LOGINCHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT — The Predator’s TeaThe summons came via a hand-delivered note on silver-edged stationery. It wasn't a request; it was an order. Vivienne Vale wanted tea in the sunroom at four o'clock.I checked the mirror one last time. My collar was turned up, hiding the dark marks Lucien had left on me that morning. My heart was still racing from the encounter in his office, but I had to play the part of the grateful ward.When I entered the sunroom, Vivienne was already there, looking like a queen on a throne of wicker and silk. She didn't look up from her porcelain cup as I sat down across from her."You're punctual," she said, her voice like ice clinking in a glass. "At least the orphanage taught you that much.""I try to be respectful of your time, Mrs. Vale," I replied, keeping my voice level.She finally looked at me, her eyes scanning me with clinical precision. "Lucien tells me you’ve finalized your enrollment. York School of Fine Arts. A lofty goal for a girl who, un
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN — The Mark of Possession I woke up in the center of the massive bed, the silk sheets cool against my skin, though my body felt like it was still on fire. Every muscle ached, a heavy reminder of the hours I’d spent under Lucien. The room smelled of him: expensive cedar, aged whiskey, and the lingering scent of our shared heat. I rolled over, reaching for a space that was already empty. Instead of Lucien, I found a heavy vellum note resting on his pillow. > My office. 9 AM. Don't cover the marks. I'll send you the address of my branch here.> My heart did a slow, heavy thud against my ribs. I looked at the clock. 8:40 AM. I stood up, my legs trembling slightly as I walked toward the mirror. My reflection was a mess of tangled hair and bruised skin. Dark, floral-shaped marks bloomed across my collarbone and the curve of my neck—vivid evidence of how Lucien had claimed me. *Don’t cover them,* he’d said. I looked at the marks, then at the door. I was his ward. I
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX — VIVIENNE’S WARNING RAIN’S POV The voices drifted down the long corridor like poison wrapped in silk. I had only meant to fetch a glass of water from the kitchen that morning, still in my nightdress. Instead, I froze near the back staircase, hidden behind the heavy velvet drapes, as Vivienne’s voice cut through the night. “…disgraceful. She is your ward, Lucien. A charity case from the gutter. If you think the rest of us are blind to the way you look at that girl, and threat like she is the air you breathe when she is just your daughter then, you are delusional. Stop obsessing over that thing, she is just a girl you helped from the orphanage. End it. Before I am forced to end it for you.” There was a pause. I couldn’t hear Lucien’s reply, but the low, dangerous timbre of his voice made my stomach twist. Vivienne laughed bitterly. “Protect her? You’re ruining her. And when this explodes—and it will—you will drag the entire Vale name through the mud. For h
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE — HIS FAVORITE WEAKNESSRAIN’S POVBreakfast had been torture, but the rest of the day was turning into something far more dangerous.The Vale family estate felt like a gilded cage wrapped in silence and watchful eyes. Every hallway, every antique mirror, every shadowed corner seemed to wait for one of us to slip. Lucien made it impossible to pretend we were nothing. At breakfast he had defended me with that glacial tone that brooked no argument, poured my water with those long, elegant fingers, and adjusted my chair so the morning sun wouldn’t glare in my eyes. To the others he was ice. To me, every glance was molten.I told myself I would avoid him after the library. I failed before lunch.Now, hours later, the house was quiet. Vivienne had retired to her private sitting room with Evelyn. Sophia was somewhere sharpening her claws. Thelma had gone riding, or so the staff said. I slipped into the conservatory on the east wing, drawn by the late afternoon light filt
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR — TEN DAYS UNDER HIS ROOFRAIN'S POV The launch party ended in a haze of champagne and forced smiles, but the real storm began the moment we stepped into the cars.I thought Lucien would take me straight back to the penthouse — back to the place where our secret still felt somewhat contained. Instead, as the driver pulled away from the glittering estate, Lucien’s voice cut through the silence like cool steel.“We’re staying at the family house for the next ten days. I have business in the area that requires my presence.”My stomach dropped so fast I nearly gasped. Ten days. Ten whole days under the same roof as Vivienne, Evelyn, Sophia, Thelma, and the rest of the cold-blooded Vale family. Ten days of pretending I didn’t know exactly how Lucien’s fingers felt between my thighs, how his voice sounded when he groaned my name like he was losing his mind.I glanced at him. He sat beside me in the back seat, one leg crossed over the other, looking every inch the untouc
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE — SOPHIA’S LITTLE RECORDINGRAIN’S POV The moment Sophia hit play, my entire body turned to ice.It was my voice.Soft, broken, and unmistakable. The breathy little whimpers I’d tried so hard to keep quiet upstairs. Then came Lucien’s voice groaning like a curse and a prayer at the same time. Even through the phone’s tiny speaker, the sounds felt intimate. My stomach dropped so violently I thought I might be sick right there in front of everyone.Before I could spiral into full panic, Marcus moved like lightning. He snatched the phone from Sophia’s hand, his expression shifting from lazy amusement to something sharp in a heartbeat.“Turn that off,” he said, voice low and lethal. “Right now. Before you make Lucien your enemy for life.”Sophia only smiled like a cat who had finally caught the canary. She clearly thought she had recorded Lucien and Evelyn in some filthy moment upstairs. She had no idea it was me. Not yet.Thelma recovered faster than any of us. She







