LOGIN"Let go of me, Mr. Thorne!"I drove my right hand forward, the tips of two fingers digging sharply into the nerve cluster inside his wrist. It was a reflex drilled into me through years in surgical suites, and it forced Kaelen's iron grip to slacken for a split second.That fraction of a second was all I needed. I sprang back two paces, tearing my back free from the cold marble."Elora." My name tore from his throat like a low snarl. "Do you have any idea what you just—""I know exactly what you just did," I cut in, my chest heaving.Kaelen's breath came in ragged, heavy gusts. His eyes burned with molten gold in the gloom of the gallery, drilling into the hollow of my throat as if he could peel away every stitch of cloth guarding it.My hands trembled violently as I pulled the lapels of my black wool coat shut. The brass button was torn loose from its threads, forcing me to hitch the fabric closed with stiff, clumsy fingers until the scar was buried once more from his sight."Twenty
Kaelen's POV"We talk outside. Don't wake him."Elora's whisper was barely a breath, but the authority behind it was absolute.Her slender fingers moved with agonizing care, easing Leon's pinky free from her grasp without disturbing my son's deep sleep. She drew the velvet duvet over his small shoulders once more, smoothing the fabric with a touch far too tender for a hired physician, before rising from the armchair.I stepped back two paces, clearing her path.Elora brushed past me without looking up. The sterile stench of antiseptic and compounding chemicals radiating from her lab coat washed over my senses, fighting to drown out the warmth of her body that I had just watched trembling beside the mattress.We slipped through the double doors. The heavy black oak swung shut behind us with a muffled thud, leaving the second-floor corridor draped in quiet gloom, broken only by the low flicker of wall sconces.At the far end of the gallery, two sentries snapped to attention. I raised a
"A fair offer, Mr. Thorne, provided you give me absolute authority with zero interference."I refused to look away from his burning gray eyes. The grip of his fingers on my shoulders remained unyielding, radiating the feverish heat of a predator capable of snapping a weaker soul in half.Kaelen studied me, searching for even a flicker of hesitation across my face."Except Vivienne," I added, my voice clinical and ice-cold. "That woman is not to come within twenty yards of Leon’s sickroom. His food, his water, and his medicine pass exclusively through my hands and Rowan's."The muscle in Kaelen's jaw twitched violently. Slowly, his fingers unclamped from my shoulders."You have whatever you need, Doctor Vance," he rasped, the words dark and laced with lethal promise. "Just remember one thing. If my son stops breathing, you will never see another sunrise."He turned on his heel and strode from the subterranean laboratory without looking back, leaving only a cold hush in the wake of his
"An intriguing accusation, Mr. Thorne, but science doesn't answer to the whispers of a panicked woman."I set my metal pen onto the stainless-steel examination table with a quiet tap. My gaze locked directly with Kaelen’s silver irises, which were burning with a dangerous crimson flare, refusing to drift toward the twin silver blades drawn at the threshold.Vivienne surged forward from behind Kaelen’s shoulder, her face contorting into an elaborate mask of distress. Her manicured hand caught the sleeve of his heavy coat in a desperate, clinging gesture dripping with false innocence."Kaelen, look at those vials yourself," Vivienne pleaded, her voice trembling as if choking back tears. "The servants caught her sneaking into the lower kitchens to steal the scraps from Leon's dinner. She’s an outsider from a neutral city! What if she’s a covert operative hired by our rivals to slaughter Leon in his own bed?"Kaelen didn't spare Vivienne a single glance. His focus remained pinned entirely
"Threats only work on people who fear death, Lady Delacroix."I took a deliberate step back, severing the toxic proximity she had forced between us. My gaze locked straight onto her pupils, refusing to grant her even a sliver of the fear she craved.Vivienne drew herself up slowly. The corner of her scarlet-painted mouth twitched with venom as she pulled her fur stole tighter around her shoulders."We'll see how long that stubborn head stays on your neck in this castle," she whispered, spinning on her heel with a sharp rustle of heavy sapphire silk.Her two guards fell into step behind her, leaving the corridor in dead silence. The rhythmic click of her stilettos faded around the turn of the marble colonnade.I let out the long breath trapped in my chest.Every second wasted trading barbs with that woman was another second stolen from Leon's life. Wasting no more time, I hurried toward the stone spiral staircase at the far end of the west wing, descending into the Thorne Clan's subter
ELORA'S POV "Shut the door, Doctor Vance. Tightly."Kaelen’s deep voice grated from inside the chamber, tight with sudden, mounting tension.I didn't wait for him to say it twice. My hands pulled the heavy black oak doors shut, letting the brass latch snap home with a decisive click.The thick timber swallowed every sound from within, cutting off Kaelen’s gaze just as a dangerous flash of molten gold bled into his eyes.I rested my back against the cold wood for a brief second, my breath coming short and fast behind the surgical mask resting against my chin.That cursed draft had almost ruined everything. My hand flew to the base of my throat, smoothing down the high collar of my black wool coat and buttoning it to the very top.The scent-suppression draught was still doing its job, but that stray gust had stolen a wisp of my true scent before I could react. A pureblood Alpha’s sense of smell was terrifying. Kaelen had definitely caught onto something.I let out a slow, steadying bre







