The city did not sleep that night. From the boardroom, Zaria could see the skyline smeared in silver, skyscrapers piercing the dark like spears driven into a battlefield. Below, headlights moved in endless currents, humanity rushing blind through the veins of the metropolis, unaware that gods and monsters sat above them making decisions that could break the world. Lucien had dismissed the board with a single look. The vampires slithered out, smirking with secrets they thought only they carried. The witches floated after them, their silks whispering spells. Even the humans had left silent, their fear sharper than their greed. But the CFO remained. Lucien had not dismissed him. Not yet. The silence that followed was heavier than any argument. Zaria stood near the window, her heart still pounding in her ears. The pulse she had heard skipping, faltering, betraying him—it hadn’t left her. It was carved into her bones now. And the moment Lucien’s amber eyes had met hers, she knew he h
The boardroom at Wolfe Tower wasn’t simply a room; it was a kingdom carved into marble, glass, and steel.Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the night sky, a dark velvet backdrop against which the city glittered like a bed of fallen stars. The table was a monolith of obsidian, polished so smooth it reflected the faces gathered around it—a strange gallery of power. Some were human, their tailored suits whispering of old money and influence. Others were not. Vampire financiers with eyes like garnet wine, witches draped in silk threaded with sigils, and wolves from allied packs, their raw dominance barely veiled beneath Armani jackets.And at the head of it all sat Lucien Wolfe.He looked as though he owned the night. Midnight suit, tie knotted to perfection, amber eyes smoldering beneath lashes heavy enough to cut. A bandage hid the worst of the wound at his temple, but power radiated from him regardless—controlled, contained, and dangerous.Zaria sat at his right hand, where the whole wor
The smoke of battle still clung to Wolfe Tower. Though the alarms had fallen silent, their ghostly echoes lingered in the walls, vibrating through the glass, the marble, the very steel skeleton of the skyscraper. The city below still pulsed with fear—wolves prowling streets, humans whispering about the blackout of lights that had rolled across districts, witches sending their wards flaring into the night sky. But up here, in the Tower’s courtyard high above the glittering skyline, silence reigned. Zaria stood alone by the fountain, its water cascading in silver ribbons under the moonlight. The courtyard had been designed for serenity—a place of polished stone walkways, clipped hedges, sculptures of wolves poised in eternal vigilance. Tonight, though, the calm felt like a deception, the kind of hush before a storm that made the hairs on her arms rise. She leaned on the marble edge of the fountain, hands trembling faintly. Lucien’s words from the battle still burned into her, a bran
The night split open. Shadows fell like a tide against Wolfe Tower, spilling across the polished marble floors, drowning chandeliers in trembling light. The blood alarm howled, not just a sound but a vibration in bone and blood, each pulse warning of the predator who had finally stepped into their territory. Kael.His presence rolled over the city like a stormfront, oppressive and suffocating. Wolves across the district felt it, ears flattening, hackles rising, throats tightening around instinctive growls. Allies faltered. Enemies sharpened their knives. Inside Wolfe Tower, every soul knew one truth—tonight would test them to their breaking point. Lucien stood at the head of the marble war room, his tailored suit shredded at the seams where his wolf strained beneath. Amber fire raged in his eyes, dominance burning so fiercely it warped the air around him. He was no longer the cold billionaire with diamond cufflinks and precise control; he was raw power, blood-soaked devotion, fury
The aftermath of chaos left Wolfe Tower humming with tension. Outside, the city murmured beneath the rising moon, but inside, the pulse of the pack was steady, anxious, and electric.Zaria sat alone on the edge of the balcony, silver eyes reflecting the fractured city lights, hands trembling slightly from adrenaline and the lingering echo of Caelus’s surging power. Silas had taken a patrol to check the perimeter; Rowan and Mara were tucked into the armory, reviewing weapons and strategizing contingencies; Nadia Clarke hovered at the threshold, sensing every tremor in the city, every ripple of shadow that might signal Kael’s next strike.Lucien appeared quietly behind her, boots soundless against the marble, amber eyes shadowed with the weight of command and the unspoken burden of his devotion.“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” he said, voice low, almost a growl, though not in anger. There was concern threading the edges, raw and possessive.“I’m fine,” Zaria whispered, turning slight
The heart of Wolfe Tower throbbed with tension, the kind that made marble floors feel like thin ice ready to crack beneath every step. Wolves paced the halls, claws clicking against the polished stone; the air buzzed with restrained energy, half anticipation and half fear. Even Silas, usually the calmest in the face of chaos, ran his hands through his hair, muttering under his breath about the increasing audacity of Kael’s strikes.Rowan leaned against the edge of the training hall balcony, arms crossed, his gaze darting toward Zaria, who sat stiffly in council chambers, silver eyes faintly glowing as she struggled to keep Caelus contained. Mara and Nadia Clarke flanked the council table, alert but visibly tense. Mara whispered to Nadia, “If she goes full wolf in here, I’m claiming the chandelier as my weapon of choice.”Nadia smirked faintly. “I’ll take the balcony. Less mess.”Zaria could feel the surge inside her, the pulse of Caelus demanding release as if it sensed every misstep,