C-1

The tension in the room was so thick it felt like a physical weight against Gwen’s chest as she watched Lucian’s knuckles turn white from the force of his grip on her.

She knew that Damian Lillard was downstairs waiting to play the hero and in the original novel this was the moment where the two men would have fought over her like she was a prize to be won.

But Gwen was tired of being a pawn in a story she had already read and she knew that if she didn't take control now Lucian might actually kill someone before the sun went down.

"Let me go down there Lucian" she said as she placed a calming hand over his heart to feel the frantic rhythm beneath his ribs.

"If you go down there in this state you will only confirm every rumor my sister has spread about you being a monster and I want you to show him that you are the only man who deserves to stand by my side."

Lucian growled and tightened his hold for a brief second as if he were afraid she would vanish the moment his skin left hers but the way she called him the only man seemed to soothe the jagged edges of his temper.

"He thinks he can take you from me baby" he hissed while his eyes tracked the movement of her lips with a hunger that was bordering on insanity.

"He thinks he can offer you a life of freedom while I am the one who would burn the world just to keep you warm."

"Then let him see for himself that I don't want his version of freedom" Gwen replied as she reached for the handle of the study door.

Lucian followed her like a shadow and his hand stayed firmly on the small of her back as they descended the grand staircase toward the foyer where Damian was standing with a smug look on his face.

Damian looked up and his expression shifted from triumph to pure confusion when he saw Gwen walking down the stairs not as a victim but as a queen with Lucian hovering behind her like a loyal beast.

"Gwen what is the meaning of this" Damian asked as he stepped forward and ignored the murderous glare coming from the man beside her.

"I have the car ready and your sister told me that you were desperate to escape this madman's house today."

Gwen felt Lucian’s fingers dig into her waist and she knew he was seconds away from lunging at the rival CEO so she stepped forward just enough to create a barrier between them.

"My sister has always had a vivid imagination Damian" she said with a cool smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I think there has been a misunderstanding because I have no intention of leaving my husband or this house."

Damian blinked in shock and he looked at the shredded papers Lucian was still clutching in his other hand.

"But the divorce papers and the contract" he stammered while his face began to redden with embarrassment.

"You told everyone you were miserable."

"I am a Santori now and my place is exactly where I choose to be" Gwen stated firmly as she turned back and leaned her head against Lucian’s shoulder.

She felt him shudder with a mix of relief and dark triumph as he wrapped both arms around her in front of his greatest enemy.

"You heard my wife Lillard" Lucian said with a voice that was smooth and deadly.

"Now get out before I decide that your presence on my carpet is a stain I need to remove permanently."

As Damian retreated in total humiliation Gwen felt Lucian lift her off her feet and carry her back toward the stairs while he whispered praise into her ear that made her realize she had successfully tamed the wolf but now she was the only one left in the cage with him.

Lucian carried her all the way back to the master suite and he did not set her down until he had kicked the double doors shut and engaged the heavy brass lock with a definitive click.

He pressed her back against the dark wood of the door and his breath was coming in ragged gasps as if he had just run a marathon to save her life.

His eyes were dark and blown out with a mixture of adrenaline and a terrifyingly sweet devotion that Gwen had never seen in the pages of the original novel.

"You chose me" he whispered over and over again as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent as if it were the only thing keeping him grounded.

"In front of him and in front of everyone you told him that you were a Santori and you told him that you belonged to me baby."

Gwen felt the heat radiating off his body and she reached up to run her fingers through his thick dark hair while she tried to steady her own breathing.

She was a transmigrator who knew that this man was supposed to be her ruin but in this moment he looked like a man who would crawl through broken glass just to hear her say his name.

She knew she had to solidify this power dynamic now while he was at his most vulnerable and his most obsessed.

"I told him the truth Lucian" she said as she tilted her head back to look at him with a gaze that was both soft and commanding.

"But you need to understand that my loyalty comes with a price and if I am going to be the queen of your empire I will not be kept behind locked doors while you go out and face the world alone."

Lucian pulled back just enough to look at her and his expression was a chaotic blend of possessive hunger and genuine awe as if he were seeing her for the first time.

"I will give you everything" he promised as he dropped to his knees in front of her and wrapped his arms around her waist while he pressed his ear to her heart.

"I will give you the keys to every vault and I will put your name on every building I own wife as long as you never look at another man with the kindness you gave that dog downstairs."

Gwen looked down at the most powerful man in the city kneeling at her feet and she felt a surge of triumph that the original Gwen never got to experience.

She had taken the Alpha CEO and turned his dangerous yandere instincts into a leash that she now held in her own hands.

She knew that Kayla and Damian would be regrouping and she knew that the "Original Male Lead" wouldn't give up so easily but for now she had the monster exactly where she wanted him.

"Get up baby" she murmured as she hooked her chin over his head and felt his arms tighten around her in a silent vow of eternal protection.

"We have a gala to attend tomorrow night and I want everyone to see exactly who the master of the Santori household really is."

Lucian looked up at her with a dark smirk that promised violence to his enemies and absolute submission to her.

"Whatever you command master." he whispered and the way he said the word made Gwen realize that the story had officially been rewritten in her favor.