LOGINLeander POVI approved the retreat proposal at 6:12 a.m. By 6:14, I hated myself a little for how obvious my motivations probably were.“Three days at a luxury mountain resort for executive bonding?” Elias asked dryly, standing in my office doorway. “You truly are a visionary leader.”I ignored him and kept reading the event itinerary on my tablet.The quarterly Voss Corporation retreat happens every year. Nothing about this one was unusual: senior staff, department heads, executive planning sessions, team-building activities, everyone secretly hated and normal.Except for one detail, Accounting had never been included before.This year, suddenly, they were “essential to interdepartmental financial cohesion.” Completely coincidental, of course.Elias walked in with coffee and an expression that said he was deeply disappointed in my life choices.“You maneuvered this,” he said.“I run a company,” I replied calmly. “I manage logistics.”“You rewrote the department participation structur
Leanders POVI knew Elena was outside my office before my assistant spoke. It was like I had a sense. Either way, something inside my chest felt tight and painful when she stepped onto the floor.I had been avoiding this conversation for weeks.The office doors opened quietly.“Elena Voss-Vladmoss is here to see you, sir."I stared at the report without reading a word. Then finally: "Send her in."The assistant hesitated, probably because my voice sounded rough.“ Of Course, sir."The door shut again.I walked toward the window. Rain was over the city, making it look cold and gray. It was Voss weather.My reflection stared back at me. Suit, controlled expression, eyes that looked older than thirty-five. I barely recognized myself.The office door opened softly. Elena came in without hesitation.If she still thought Conrad was innocent, she would have come in furious and defensive. Instead, she moved like a Voss. Calm. Hiding something ugly beneath.I turned slowly.God. She looked ex
Avelin POVLeander was making pancakes in my kitchen.Sweatpants, gray shirt, sleeves pushed up. Baby Shen sat on the counter, stealing chocolate chips with the casual confidence of someone who had never been caught in his life and never planned to be.Three years ago, I thought this man was gone. Now he was in my kitchen, and my son was eating contraband, and somehow that was just Tuesday."You're a criminal." Leander didn't look up from the pan. "I can hear you."Baby Shen said, completely unbothered, "I'm checking the quality.""Eleven chips.""That's right."Leander made a sound, not a polite laugh, a real one, and my chest pulled tight because I still knew the difference. I'd spent three years trying to forget the difference.Baby Shen swung his legs against the cabinet. Then, with great seriousness: "I forgot something."Leander looked genuinely alarmed. "That sounds dangerous.""It's a plan.""Last time you had a plan, Renlo had marker all over his face.""He looked beautiful."
Avelin POVWhen Leander told me the gallery opening was "work-related," I almost laughed. Not because I believed him. Because he sounded so serious while lying. I mean, come on, he sounded like he was talking about something important.“It’s a networking event," he said calmly, adjusting his black shirt cuffs. "Several investors will be there."I looked around the penthouse kitchen. I was standing there. He was talking like everything was normal.“You hate networking events," I said.“I tolerate them," he replied.“You left one last month because someone offered you sparkling water with cucumber," I reminded him.“It tasted aggressive," he said. I laughed. Leander’s mouth twitched, his expression softening.Everything between us felt weird lately. The mate bond had grown stronger since his memories returned. Some days I could feel it, warm and alive beneath my skin.Leander was getting worse, more protective, more possessive. After yesterday’s boardroom incident, half the company look
Leander POVThe boardroom smelled like expensive coffee, polished wood, and tension.Rain hammered softly against the glass walls surrounding the top-floor conference room, turning the city outside gray and distant. Twelve executives sat around the massive table reviewing quarterly projections while screens flashed graphs and market reports across the walls.Normally, this kind of meeting bored me.Today, I was already in a dangerous mood before it even started.Because Avelin skipped breakfast.It was ridiculous, and I knew it was ridiculous. My instincts had become harder to control around him. Every little thing affected me: the scent of his stress, the exhaustion beneath his smile, the way he rubbed his wrist when he was overwhelmed.This morning, he smiled softly and told me he was late for work before rushing out with coffee instead of food.Now my Alpha instincts were restless and irritated without reason.Or maybe there was a reason. Maybe my body simply hated seeing my mate e
Richard Voss POVI used to believe paper was harmless.Contracts. Reports. Financial statements. Legal documents. Ink on pages, nothing more.But the journal sitting in front of me felt heavier than every contract I had ever signed in my entire life, and my hands would not stop shaking.Outside my office window, the city glittered beneath the night sky. Voss Tower stood tall and untouchable, the way it always had. The empire I built still looked perfect from the outside.Inside this room, however, everything was falling apart — because I finally knew the truth.I stared at the worn leather notebook resting on my desk. Avelin had not meant for me to read it; I knew that much immediately. The corners were soft from being handled too often, and some pages were wrinkled as though tears had fallen onto them more than once.Leander's name was written carefully inside the cover.Not Leander Voss.Shen.My chest tightened.I opened the first page again, even though I had already read it twice
Aveliin POVMorning should have felt lighter after the storm, but it didn’t. The sky had cleared, yet the air still carried the weight of what had just passed. Dampness clung to everything: the porch, the railings, the stones in the yard, residual evidence of the rain that refused to leave. Inside
Shen POVThe silence stretched between us, warm and fragile beneath the stars.“You’re very certain about things for someone who knows almost nothing about me.”A faint smile touched his lips. “I told you…I know the things that matter.”We sat there on the steps, the cold creeping in slowly as neit
Avelin POV That night, I don’t sleep. Not really. I stay close to him, one arm around his body, my hand resting over his chest, feeling his heartbeat, too fast, even in sleep. Even when he’s still. It’s as if his body senses something his mind has not yet caught up to. He begins muttering, initia
Avelin POVI found him on the floor at three in the morning. Not collapsed, not injured, just sitting with his back pressed against the wall beneath the window. His knees were drawn to his chest, and his forehead rested against them. I could see the tremors shaking through his body from the doorway







