Arianna’s POVEven a day later, I still couldn’t stop thinking about it.The necklace.Ryker’s words.That look in your eyes—that’s why I bought it.I had replayed that moment so many times in my head that it had practically been burned into my memory. I had spent most of the night staring at the delicate silver chain, running my fingers over the diamond as if trying to memorize its every detail. I had never owned anything this beautiful before, but it wasn’t just the necklace itself that made it precious.It was the intention behind it.Ryker had seen me. He had noticed something as small as the way my eyes lit up over a piece of jewelry and had gone out of his way to get it for me. Because I liked it. Because that, to him, was reason enough.My heart softened all over again just thinking about it.I hadn’t seen much of him after that.He had been locked in his room all day, and every time I tried to check in on him, he brushed me off with a simple I’m busy.Then there was dinner.It
Arianna’s POVThe house felt smaller than it had ever felt before.I sat at the kitchen table long after Ryker had walked away, my untouched plate in front of me, my fingers curled around the edge of the wooden surface like I needed something to hold me from falling down.The more I replayed everything that had happened, the worse I felt. It wasn’t that I was afraid of him—not really. Not anymore. Or at least… not all the time.I had come to understand Ryker in ways I never thought I would. Beneath all that anger, all that roughness, he was someone who paid attention to details. Who noticed the small things about people. Someone who, despite everything, had gone out of his way to make sure I had something I liked—just because I liked it.And I had hurt him.The look in his eyes when I dropped that plate—when I flinched—had been burned into my memory, and it made my chest feel like it was caving in.I couldn’t stay here.I pushed back my chair abruptly, the legs scraping against the fl
_Ryker’s pov_Damn it.I ran a hand through my hair, gripping hard enough to hurt as I paced the length of my room. My chest was tight, breathing ragged, the walls pressing in on me like they wanted to crush me because of just how stupid I was.I had overreacted.I knew it the second I saw the look on Arianna’s face. The second she flinched. The second she stuttered out an apology she didn’t even owe me before rushing out of my room like she couldn’t get away fast enough.I had overreacted. And then I had made it worse by shutting her out after that.I should have said something. Should have gone after her instead of avoiding her like a goddamn coward. But the truth was, I didn’t trust myself not to make it worse. One wrong word, one sharp edge to my tone, and I could’ve snapped. I could’ve proven her right—that I was something to be afraid of.And I couldn’t handle that.But now she was gone.And it was a terrible fucking mistake.I pulled my phone out for the hundredth time and dial
_Arianna’s pov_I froze.The catcall had already sent a chill down my spine, but it was the voices that followed that truly made my stomach twist.“Well, well,” one of them drawled, his tone thick with amusement. “What’s a pretty thing like you doing all alone at this hour?”I turned slowly, my pulse hammering.Two men stood under the dim glow of a flickering streetlamp. Both were tall, broad-shouldered, in a way that made my heart drop. The one on the left had greasy, slicked-back hair and a twisted grin that revealed yellowed teeth. His eyes were sharp, predatory, drinking me in like I was already his. The other man was bulkier, his head shaved, a jagged scar cutting through his eyebrow. His arms were covered in ink, the designs crude and dark against his pale skin.They weren’t just looking at me. They were sizing me up.My fingers curled into fists at my sides as I forced myself to turn away.Just ignore them. Just walk away.“Hey, sweetheart.” The greasy-haired man took a step fo
_Ryker’s POV_I couldn’t see anything but red.Even as their bodies lay in shreds at my feet, the rage still burned inside me, hot and insatiable. I could have torn them apart again, limb by limb, made them suffer longer, made them beg for mercy they didn’t deserve.But they were already dead. And it wasn’t enough.Nothing would ever be enough.The scent of blood was thick in the air, mixing with the sharp, pungent stench of piss—their last act of cowardice before I ripped them apart. I didn’t care what the town would think when they woke up to find the remains of these worthless bastards staining their streets. I didn’t care if they feared me, if they whispered about the monster lurking in the shadows.Let them.They had no idea what real monsters looked like.I turned, breath still heaving, my skin sticky with their blood. My gaze locked onto her.Arianna.She was curled against the wall, her body trembling so violently I could feel it in my bones. Her arms were wrapped around herse
_Ryker’s POV_Arianna had calmed down. Or so I thought.But I couldn’t have been more wrong.“Please,” her soft plea reached my ears like she was trying to nip at every crack in my composure.It was already so difficult having that conversation with her while we were both naked, but having her beg me like that took the thing to a whole new level.My arms were still wrapped around her, so she pushed her tits into my chest and I cursed loudly and pulled her back.But she was undeterred. Arianna kept begging me. Her voice was raw with desperation, her fingers trembling as she reached for me again. I caught her wrists, my grip firm but gentle as I shook my head.“Arianna, stop,” I murmured, my voice strained. My entire body was on fire, every nerve ending screaming at me to just give in, but I couldn’t. Not like this. Not now.She wasn’t thinking clearly. I knew that. She was still reeling from what had happened, from the violation she had barely escaped. Her body was seeking comfort, som
