Chapter four: Claimed

Lexi’s Pov :

The weight of my decision crushed my chest as I stood outside the house that had once felt like home. It was now a monument to the disaster my family had become, my father’s mistakes, my sister’s safety hanging by a thread. I couldn’t breathe, but I had to hold it together. I had to.

A black SUV rolled up to the curb, its tinted windows swallowing my reflection as the door opened. No turning back. My stomach twisted in knots as I slid inside, the smell of rich leather overwhelming my senses. The man behind the wheel didn’t say a word, didn’t need to, this was Julian’s world now, and I was about to be consumed by it.

The silence in the car was suffocating. My mind replayed last night, Julian’s touch, the way his lips had brushed my skin, the fleeting gentleness that had surprised me. But the man who had been soft in the dark had vanished by the time I stepped into his office.

Julian was already there, seated behind his polished, black desk, his eyes colder than ice when they landed on me.

“Lexi,” he said, his voice devoid of warmth.

“Julian,” I whispered, my mouth dry. The way he looked at me now, with that razor-sharp intensity, made me feel like I was walking into a trap.

He didn’t waste time. He gestured to the thick contract laid out between us. “It’s all here. Every detail. You know what’s at stake.”

I stared at the paper, but my thoughts were a blur. All I could think about was my sister’s face, terrified, the threat hanging over her life. The clock was ticking. Julian’s power wasn’t just dangerous, it was the only thing that could save us.

“You’re hesitating,” Julian’s voice sliced through my thoughts, and I looked up to find him watching me with something dark, almost predatory in his eyes. He leaned forward slightly, “Do you need me to remind you what happens if you don’t sign?”

The threat was clear, but there was something else in his tone, something that sent a shiver down my spine.

My hand trembled as I picked up the pen. This was my only way out, my only way to keep my family safe. But as the ink bled across the paper, I felt like I was signing away more than just a year of my life. I was handing myself over to him, body and soul.

Julian’s gaze darkened as I set the pen down. “Good girl,” he murmured, his voice sending an involuntary heat through me.

I hated how my body reacted to him, the magnetic pull that made it hard to breathe. But before I could respond…

“Let’s get out of here,” he said smoothly, as if I hadn’t just signed away my freedom. “We’ll go somewhere quiet. You look like you need a break.”

He didn’t wait for my response, guiding me with a hand on the small of my back. His touch was possessive, sending sparks of heat through me.

The restaurant Julian brought me to was dripping with luxury, glimmering chandeliers, hushed voices, waiters who moved like ghosts. Every time Julian’s eyes met mine from across the table, I felt that pull, like he was drawing me into a world I had no escape from.

But then, my blood froze. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him, Victor Hale.

I’d barely had time to process it before Victor stormed over, his eyes wild with fury. He didn’t know who Julian was, but that didn’t matter. His gaze was locked on me, and I knew that look too well.

“Lexi,” Victor hissed, his voice low and threatening. “Who the hell is this?”

I tried to stand, to distance myself from him, but Victor grabbed my arm with a grip like iron, yanking me to my feet. Panic shot through me. “Victor, don’t,”

But he wasn’t listening. His anger had already boiled over…I gasped, clawing at his wrist as he pressed me against the wall, my vision swimming. just as I felt myself slipping, a flash of movement tore Victor away from me.

I barely saw how fast it happened, but suddenly Victor was on the floor, and Julian was standing over him, his calm mask finally broken. His eyes blazed with a fury so intense it made the air crackle around him.

“You touch her again,” Julian’s voice was like ice, so cold it sent a chill down my spine, “and I will make sure you disappear. Forever.”

Victor scrambled to his feet, his face contorted with rage, but he didn’t make a move. He could feel the danger radiating off Julian, the raw power that came with a man who had the means to destroy anyone. Victor shot me a murderous look before he bolted from the restaurant, but I knew this wasn’t the end.

As my pulse slowly returned to normal, Julian turned to me, his hand brushing my cheek in a gesture that should have been comforting.

“You’re mine now, Lexi,” he said softly, but there was no mistaking the steel in his voice. “No one touches what’s mine.”

The words echoed in my mind as I stared up at him, my breath still shaky. I wasn’t sure which was more terrifying, Victor’s rage or the possessive, dangerous man standing before me.

In that moment, I realized how tightly the strings of my fate were tied to his, and it terrified me. I was entangled in a game that went far beyond what I had signed up for, and I was already losing.

As Julian leaned closer, his breath warm against my skin, I felt a dizzying mix of fear and something else, something that sent a thrill through me. I had stepped into a world filled with darkness and danger, but part of me was drawn to it, to him.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He paused, his gaze piercing mine. “Everything,” he replied simply, his voice low and filled with promise. “And you’ll learn to crave it.”