登入CELINE Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wasn't him. Maybe the similar features were just a coincidence and I was connecting dots that didn't exist because I was still shaken from everything that had happened at the gala. Then Muize's voice cut through my thoughts like a blade. "I'm coming for you. I will drag you back where you belong." That threat settled in my chest like something heavy and cold that had no intention of leaving. ‘No,’ I thought, shaking my head inwardly. I wasn't being paranoid. I had every right to be suspicious of anyone. Not when I had Muize threatening me and Doland, whom I don't even know his condition now. Also Lan, whom Kythan had gotten arrested. Fuck! I'm in a deep mess. "Hey." Rythan touched my arm, snapping me back, and I raised my gaze to find him watching me carefully. "You look lost again. Do you know that guy?" I shook my head. "Nah... I must have mistaken him for someone else," I answered, keeping my voice steady. He wrapped his arm around my wa
CELINE I almost stood up from where I sat, ready to run as far as my legs would carry me — somewhere he wouldn't see me, talk more of calling his cousin over. It was as if Karma had also decided to join forces against me today. What the hell was he doing here? My head was in a jumbled mess. But the guy in question was staring back at me, his brows furrowed in confusion at my intense stare. There was no recognition in his eyes, not even a flicker — and he quickly lowered his gaze, avoiding further eye contact. I gulped and looked away too, working hard at maintaining my composure and regulating my breathing. One by one they all stepped forward with their CVs and sat in front of us. They presented them to Rythan, who reviewed each one carefully, asking a few targeted questions that they answered with varying levels of confidence. The atmosphere in the room was surprisingly relaxed — and that was entirely Rythan's doing. Their only fear was not being qualified enough, not his pre
CELINE I woke up feeling much better, because the ointment Rythan had massaged on my body had indeed helped a lot. My lips had perfectly healed up due to the mate bond even without having a wolf, and I quickly got out of bed to take a quick shower. I came out and wore a crop shirt and bum shorts — I needed something comfortable and began heading downstairs. As usual, all the family had gathered at the dining table, ready to eat. They were all waiting for me. I hastened my walk and got to the table. Except for Zithan, who was nowhere to be seen. He hasn't come back since last night? Where could he be? "Good morning, everyone." I greeted, smiling. They all nodded in response. Rythan quickly jumped up and pulled out a seat for me and I whispered "thank you" to him and he smiled sheepishly. "Where is Zithan?" I asked, not seeing him anywhere. "He left this morning for the office. Had some things to take care of," Rythan replied. "Don't worry, I will take you along with me to th
CELINE He pulled back and looked at me really, those green eyes searching my face with an intensity that made my breath catch. Whatever he found there satisfied him because he nodded once slowly and his hands slid to my thighs. "He touched what's mine," he said quietly. Not to me. To himself. Like he was reminding himself of a debt that required settling. Then his mouth found my neck and everything else dissolved. He was rough in the way that only Rythan could be rough, not careless, never careless, but consuming. Like he was trying to replace every place Lan had hurt with something that felt completely different. His hands gripped my hips with a force that would leave marks and I didn't care even slightly. His mouth moved from my neck to my collarbone to my shoulder — finding every bruise with devastating precision, pressing his lips to each one with a fierce tenderness that contradicted everything else about the moment. "Mine," he muttered against my skin. "Every single
CELINE I clung to his suit like my life depended on it, because this madman was capable of anything and I knew better than to test that theory right now. I kept my eyes low. I was still dumbfounded, as if the ability to form words had simply left my body somewhere on that bathroom floor and hadn't come back yet. What I had witnessed in that restroom would linger in my head for the rest of my life. The way he had handled Lan — that cold, total, unhesitating efficiency was something I had never seen before. The fear that had gripped me was still there, humming underneath everything, because why would all of this happen in one single day? But where the hell were Rythan and Zithan? They were nowhere in sight. Kythan carried me back into the hall protectively, like I was something fragile he had decided to tolerate carrying. The party had ended due to the chaos and everyone had gathered in clusters, whispering and staring as we moved through them. I had never been this embarrassed
KYTHAN BLACKTHORNE — (Wolf: Vexan) I sat sipping my wine while trying to keep up with the boring party. I hated parties. I hated crowded halls and the noise and the performance of it — I was not where I wanted to be. Cassandra had expected a reaction when she dismissed Mandy — the woman I had brought purely to make a point that had apparently needed making. She had waited for me to defend her, to show some flicker of emotion about what Cassandra had said. Mandy had known better. We had an arrangement, nothing more, and she had understood its terms when she agreed to them. I felt nothing about her leaving. I felt nothing about most things. That was the point. Then I saw her sitting beside Zithan, and the entire room shifted slightly. Every head turned. Every conversation faltered. "Look at her," Vexan said, his voice doing something I refused to examine. "I see her," I said flatly, inwardly rolling my eyes. "Those curves in that dress are—" "Vexan." I snapped at him. "Manwho
CELINE The word detonated inside my chest like something physical. Mate! The pull struck again, but harder this time, coming from three directions at once, like invisible hands reaching into my ribcage and pulling simultaneously. My own hand rose slowly and I pointed a trembling finger at each
CELINE I stood at the top of the stairs and stared at the empty corridor where the cold-eyed man had just been. The warmth I remembered from this morning was completely gone. Stripped away as if it had never existed. Those familiar features, same dark hair, same jaw, same mouth — had looked at m
CELINE The moment I was finally outside that house, everything hit me at once. My knees nearly buckled. I grabbed the gate post to steady myself and then the first sob tore out of me, ugly and uncontrolled, and once it started I couldn't stop it. My shoulders shook violently. I pressed my
CELINE "Damn! Your stepsister's got a fat ass!" Doland spanked me hard, tossing me a shameless wink. I scoffed, disgust curling through me like. This wasn't the first time he had put his hands on me. I spun around, ready to say something he wouldn't forget in a hurry. I stormed towards him,