Arianna’s POVThe first thing I felt when I woke up was warmth.A strong, steady warmth that wrapped around me, that made me feel a type of safety I hadn’t felt in years. For a brief, blissful second, I let myself sink into it, my body relaxing against the firm heat at my back. But then—It hit me.Like a crashing wave, like the kind of nightmare that didn’t stop even when you opened your eyes.The alley. The rough hands. The mocking laughter. The way they’d pinned me, trapping me like an animal. My own screams, swallowed by the night. The terror, the helplessness.I gasped, my entire body seizing up in panic. My breath came too fast, too shallow, my vision blurring as I realized there was an arm locked around my waist—strong and powerful. A body behind me. Someone was holding me down—No. No, no, no—A strangled sound tore from my throat as I started thrashing, my body desperate to get free. My heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my ears, drowning out everything else. My skin wa
Ryker’s POVI could’ve stayed buried inside her forever. Fuck, I wanted to.Her body still trembled around me, twitching with aftershocks of orgasms I hadn’t meant to drag out so long—but fuck, she made it impossible to stop. Every time I felt her tighten, every time I heard that breathless little gasp of my name fall from her lips, it only made me hungrier. Made me want to ruin her in the best ways possible. And I had.The sun had shifted across the windowpane more times than I cared to count, but I hadn’t felt a drop of exhaustion. Not even a flicker of it. All I felt was her. Her skin on mine. Her scent in every breath. Her legs tangled around my waist, her nails digging into my back, her breathy moans echoing in my ears long after they’d stopped.I couldn’t stop touching her. Even now, long after the last wave of my last orgasm had crashed, I kept my arms around her, one hand lazily brushing over the swell of her hip. She was completely spent, her body soft like melted butter in m
Arianna’s POVWhen I woke up that morning, I couldn’t possibly have imagined my day like this, but it had done a complete 360 from that awkward breakfast.I whined again, the sound raw and helpless as it clawed up my throat.That was all it took.Ryker’s hand finally stopped stroking his member and my heart beat loudly in my chest.Then slowly and with his eyes gazing into my very soul, he removed his hand from his cock and reached forward, not to grab my hair, not to tug me closer, not even to shove his cock into my mouth like I was desperate for, but to curl his fingers beneath my chin again, tilting my head up until I had no choice but to meet his eyes.He looked unholy.His eyes were burning. His swollen lips were parted. His jaw tight like he was fighting something, restraint, maybe. Or control. Or the last shred of mercy he had left.I knew I didn’t look any better. Kneeling there with tears rolling down my cheeks and saliva down my chin with my hair disheveled from all of his t
AriannaStrip.The words echoed around the room and even louder in my ears, but somehow, they didn’t make sense to me. I blinked at him, sure I’d misheard. My brain tried to rationalize it, to offer a saner alternative. Surely he didn’t mean here. Surely not now…“W-What?” I asked, my voice small. “Here?”Ryker didn’t blink.The cold look in his eyes didn’t waver, neither did it soften. In fact, it sharpened, and the room around us suddenly felt colder. My skin prickled. The sound of rain beginning to tap against the window sent a chill down my spine.“Now?” I asked again, even more stupidly.Still, he didn’t speak.He just looked at me with that terrifying calmness, as though I hadn’t just questioned him. Like he was giving me one last chance to comprehend. One last chance to obey without resistance.Then he repeated himself, so calmly it made my stomach twist.“Strip.”I stood frozen. “Ryker… this is your art room.” My voice cracked with disbelief. “There’s paint everywhere, there’s
Arianna’s POVThe second Maya’s footsteps disappeared down the hallway, Ryker lunged for the door. Not calmly. Not silently. No, he slammed into it with enough force to make the walls tremble. I stood frozen, my arms wrapped around myself, watching him from where I stood. Maybe, just maybe, it would’ve opened if it had been a normal door. A simple slab of wood with a rusty knob. But it wasn’t.It was solid steel beneath the painted surface, reinforced with an electromagnetic lock. I remembered thinking back then that it looked excessive. Paranoid, even. But now… I understood. Ryker didn’t trust anyone. And now, it had turned into his own cage.“Fuck,” he growled, slamming his palm against the steel but it barely made a sound. “Fucking hell, Maya!”He tugged at the handle, shoved his shoulder against it, then stepped back and kicked it. Hard. His veins bulged and pulsed in his temple, his chest rising and falling as he threw himself at it again like a beast caged too long. The muscle
Ryker’s POVI needed out.The air in the house felt suffocating again, too warm, too full of things I couldn’t name. Too full of her. I could still smell her, still see the way she’d frozen when I sat beside her at the table this morning. Still feel the electricity that buzzed between us when our arms brushed. And still taste the regret I couldn’t shake when I walked away like none of it mattered. Like she didn’t matter.But she did.That was the problem.I slammed the door to my art room shut behind me and locked it before I leaned my weight into the heavy wood and let out a long, heavy breath that I hoped would dispel all of the tension building up inside of me. My shoulders sagged. My breath came out in a slow, rough sigh.Silence.That was what I needed.Silence, and maybe the quiet drag of a paintbrush across canvas.I turned, my eyes landing on the half-finished piece that had haunted me for weeks now. It stood tall where I left it seated on the easel like it was waiting for me.
