LOGINCaspian The office felt too quiet.I stood motionless beside my desk, my phone pressed tightly against my ear while the investigator's words echoed inside my skull.It's connected to your father.The sentence shouldn't have affected me as much as it did.My father had been connected to countless things over the years. Businesses, alliances, decisions and even enemies.That wasn't unusual. What was unusual was the hesitation in the investigator's voice.The caution, the discomfort like he was scared of stepping on any toes or starting a bloody fire. Men didn't sound like that unless they were afraid of what they were about to say."What exactly does that mean?" My grip tightened around the phone as I asked coldly.“Look.” he started , but trailed off and believe me when I said I hated the silence crackling through the line."Caspian...""No." My voice hardened instantly. "Don't start dancing around it now. You called me."Another pause, then a slow exhale followed. "I can't explai
Caspian Three days..Three fucking days. That was how long it had been since Daisy had spoken to me. She hadn't argued with me, she hadn't snapped and she hadn't rolled her eyes at me either. Nothing, just three days of pure silence. At first, I thought she simply needed space. After everything that had happened, after the council, after the argument, after the questions about her parents, I figured she would cool off eventually.She hadn't and every attempt I'd made had been ignored.Notes, messages, meals sent to her room and even excuses to cross paths with her.Nothing worked.Either she wasn't there when I looked, or she somehow managed to disappear seconds before I arrived. The more it happened, the more convinced I became that it wasn't accidental.She was avoiding me, deliberately and the realization sat like a stone in my chest. My wolf hated it and restless wasn't even the right word anymore.He paced constantly beneath my skin. He was agitated, irritable and fucking poss
Daisy "What kind of favor?" The question left my mouth before I could stop it.Across from me, Elias simply looked at me. He was calm, unbothered and definitely infuriating, then he smiled slightly."Not yet.""What?" I blinked."I said not yet."“What do you mean, not yet?” I stared at him, because surely that wasn't his answer. It couldn't be. "You literally just brought it up.""I know.""You can't be serious." My eye twitched, I was almost certain it twitched."I am.""Elias.""Daisy."The urge to commit violence grew stronger by the second and for several long moments, neither of us spoke. Then I folded my arms tighter."You want something.""Correct.""You want me to agree to it.""Also correct.""And you're refusing to tell me what it is.""Very good."I hated him, I genuinely, sincerely hated him. The worst part? He was over the moon about it. "What kind of ridiculous logic is that?""What can I say?” His shoulders lifted slightly. “I'm still deciding.""What?" The irrit
Daisy The realization sat heavily in my stomach.Elias wasn't refusing to answer, he was negotiating, which somehow felt infinitely worse.For several seconds, neither of us spoke.He stood near the doorway, calm as ever, while I stared at him trying to decide whether I wanted to scream, leave, or throw something.Possibly all three.Finally, I folded my arms. "What do you want?"“Oh.” His eyebrow lifted. "Straight to business.""I don't have the patience for games." I huffed. "That's unfortunate." "It wasn't a compliment."The corner of his mouth twitched and I guess this was the best time to say that I hated when he looked amused, especially when I was suffering."What?" I snapped."Nothing.""Liar.""Frequently."I narrowed my eyes, because the man was impossible and it was starting to get on my nerves. "Do you want money?" I asked.For the first time, Elias actually laughed, not loudly or warmly, but just enough to make me instantly regret opening my mouth."Oh, Daisy." The
Daisy By evening, the embarrassment had finally dulled. Not disappeared and not forgiven either, just dulled enough that I could think without wanting to crawl under the nearest piece of furniture and stay there forever.Unfortunately, thinking turned out to be its own special form of torture.I paced my room again, because apparently pacing had become my entire personality lately.The soft carpet muffled my footsteps as I crossed from one side of the room to the other, arms folded tightly across my chest.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Octavian.His office, his expression, the way he had looked at me, the way he had stepped back, the way he had refused me and a groan escaped my lips."Nope." I pointed at absolutely nothing. "We are not thinking about that."The room ignored me, my brain ignored me and the memory returned anyway, because if I was being honest with myself, there was one part I couldn't stop replaying.What if Caspian had arrived earlier?My stomach twisted.What
Caspian I should have known it would be pointless and the fact that I didn't figure that out until now, only made me all the more mad. The realization sat heavily in my chest as I drove back toward the estate, one hand gripping the steering wheel hard enough to make my knuckles ache.Hours, I had wasted hours of my day when I could have been doing something worthwhile. A closed-door meeting, that was what they had called it.A discussion, a consultation and a chance to review the council's position. What a load of nonsense.The moment I stepped into that room, I had known exactly how it would end. The council sat on one side, the higher authorities sat on the other, and every single one of them had already made up their minds.I had argued anyway, for Daisy, for her right to decide what happened to her own body, for the simple fact that she was a person, not a breeding program wrapped in a pretty dress, but none of it mattered.They spoke about ancient laws, traditions, successio
Daisy The doors opened slowly, and the sound alone was enough to make my stomach twist. Heavy wood dragged against polished floors, the echo stretching far too long, far too loud, like it was announcing something final.Like it was announcing me.Two guards stepped forward, one on each side, the
Daisy For a moment, all I could hear was my own breathing. It was sharp, uneven and too loud in the silence that followed the violence.Nathan’s groans faded into the background, the metallic scent of blood thick in the air, but none of it mattered, because Caspian turned to me.His attention lo
Daisy For the next couple of seconds, I couldn't move. Hell, I wasn't sure I would even be able to if I tried. My lungs locked as the knife pressed harder into my side, just enough to remind me it wasn’t a threat, it was a promise.“Good girl,” the voice murmured against my ear when I went stil
Seven Daisy By the time they came for me, I had already stopped trying to understand what my life had turned into. Hands touched me before words did.“Stand,” one of the maids said gently, though her grip on my arm was firm enough that refusal wasn’t really an option.I let them lead me through







