who looked terrified but obedient.While Darius barked commands into his secure phone arranging for his covert security team and canceling all public announcements about Venus—Mr. Finch measured me with trembling hands. I was being fitted for a dress I shouldn't wear, to an event I shouldn't attend, with a man who should be marrying my sister."No white," Darius commanded, his voice sharp enough to cut the fabric. "Something black. Something that demands attention. And cover the neck."Mr. Finch produced a stunning, simple black silk gown. It was severe, elegant, and had a high, structured collar that flawlessly hid the bruise of Darius's claim. I pulled it on. It felt like armor.Darius walked back in, dismissing Mr. Finch with a curt wave. He looked me up and down, his
DARIUS'S POVI didn't waste time on questions.I grabbed Iris’s arm, my grip bruising, and dragged her out of the tailor’s studio. The smell of Venus’s blood and the ruined white silk was a suffocating pressure. I threw Iris into the passenger seat of my black SUV and slammed her door shut.My blood was still hot, molten gold flashing behind my eyes. I had commanded her to stay put. She had disobeyed. That disobedience had led her straight into Venus’s trap, nearly costing me everything.I jumped into the driver’s seat and floored the accelerator. The tires screamed as the SUV whipped onto the narrow village road.“You disobeyed my direct command,” I snarled, my voice low and dangerous, vibrating with suppressed Alpha rage.Iris, pale but defiant, didn't flinch. "She left a blood message. She wanted the confrontation. If I had waited, she would have come to the house and exposed you to Ronan. I diverted the damage."Her reasoning was coldly logical, the voice of the analyst, not the t
IRIS'S POVI was asleep, tangled in my sheets, when the sharp, frantic ringing of the encrypted house phone dragged me into a brutal wakefulness.The sound was wrong—too loud, too urgent and it immediately dissolved the memory of Darius's violent, commanding presence hours earlier.I grabbed the phone, my heart hammering against my ribs. It was Conrick. His voice was a raw, strained whisper."Iris. Listen to me. The Alpha is on his way, but you need to move now. Venus is gone."The blood drained from my face. I shot upright, the events of the last few days—the public claiming, Darius's forced separation, her promise of destruction… snapping into terrifying focus."Gone? But Darius said she was confined," I whispered, scrambling out of bed, my mind racing."The room was empty an hour ago. She forced the window. She left a message—a threat aimed directly at you. You are in danger, Iris. Complete lockdown. Do not answer your door to anyone but the Alpha. Do you understand?""I understand
DARIUS'S POVThe scent of my wolf’s triumph lingered in the sunroom.I had left Iris standing in the white silk, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and the nascent, dangerous hope that I was willing to risk everything for her. The public, coded claiming was necessary. She needed to know her protection was absolute, and Venus needed to know the cost of touching my possession.I finished the perimeter discussion with Alpha Ronan quickly, my mind already elsewhere. The financial merger was secured. The wedding date was firm. My immediate focus shifted entirely to damage control and control.I found Conrick in the secondary study, reviewing security logs. He looked up, his expression grim.“The confinement is holding, Alpha,” Conrick reported, without preamble. “Venus is in the East Wing. She is enraged, but silent. She knows she is being watched. She demanded to see her father, but Alpha Ronan is occupied with the security review.”“Good,” I said, stripping off my formal jacket and rol







