LOGINClara Bennett “Ryder, something feels wrong,” I said, gripping his hand tighter as we walked out of the hospital together a few days later. The sun was too bright, the air too fresh after being trapped inside for so long. My shoulder still ached under the bandage, but it was nothing compared to the fear that had settled deep in my chest. “I keep thinking they’re watching us. Victor. Francis. Both of them. They won’t just let us go.” Ryder pulled me closer, his arm around my waist as we walked toward the car. His body was tense, but his voice stayed calm for me. “I know. I feel it too. But we’re not running anymore. We’re facing this head on. Together. I won’t let them touch you again.” I looked up at him, my heart swelling with love even as the fear tried to choke it. “I believe you. I do. But what if they come at us from different sides? What if they work together? I saw how they looked at each other at the warehouse. They hate each other, but they both want us. That makes them
Clara Bennett“Does it still hurt?” Ryder asked softly as he helped me adjust the pillow behind my back in the hospital bed. His hands were gentle, careful not to jostle my injured shoulder. He had barely left my side since I woke up, always finding little ways to take care of me... bringing me water, fluffing pillows, just sitting there holding my hand when I needed the silence.I shook my head, but the truth was my shoulder still throbbed with every movement. “A little. But the doctors say it’s healing well. I’ll be okay.”Ryder sat on the edge of the bed, taking my hand in both of his. His thumbs stroked my knuckles slowly, a habit he had developed over the last few days. “I hate seeing you like this. Every time I close my eyes, I see you taking that bullet for me. You shouldn’t have done that, Clara. I should have protected you.”I squeezed his hands, looking up at him. His eyes were tired, full of guilt and love all mixed together. “I couldn’t let him shoot you. I love you too mu
Clara Bennett“Ryder!” I screamed as I saw him break through the line of guards, blood streaming from multiple wounds on his body. He looked like a man possessed, eyes glowing with that amber light I had come to recognize as the wolf inside him fighting to break free. His clothes were torn, his face bruised and cut, but he kept moving toward me like nothing else in the world mattered.Victor’s men tried to stop him, but Ryder tore through them with raw power, claws extended, roaring with a sound that was half-human, half-beast. My heart was breaking as I watched him. This was my fault. All of it. I had led him here. I had betrayed him again by agreeing to help Victor. And now he was fighting for his life because of me.He finally reached me, grabbing me and pulling me behind him as he faced Victor and Francis. His breathing was ragged, blood dripping from his side onto the floor, but he stood tall, shielding me with his body.“Stay behind me,” he gasped, his voice rough with pain. “I’
Clara Bennett“Ryder!” I screamed as I heard the sounds of fighting echoing down the hallway. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest. I pulled against the chains again, the metal biting into my already raw wrists. “Let me go! Please!”Victor stood in the doorway, watching me with that cold, satisfied smile. “He’s here. Just like I planned. Now you have a choice to make, Clara. Help me take him down, or watch him die trying to save you.”Tears streamed down my face as I shook my head. “I can’t. I won’t betray him again. Not like this.”The sounds of the fight grew louder — gunshots, growls, the crash of bodies hitting walls. I could hear Ryder’s voice roaring my name, full of pain and rage. He was hurt. I knew he was hurt. And he was still coming for me.Victor stepped closer, crouching down so we were eye level. “You don’t have a choice. Help me, and I’ll let you both live. Refuse… and I’ll make sure he dies slowly in front of you.”I sobbed, my whol
Clara Bennett“Ryder!” I screamed as I saw him stagger from another gunshot. Blood was soaking through his shirt, but he kept fighting, claws out, tearing through Victor’s men like they were nothing. I couldn’t just stand there. I had to help him.I grabbed a loose metal pipe from the floor and swung it as hard as I could at the nearest guard who was aiming at Ryder’s back. The pipe connected with a sickening crack, and the man went down. My arms shook from the impact, but I didn’t stop. “Get away from him!”Ryder turned his head toward me for a split second, his eyes wide with fear. “Clara, no! Get back!”But it was too late. Another guard grabbed me from behind, his arms wrapping around my waist like a vice. I screamed and kicked, swinging the pipe wildly, but he ripped it from my hands and slammed me against the wall. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs.“Ryder!” I cried out, reaching for him as the guard dragged me away.Ryder roared, a sound that was half-human, half-beast
Ryder West “Stay low and stay quiet,” I whispered to the small team behind me as we moved through the shadows outside the facility. My arm was still throbbing from the gunshot wound I had taken earlier, but I ignored the pain. Clara was in there. That was all that mattered. I had spent the last few hours tracking every lead I could find, calling in every favor, and now we were finally here. The building looked abandoned from the outside, but I knew better. Victor’s kind loved hiding their dirty work in plain sight. I signaled to my men and we slipped through a side entrance I had found on old blueprints. The wolf inside me was wide awake, senses sharp, ready to tear through anyone who stood between me and her. We moved silently down a long corridor, guns ready. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. Every second without her felt like torture. I kept seeing her face in my mind ... the way she had looked at me when she confessed, the fear in her eyes when she ran.
Clara Bennett I sat rigidly in the chair across from Ryder’s massive desk with my back straight as a rod. It was only my first day, and I already felt like a complete nervous wreck. My palms were sweaty, and every time his intense gaze swept over me, my pulse quickened like a startled rabbit.
Clara Bennett Ryder stopped right in front of me, his tall, powerful frame blocking out everything else in the room. His dark eyes moved slowly from my face to Amelia, who was still clinging to his arm like she owned him. “Mr. West, please!” Amelia whined in that annoying high-pitched voice,
Victor Sinclair “Clean this mess up,” I snapped at the waiter, my voice smooth as silk even though red wine dripped down my collar. Amelia’s emerald eyes were still wide with shock, but I leaned in and brushed my lips against her cheek, letting my fingers linger on her arm. “Darling, give me
Clara Bennett “Just one clear shot. One picture of this rich jerk with his side piece, and my blog numbers will surely blow up.” I hunched low in the driver's seat of my old car, the very same one my mom gave me for my nineteenth birthday two years ago. I loved it with everything in me. As the wi







