Mag-log inA single, scorching tear spilled over my lashes.Ronan’s breath hitched, his pupils dilating until his eyes were almost entirely black.Good.He was trembling, just a fraction, but I saw it. I didn't blink, letting him stare directly into the fragile, shattered wreckage I was projecting.“I came out because I was waiting for you, Mister,” I whispered, voice rough, like it had been scraped raw. “You’ve been avoiding me for days… You wouldn’t let me leave, but you wouldn’t even see me.”I drew in a shaky breath, letting it hitch halfway.“In this strange place… I only know you. Only you.” My fingers tightened against the sheets. “But you won’t even look at me. Won’t talk to me… so what am I supposed to do? Just wait forever?”More tears spilled, hot and fast, soaking into the pillow beneath my head.Damn it. My hand twitched against the sheets. My chest suddenly seized, a sharp, suffocating pressure wrapping around my ribs like a vice."I..." My voice broke, and this time, I didn't have
The word tasted like ash on my tongue.Dead. So that was my official status now?I should have been shocked, or perhaps crying over my unfortunate fate, because my family declared me dead while I was still very much alive. But the only thing I felt was a fire burning in my chest.They really did it. My family, the members of that damn pack, they erased my existence from the face of the earth.Ah, I see. They wanted to lock me in the dark forever for a sin I never even committed. From the very beginning, they hadn't given me a single second to prove the truth.My fingers curled, my nails biting harshly into the scratchy blanket."She's registered as an orphan," Silas's voice drifted through the loose crack in the door. "Comes from a small town up north. Twelve hours by road from here, no direct flights."I swallowed a laugh that threatened to burst out. Orphaned since birth? Great. What a neat scenario.Never mind the fact that I had spent my entire life in their manor, breathing their
"You."Ronan's voice was thick, broken by the remnants of his unfinished anger evaporating from his lungs. His eyes narrowed at the figure in the doorway."Hey." Silas stepped in, his shoes squeaking on the cold stone floor. "You're having another fit, huh?"He paused, his eyes sweeping over the broken ceramic tiles and deep scratches in the walls, traces of last night's madness."Six months," Silas began, his voice more of a frustrated growl than a rebuke. "You've almost gone half a year without incident. And now you've shattered that record in one night? What's going on?"Ronan didn't answer."Go to a doctor. Damn it, you have all the money in the world to buy secrecy," Silas demanded, stepping closer. "I swear, not a single line will be leaked to the public or the board of directors.""That's not the point," Ronan cut in sharply, swallowing the curse that was hanging on his lips.The muscles in his bare chest tensed. The sheer violence in his eyes made Silas flinch. "You know I've
The pain didn't come in waves. It hit like an explosion."Eurgh,"“Miss Al! We’ll get you out—”Something sharp and hot locked onto the base of my neck, tearing through the layers until the sound of ripping skin echoed inside my skull.This damn hunter. What the hell is wrong with him?!A metallic, almost fishy scent flooded my nose as warmth spilled down my back. His teeth drove deeper, like he meant to rip through my veins and swallow me whole.“Move! What are you doing?!” Albus shouted.Voices clashed somewhere behind me, but they might as well have been underwater.My instincts snapped. Fingers curled, my nails throbbing, ready to elongate and rip apart the chest of the man pinning me. Another second, and I would have ripped out his throat. But the image of Albus and the CCTV camera's muzzle flashed through my mind like a slap of ice.I forced my nails back into my skin until my hands trembled violently."Mister… wake up!" I hissed, my voice hoarse from swallowing my own groans."
My lips still burned as if his touch from last night had seared itself into my skin.I stood in front of the full-length mirror, fingertips brushing the faint swelling at the corner of my mouth.That bastard really thought that brutal kiss counted as payment?He kissed me right in front of the woman who claimed to be his wife. Let her grab my hair. Then walked away as if nothing had happened. Did that make any sense in his head?Even Diana, or whatever her name was, the woman who nearly scalped me, was gone. No apology. No trace of her, except the lingering, cloying scent of rose perfume drifting through the corridor.“Where is your Mr. Ronan, Mr. Albus?” I asked over breakfast.My voice echoed in the oversized dining room, far too large for a single person. I stabbed the sausage on my plate harder than necessary.Albus, who was pouring tea with annoying calm, didn't look up. "Master Ronan is very busy, Miss. There's urgent business that requires his full attention."“Busy?” I set my
"Ronan..." the woman whimpered, her voice a fragile, cracking mess.Her eyes, rimmed with a manic redness, trembled as his hand slowly uncurled her hand from the roots of my hair.Ugh, finally. My scalp throbbed, but the relief was short-lived. Because of this damn hunter, I had to deal with…wait. Why was he turning his back on her?Why was he looking at me like that? No, why are you coming closer, Mister?!"You hurt anywhere else?" he asked quietly, his fingers slipping into my tangled hair.The touch was gentle, so gentle that my head throbbed with the force of the tug, and I reflexively slapped his hand away."Don't touch me," I hissed, my inner wolf bristling at the contact.I scrambled backward, but my bare feet found no purchase on the slick silk carpet. I felt the world tilt as I slipped. I braced for the impact of the floor, but it never came. Instead, a pair of oak-hard arms lashed around my waist, hauling me flush against a wall of solid muscle.His hot breath fanned against







