FAZER LOGINXavier stumbled back, eyes wide. He hadn’t expected them to move together like that, Russell striking hard and fast,Giovanni blocking and countering every single move before it even fully happened.“You’ve trained well,” Russell admitted, his voice low and almost reluctant. “But even smart girls can’t run from blood forever.”Giovanni’s jaw tightened. “Blood doesn’t mean ownership. And smart girls survive.”The fight picked up. Blades clashed, every move quick and sharp. Russell’s hand brushed her shoulder as he moved past, but she spun around and swept her dagger close to his chest, not to kill, just to warn. Every move she made said the same thing: I will not give in. I will not back down. And I will protect my son.Leo crouched behind a chair, shaking, eyes wide. He didn’t understand the history between these people, the bloodlines, or what was really at stake, but he could feel the danger in the room without needing to understand it.Xavier pushed harder, trying to stir up more
second. Giovanni’s wolf side was alert inside her, listening for every tiny sound, every small movement. Leo woke up, blinking, sensing something was wrong even though he didn’t know what.“Leo,” she said quietly but firmly. “Stay down. Stay quiet. Don’t move until I tell you to.”Russell’s hand twitched, his golden eyes flashing, but he didn’t move. He could grab the boy in a second, but Giovanni was in the way. And she wasn’t just some obstacle, she had become someone unpredictable, someone even he had to be careful around.Xavier stepped closer, cool and calculating. “You know, Alpha, the boy could be very useful,” he said, his voice smooth but dangerous. “Think about the power you could gain. Think about the empire you could lose.”Russell’s growl seemed to shake the whole room. “He will not be used,” he said quietly, in a voice that made clear he meant it.Giovanni looked back and forth between the two men, gripping her dagger tightly, ready to act. Every second counted. One wron
You will not touch him,”she said again, her voice unwavering. “And if you value anything… you will leave now.”Russell’s lips curved in a brief feral smile. “You’re as relentless as ever,” he admitted.“I underestimated you. I will not again.”The golden tension in the room vibrated as the three of them,mother,father and manipulator faced each other in a dangerous standoff. Outside, the city slept unaware of the storm brewing within a single,unassuming safehouse.Giovanni’s fingers flexed subtly around the small dagger concealed in her sleeve,her mind racing through contingency after contingency.Every instinct, every calculation,every piece of training from the past five years had prepared her for this moment.Russell’s hand itched to reach Leo, to reclaim what was his by blood,by possession, by instinct.Xavier’s mind raced to manipulate,leverage, win and dismantle.And Giovanni…she stood poised,lethal, unyielding,the protector of her son,the strategist of her own life and the woman who
Leo sat at the small table coloring meticulously. He had inherited her focus and even in innocence there was something meticulous in the way he approached everything.Giovanni watched his chest tight,wolf coiling beneath her ribs.“He’ll come,” she whispered almost to herself. “He will come.”A soft click echoed from the hallway too deliberate to be accidental.Giovanni’s head snapped toward the sound and her fingers twitching toward the concealed weapon under her jacket. Her wolf hummed low, vibrating with awareness.The door flung open with brutal force, and Russell Van-Doren stepped inside, his presence immediately consuming the room.Golden eyes sharp and feral scanned the space. His gaze landed first on her, then flicked to Leo.The child’s head lifted slowly, sensing the tension, though blissfully unaware of the identity of the man who had entered.Giovanni moved first stepping between Russell and the boy,arms outstretched. “Stay where you are,” she said, her voice cold, controlled.
“He is mine to protect,” she said firmly. A pause.Then Russell’s lips twitched into a faint, dangerous smile. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”“And you should know,” she countered, “I’ve been planning for five years. You cannot intimidate me anymore.”Russell’s eyes glinted, calculating. “You’ve changed,” he admitted softly. “But you’re still… irresistible.” Giovanni’s fingers flexed around the mug. Her heart betrayed a flicker of emotion she didn’t allow herself to indulge. “Irresistible doesn’t mean safe,” she said quietly. A shadow passed over Russell’s face, a moment of hesitation, then he leaned closer, dangerous and commanding. “I don’t care about safe. I care about what’s mine. And he… he is mine.”The words landed like iron. Giovanni’s mind raced. She had anticipated his obsession but hearing it articulated so plainly, seeing the raw, possessive hunger in his eyes, reminded her why she had survived all those years. She was not just protecting Leo. She was protecting herself.
They’re coming,” she whispered, more to herself than to Leo. Leo looked up. “Who’s coming?”Giovanni forced a smile. “People from the old world.”He nodded, satisfied with the vague answer. Her mind raced. Russell. Xavier. The Van-Doren pack. Every strategy she had devised over the past five years had been for this eventual moment. And now the pieces were moving into place. Her wolf stirred beneath her skin, coiled and ready. The scent-blocking chemicals masked her presence, but instinct told her that wasn’t enough. Not if Russell had found her trail. She leaned back, eyes narrowing. “Time to make a choice,” she murmured. Her hand rested on the small, carved pendant around her neck an emblem from her family’s past contact who had orchestrated her disappearance. That connection would guide her now, just as it had before. The plan was simple in theory: protect Leo, manipulate Russell, and buy time to solidify their safety. In practice, it would require every ounce of cunning and ruth
Russell’s presence remained suffocating. His dominance was a constant weight his golden eyes observing, calculating and always aware. He grew restless during this period frustration flickering across his features,though he never suspected the true nature of her plotting. Giovanni allowed herself t
“If you want my continued services,” she said quietly, “you’ll ask properly.”The challenge was unmistakable.Russell stared at her.For a moment the Alpha of the most powerful pack in the region looked like a man standing on unstable ground.Then slowly, deliberately,he said the words he had never spo
The storm was not over. Russell would search, probe, and dominate in his relentless pursuit.Xavier and the Council would continue to meddle.But Giovanni was ready. She was no longer the pawn. She was a strategist, a mother, and a shadow moving unseen through the chaos preparing to reclaim life on h
The Council was an unpredictable variable that she could neither fully trust nor ignore.Every step she took had to be calculated for the long game,survival for herself and protection for the child, and perhaps, eventually, a reckoning.Her mornings began with observation her afternoons with strateg







