DAMON'S POV
What were the chances that fate would bind me to one of Alpha Viktor’s daughters? The irony stung. Of all people, not the one our families had tried to force me into marrying for the sake of politics. The entire situation felt absurd. My father had loathed Viktor for as long as I could remember, yet now they spoke as though they shared some buried camaraderie. Their sudden friendliness didn't feel natural. It felt calculated, as if Viktor held something over my father, something powerful enough to make the most dominant man I knew swallow his pride. My father never compromised with adversaries. He conquered them, ground them beneath his boot, and never looked back.The thought circled endlessly in my mind as I lay on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. My muscles were tense, my mind restless. Then the buzz of my phone jolted me from the tangle of thoughts. It vibrated against the bedside table, its light cutting through the dim room. I turned my heaVELARA'S POVThe scream tore from my throat before I could stop it."I can't see any damn blue dial! Your stupid dial is busted!" I shouted, my voice cracking with panic. A sudden blast of freezing water slammed into me from above, not the wall, not the usual nozzle, the ceiling. The ceiling!Instinct kicked in. I raised my arms, twisting away in a frantic attempt to shield my body. At that point, I wasn’t even concerned about my ears anymore, let me go deaf if I must, but my poor ass couldn’t take another hit. The spray pelted me like punishment, relentless and aggressive, and I swore I’d wandered into the bowels of an industrial car wash rather than a shower. It was full-blast chaos, like a pressure washer set to destroy.Then, blessedly, the water cut off.Silence crashed in, save for the muffled, unmistakable sound of someone stifling laughter.I stood frozen, heart thundering in my chest. Water dripped from my lashes and hai
VELARA'S POVI stood frozen, my eyes locked on Damon, as Kael’s fragile voice floated through the thick tension like a crack in the silence.“Mommy?” he whispered, his tone laced with sleep and uncertainty.Damon immediately turned toward the sound, his posture shifting as he caught sight of our son.“Why is everyone yelling?” Kael asked, his small voice heavy with confusion.I instinctively moved forward to gather him in my arms, needing to feel him close, to comfort him. But Damon was faster. He stepped in front of me and scooped Kael up with a gentle ease, cradling him protectively.“Let’s get you back to bed, champ,” Damon murmured, his voice soft, soothing. “You’ve got school in the morning.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Kael’s tousled hair. Then, without turning back to me, he spoke again. His tone was quiet, but layered with fatigue.“Stay if you want to. Or don’t. I’m done trying to convince you. The keys
VELARA'S POVI had stormed over with a fire in my chest, prepared to yank my son out of this place and unleash every ounce of anger I’d bottled up on the man who caused all of this. My mind had played it out already—shouting, confrontation, maybe even a slap if it came to that. I was ready to demand answers, ready to tear Damon apart if that’s what it took. But beneath the fury, a quieter truth lingered. I probably couldn’t have done it alone. If it came to actual blows, I’d need someone at my back. Still, I had come in braced for war.But the moment unraveled in a way I didn’t expect. It shifted under my feet, softening in places I didn’t want it to.“Just stay,” Damon said, his hand wrapping firmly around my arm. His voice wasn’t angry. It wasn’t sharp. It was quiet—almost tired—and carried something that felt too much like hope. “I’ll take the couch tonight.”I blinked at him, stunned by the offer. “You’d seriously sleep on your own couch?” I a
VELARA'S POVDamon’s voice murmured steadily in the background, his conversation with Dante a low hum in the otherwise quiet room. I barely registered the sound. My attention was consumed by the weighty stack of documents laid out before me, their printed words a blur as my eyes skimmed over each page. Tension crept up my spine like a slow, unrelenting tide. My chest tightened with every breath I took. The pen in my hand felt heavier than it should have, almost trembling with the burden of the choice I was about to make.I didn’t give myself the chance to hesitate.Drawing a firm, decisive line through the name Virelles, I scrawled my ID number beneath it. My signature followed, curling at the edge of the page with finality. It was done. A single stroke of ink, and I had erased my own name from his life on paper. It wasn’t even my birth name, not really. Still, watching it disappear beneath that bold line felt like cutting away a piece of my identity. A na
VELARA'S POVDante drives in steady silence, the cityscape blurring past the windows as we make our way toward Damon’s hotel. When the car finally rolls to a stop in front of the grand entrance, I step out, and instantly, I feel the weight of a hundred unspoken questions pressing down on me. Eyes turn. Heads tilt. Their stares are anything but subtle, brazen, judgmental, and heavy with unspoken disdain. It is as if my presence alone disturbs the pristine air of this place.I pause beside the car, a flicker of hesitation passing through me. The urge to turn around or vanish into smoke hums beneath my skin, but I steel myself and follow Dante into the hotel. The lobby stretches wide before us, a display of wealth and sophistication. Crystal chandeliers scatter soft golden light across glossy marble floors, and velvet seating lounges like royalty across the space. But none of it softens the jagged discomfort rising in me. No amount of luxury can dull the sharpness of
VELARA'S POVA flicker of recognition passed through me when Officer Elijah asked if I knew her. I nodded, voice steady despite the unease building in my chest. She worked at my hotel. I had driven all this way just to check in on her.Elijah let out a long, weary breath, his fingers dragging down his face in a gesture of frustration and exhaustion. “Her apartment’s a disaster,” he said, his voice heavy. “Looks like there was a serious fight. Forensics are already inside, gathering blood samples.”The word blood hit me like ice water down my spine. My thoughts immediately leapt to Hazel and her little boy—the last time I saw them, their quiet warmth, the way she smiled even on the hardest days. Blood samples. My stomach churned.I could barely form the word as it left my lips. “Blood?”“It’s bad,” Elijah said grimly. “Whoever did it didn’t get to her without a fight. But there’s no trace of her or her son.”Beside me, Dante’s jaw