MasukDanteMy chest felt tight as the doors slammed shut behind Violet. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to sprint out of that room right after her.I took one small step toward the exit, but the loud sound of a wooden gavel hitting the desk brought me to a dead stop."Please don't walk out of this chamber, Alpha," Corvin said, his voice echoing off the high stone walls.I nailed my feet to the cold floor, clamping my teeth together so hard my jaw throbbed.If I ran after her right now, these fools would use it as proof that I was incompetent and ruled by my emotions. So I forced myself to slowly turn back around and face the men sitting up on their high platform.I kept my face blank, hiding the rage burning right beneath my skin.Gwen was sitting in the front row, watching me with a smug grin that made me want to tear the room apart."She runs like a frightened animal because she knows she doesn't belong here," Vane said, leaning forward on his elbows."She has no manners, and ze
VioletThe guard didn't even give me time to process the words before he turned on his heel to lead the way down the hallway.Dante reached out to grab my arm, but I snapped my elbow back before his fingers could make contact with my skin."Don't touch me," I said, my voice as flat and dry as dust.He pulled his hand back, his face expressionless. He didn't look mad or hurt; he just pulled that cold, aloof mask back over his features like he always did when things got complicated."We need to go, Violet," Dante said. His voice was void of emotion, like he was talking to a stranger he hired to do a job."I have legs," I muttered, taking a step past him. "I know how to walk."Two pack guards fell in line right behind us, their thick boots echoing off the concrete floors as we marched down the main corridor toward the council building. The air between Dante and me felt like a wall. He kept his eyes locked straight ahead, his jaw tight and unreadable.I hated it. I hated how he acted like
DanteMy back was stiff when my eyes opened. I was sitting on the hard floor, leaning against the cold wall in the hallway right outside Violet’s guest room.I blinked away the heavy sleep and rubbed my face with both hands. It took me a second to remember why I was sleeping on the floor like a dog.Then I saw it. The wooden tea tray was sitting near the door frame.It was empty. Beside the clean cup was a small piece of paper with her neat writing."Thank you for the tea," the note said.I picked up the note and stared at the words for a long time. A small wave of relief washed over my chest.She did not throw the tray at the wall. She drank it, and she wrote to me.I stood up slowly, my knee joints popping in the quiet hallway. I shoved the paper into my pocket and walked down to my study on the main floor.I needed a shower, but I needed to check my schedule first. I sat behind my heavy wooden desk and tried to clear my head.Before I could even touch my laptop, the door swung open
DanteI stared up at the ceiling of my bedroom, watching the gray shadows shift as the clock ticked past three in the morning. The bed felt way too big, way too cold, and empty without Violet laying next to me.I rolled onto my side, burying my face in her pillow, but her sweet scent was already starting to fade away. It was driving me insane.Knowing she was sleeping down the hall in the west wing guest room was like a punch to my chest every time I took a breath. I couldn't just stay in this bed staring at the dark walls all night.I pulled myself up, swung my legs over the side of the mattress, and stood up in the cold room. I walked out into the dark hallway, my quiet footsteps echoing off the floor as I headed toward the west wing.The estate was dead silent, but my chest felt so heavy I could barely breathe properly. I stopped right in front of her closed guest room door, resting my palm flat against the cold wooden surface.I leaned my forehead against the frame, listening clos
VioletI was almost to the metal exit doors of the parking garage when I heard him.The sharp, rapid slap of footsteps echoed hard against the damp tile floor behind me, closing the distance too fast.Before I could even process what was happening, a hand wrapped around my wrist—not with the cruel force of a guard, but with a desperate, trembling gentleness that made my breath catch in my throat."Don't," Dante said, his voice entirely breathless, ragged, and thick with panic. "Don't go out there, Violet. Please. Just wait."I stopped dead in my tracks, but I refused to turn around and look at him.I could feel the bitter, freezing draft of night air bleeding through the cracks in the garage doors, could hear the sheets of rain lashing violently against the concrete outside.All I wanted in that moment was to push those doors open, step out into the storm, and never look back at this nightmare."Listen to me," Dante pleaded, his fingers still wrapped securely around my wrist, anchorin
VioletThe two hours felt like two excruciating years.Every second ticked making me feel.like a drop of acidws burning through my chest.Dante was pacing back and forth across the slick slate floor like a caged, wild animal, his footsteps echoing off the walls as he ran his hands continuously through his hair.Rosa was sitting comfortably on the plush sofa, slowly sipping her tea like she was relaxing at a luxury spa, completely untroubled by the storm around us.Gwen was stretched out on the opposite end of the leather couch, her hands clasped delicately over her belly, pretending to sleep.But I wasn't blind—I could see her dark eyelashes fluttering, her eyes moving rapidly beneath her closed lids as she waited for the curtain to rise on her final act.I was still standing frozen by the floor-to-ceiling window.My legs had gone completely numb from holding myself rigid for so long.The wooden door finally swung open, shattering the silence.Doctor Harrison walked back into the room
Violet's POV. "Alpha Dante?" My voice came out too small for my own good. A squeaky high-pitched tone that I could do nothing to control. If that kept happening he would find out faster than I would like. He tilted his head, watching me with gold-flecked onyx eyes. Is he going to turn? Luc
VIOLET'S POV"That's it, take five," Our instructor said, and I let out a sigh, as I reached the floor like a puddle of slime.I looked around to see that I was the first one on the floor not surprising... I'm the weakest one here.We had been running for hours. Not the dramatic kind with screaming
DANTE'S POV I stepped out of the car, taking in the house in front of me while my men spent the small seconds doing a sweep. It had to be one of the blandest houses I had seen, white all through, probably because of all the shady stuff that happened behind those wooden doors. I never liked to
Violet's POVTwo months laterI never wanted to be a boy but that's the only way I knew how to survive.....“Catch that thief!” A man's voice echoed through the streets, and I tried my best to push through.My feet pounded against the pavement as I tore through the market crowd, clutching my bag to