Arianna’s POVThe morning light poured in through the wide kitchen windows like melted gold, warming the tiled floor and my heart and I could tell it was going to be a good day. Not.But for once, I wasn’t angry to be awake.It was…peaceful.Which, considering the usual chaotic storm that seemed to follow me ever since the last few weeks, felt like a miracle in itself.I was alone at the long dining table, the only sound in the room being the occasional clink of my fork against the plate. I took my time eating, savoring every bite, and not just because the food was the best I’d had in a while.The eggs were fluffy, cooked with what tasted like garlic and herbs. The toast was buttery and crisp, and there was a small dish of some kind of strawberry preserve that was so sweet and tart it made my eyes roll back in the best way.I didn’t need to ask who made it. I could practically taste the care in every bite.Maya.Of course.I let out a soft sigh and sank deeper into my chair, picking a
Arianna’s POVMy heart was pounding like crazy.For a second, all I could do was just lay there, trying to remember how to breathe.I was sprawled across Ryker’s chest, my hands gripping the fabric of his sweatshirt like it was the only thing keeping me from completely losing it. His scent, the same one that made my mouth water, wrapped around me in a way that made my head spin.It was too much. He was too close, and my heart was beating way too fast I knew he could feel it on his chest.I squeezed my eyes shut, willing my racing heart to calm the hell down, but it was useless. His arms were around me, his body was under mine, and it felt like no time had passed at all. Like nothing had changed. Like we were still… whatever it was we used to be.Slowly—so slowly—I opened my eyes.And there he was.Ryker.His face inches from mine.God, he was sinfully beautiful.All sharp jawlines, furrowed brows, and those deep, stormy eyes that had ruined me more times than I cared to admit. His dar
Ryker’s POVIt was getting harder to breathe lately.Not because of the workouts or the endless hours at the office, but because of her.Every damn day, it was the same. I’d wake up, go through the motions, drag myself to work where I barely got anything done, then come back here—where she was.So close.Yet so damn far.Arianna.I could feel her presence before I even opened the door most days. Her scent would hit me first, always soft and delicate and a little sweeter when she was nervous, and it would gut me every single time.My wolf wasn’t any help either. He made it worse, clawing and pacing and howling inside of me like an animal trapped in a cage. Every second we spent not touching her, not holding her, he punished me for it.But what was I supposed to do?Every time I looked into her eyes now, all I saw was that night.The way she stared at me like I had broken and betrayed her.She didn’t only call me a monster, but she saw me as one too. And that… that hurt more than anyth
Arianna’s POVEvery day after that felt the same. It was like we had fallen into a routine. Me trying to catch Ryker’s eyes, and Ryker pretending I didn’t exist.That was the absolute worst because it hurt way more than anything else he could have done. It hurt more than having him yell at me, and even more than if he punished me.The silence was worse, and nothing could have prepared me for the way I felt. It was almost like that private island never happened. Each time he just passed by me in the hallway like I wasn’t even there, it felt like I had imagined that week on that island, and none of it had been real.At first, I tried harder. I knew he was mad, but I felt it wouldn’t take long for the ice to thaw.I would walk a little slower in the hallways when I heard his footsteps and then I would pretend like I was just “coincidentally” going the same way as him.I timed him. I knew what time he left for work in the morning, and what time he went for a run on weekends. And at that t
Arianna’s POVHe didn’t even look back at me.I stood there, frozen on the stairs, staring at the door he’d just walked through. My heart thudded against my ribs, like it was trying to break free from the guilt that was already curling tighter around my lungs and just like it had been happening in the last few days, I couldn’t breathe.Did I really expect him to forgive me just like that?The question bit into my chest and I swallowed hard, willing myself not to cry again. I’d cried enough already. Three days locked in my room, no food, no sleep, just me and the fear of Claire’s death, but now, it was all amplified by every hateful word I’d said to him.Monster.Murderer.I hate you.God.He was right. I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t even try to ask for the truth. I let Claire draw the picture and I colored it in for her.And now he couldn’t even stand to look at me.I sank down onto the bottom step, my hands trembling in my lap. I felt raw. Like someone had peeled back every layer of me