Unfortunately, I can't update daily as I'm studying and prepping for exams, but the updates will be steady and will be daily by next month. Thanks so much for reading!
# ELLIEThey let him go. They fucking let him go.Silas dragged me out of the club, his large fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist as he pulled me through the string of gyrating, sweaty bodies. I could hear his heavy breathing through the bass that pounded across the club's floors.I could feel the anger in his grip, the heat that radiated off him was one that kept me still and quiet, following him without question.He shoved me into a car, one I hadn't been in before. It was a bright red sports car that looked like it cost millions of dollars.He came into the back seat with me and before I could figure out what was going on, Noir came in through the other side and Lorenzo in the front seat. The car's engine roared to life like a beast, racing through the streets like it was its only purpose and all that remained was that sound.There was a silence so heavy it almost suffocated me with the tension that stemmed from it.None of the men were saying anything and Silas, well.He'd let
ELLIE He kept staring, making it obvious that I was the one he had his eyes set on. I guess word hadn't spread as the men wanted it to. Everyone else looked at me like I was off limits, a blade with barbs on the handle. All but him. He suddenly began walking towards me, eyes trained on my figure as he approached. I sucked in a deep breath, suddenly nervous under his unfamiliar gaze. I couldn't tell what the man was thinking; I didn't understand why he was coming over. I didn't have much time to think before he reached the counter and signaled the bartender to his side as he took the stool right next to me. He was tall, almost as tall as Noir, with a lean figure that seemed both athletic and relaxed. His expression gave nothing away, and his eyes remained on me. I noted the golden Rolex on his wrist as he called the bartender over. She looked at him with a rather confused but polite gaze. He was unfamiliar to her as well. Who was he? "Whiskey for me and another round of what she'
ELLIE"Sit," Lorenzo said, making me pull my gaze from Silas and focus on him, gesturing toward the booth with his glass. The word rolled off his tongue like silk, but underneath it was steel. It wasn't really a request—it was a command dressed up in politeness, the kind that made my spine stiffen even as my legs moved to obey.I hesitated for a heartbeat, my eyes darting between the three men I knew and the three strangers whose gazes felt like oil slicking over my skin. Everything about this felt wrong, like walking into a trap disguised as an invitation.Noir's grip on my hand tightened, his fingers warm and steady against mine. He guided me toward the booth, and I found myself sliding into the space between him and Lorenzo. The leather was buttery soft against my bare thighs, expensive enough that it probably cost more than my rent back home. But I couldn't relax, not with six pairs of eyes tracking my every movement like predators watching prey.I was the only woman seated among
ELLIEHis familiar voice was like an unwavering shade in the winds, the first and only thing that kept me sober and grounded since I stepped foot into the club. I knew I should've but I didn't pull away from his touch, not when the warmth from his hard chest seeped in through his clothes on my bare back like lava escaping its years of entrapment in a volcano. I didn't know what it was about him, how me managed to leave me both relaxed and tensed up in his presence. I've witnessed him kill someone, twice. Yet. I turned around slowly, to meet his gaze, his mismatched eyes held mine as his lips curled up slightly. He was dressed in dark washed jeans and what seemed to be a band T-shirt that had a red skull with a long nail running through it, and then on top of it was a leather jacket that caught every glimmering light. Smooth and probably expensive as hell. He looked like a biker, and held a dangerous attractiveness that somehow called yet deterred me. "Noir," I breathed, crani
ELLIEI've never been a club person. Why? The second my father sent me to live with my mother, she began advertising me to her drug vendors, pushers, traffickers, telling them I would be a long-term investment or telling people that I would only take a short time to be ready. I was taken everywhere those people lingered—bars, brothels, and mostly clubs.She didn't really intend to sell me to those people. She just made me do so many disturbing things for money, money she still spent on drugs and alcohol. Money Elijah's father sometimes beat her for.The second I realized I could choose to no longer be in that life, I took the fastest way out, reinvented myself, and never looked back. Until today.After showing me the rest of the mansion and every ridiculously expensive corner of the men's home, Fiore gets a call from someone, saying words I can't make out before letting me know in a rather enthusiastic manner that I'll have to go to the Northern Sin myself.I don't argue, despite the
LORENZO I should have shut this down from the beginning. From that first night when Noir brought her into our home, holding her unconscious body in his arms. His fucking arms! The same man who can never stand being touched by a woman. I've lost count of how many women I've had to settle after they lost their fingers. Noir hates women due to his past, detests their touch, and I respect that. Until Ellie. She comes in and changes everything. I fear for her, somewhat. I know my warnings won't keep Noir away if he really wants to hurt her. But I wish he won't. She's under my protection... she is... mine. Somewhat. She belongs to the Black Rose now. I know Elijah would've never supported such a decision, but it's for the best. This way, I can protect her for as long as I'm in power, and she won't be living with some sort of hope that she'll ever leave. Now that her name's attached to ours, people will go to great lengths to get to her. This is for the best. At least that's what I keep