LOGINThe night passed. Then came the early morning. Then the dawn.And Alexei remained exactly where he was. Sitting beside the bed, one hand gently holding Carla’s, the other resting on the mattress. The monitors now emitted a steady rhythm, her heart beating in a healthy cadence, her breathing returning to normal, a rosy tone slowly beginning to return to her skin. But she was still sleeping.And he hadn’t closed his eyes for even a minute.From time to time, he would simply lean over to brush a strand of hair from her face. Other times, he just watched her chest rise and fall. Breathing. That was all he needed. Breathing.The door opened discreetly, and Alexei didn’t even turn his head. He knew those footsteps.“I brought coffee. And real food.”Sasha entered balancing a tray: black coffee, sandwiches, fruit, a bottle of water, and a huge slice of apple pie. Because he knew Alexei, and he knew he wouldn’t eat unless practically forced.“I’m not hungry.”“I knew you’d say that.” Sasha pl
The car didn’t even turn off. The moment it crossed the gates of the Rurik mansion, Alexei pulled the handbrake hard, and the vehicle stopped diagonally in front of the main entrance. The door was opened before the engine had even stopped completely, and he jumped out running, completely forgetting Sasha and Lyra in the back seat.The employees barely had time to get out of the way. Alexei crossed the hall practically sprinting. Pavel’s laboratory was in the basement, and every second felt like an eternity.When the automatic door opened, Pavel was already waiting for him, his eyes anxious behind the safety goggles.“Did you get it?”Alexei simply extended the box, his breathing still ragged.“Lyra had it.”Pavel opened the package with almost reverent care, his fingers hovering over the leaves without touching them directly. His eyes widened immediately.“My God… they’re alive. Perfectly preserved.” He looked at Alexei, his voice heavy with disbelief. “It’s not possible to grow this
Inside the vehicle, no one said much. Alexei drove with both hands firmly on the wheel, his gaze fixed on the road, his jaw clenched so tightly that his teeth ached. Every few minutes, he brought a fist to his lips and coughed discreetly — blood, not much, but blood. He wiped it with the back of his hand and kept driving, as if nothing had happened.Lyra noticed. She didn’t say anything, but she observed every movement, every muffled coughing fit. She knew exactly why. The bond. Carla was still fighting for her life on that stretcher, and Alexei was being dragged along with her, his body reacting to his mate’s pain as if it were his own.Beside her, Sasha remained silent. One hand rested on Lyra’s thigh, his fingers absently caressing her knee in a gesture that was both possessive and comforting. It was his way of asking if she was okay without using words. She intertwined her fingers with his, and the silent answer was enough: “I’m fine, I’m here, we’ll make it.”When the car finally
The corridor of the medical wing seemed far too long. Each step echoed in the heavy silence of the mansion, and Alexei could still taste the metallic flavor of blood in his mouth. He ignored it.Before reaching the room where Carla was, he spotted two men sitting outside. Feliks remained with his arms crossed, his red eyes fixed on a distant point. Andrey stared at the floor, elbows resting on his knees. Both looked up when Alexei appeared, and the silence lasted a few seconds.It was Alexei who broke it, crossing his arms."So... you guys usually show up at my house uninvited, or was this a special occasion?"Feliks let out a sigh through his nose. Even in that chaos, Alexei’s humor was still there, but they knew why. It was the only way he had of not completely falling apart."We’d have preferred it to be another occasion. A dinner, maybe. Something with food."Alexei leaned his shoulder against the wall, his eyes moving from one to the other."Start explaining. Quickly."Andrey wen
Pavel’s laboratory had never seemed so small.Alexei paced from one side to the other, unable to stay still for more than a few seconds. His hands were still stained with blood—his and Carla’s—mixed in a combination that made him want to punch the nearest wall.But his attention was entirely focused on the scientist, who worked without lifting his eyes from the equipment. His agile fingers adjusted microscopes, centrifuged samples, and noted results. Everything running at once in a low hum.The brigadeiro remained isolated in a glass chamber, Carla’s bite still perfectly visible on the once-innocent sweet.Alexei took a deep breath, and the breath scraped his chest like sandpaper. Soon after, the cough came—violent, uncontrollable. He braced one hand on the counter and the other over his mouth, his body bending forward.“She’s still suffering,” the Lycan spoke softly, his mental voice tense. “The bond is pulling her pain toward us.”Alexei closed his eyes. Another crisis, his entire b
The forest remained silent. Too silent—a silence that didn’t mean peace, but the certainty that something was very wrong.Sasha kept his amber eyes fixed on the two motionless hybrids in front of him, every muscle in his body ready to attack. The shadow at his feet remained alive, slithering through the snow like an impatient animal, stretching and contracting as if breathing.It would take only one thought—just one—and it would pierce through both their chests before either could blink.Feliks was the first to speak, his voice steady despite the crushing pressure that still held him paralyzed.“If it were us… we wouldn’t be standing next to the body. We’d be running. Or dead. Or both.”Sasha didn’t answer. He simply waited.Andrey breathed with difficulty, each word an effort against the Volkov’s authority.“Boris sent us to protect Alexei. Without interfering, without being seen. Direct order from him.”That made Sasha narrow his eyes.“Protect… while hidden?”“It was the order we r
Dmitry’s breathing was still ragged.Susan’s touch on his skin seemed to strip away the densest layers of fear, control, and self-punishment he had worn for years. He was still holding her waist, her body pressed against his, as if only that way could he continue breathing.She lifted her face, her
A week had dragged by since Dmitry had brought Susan to the Rurik mansion.Seven days of silent hell, where time stretched like molten steel and every beat of his heart was torture.His exhausting routine kept him away from her, and like a condemned man trying not to break his own chains, he avoide
Alexei’s private room was a sharp contrast to the rest of the Rurik mansion. Modern, with sober lines, black leather sofas, an entire wall of smoked glass, and a bioethanol fireplace lit more for aesthetics than necessity.The room smelled of polished wood, soft smoke, and aged vodka. A silent refu
Dmitry was still watching Susan, his body relaxed in the armchair, but his mind alert. Her presence calmed the beast inside him… And, at the same time, provoked it. A paradox he still didn’t know how to manage.She broke the silence, her voice calm but with a discreet firmness.“Dmitry… Are you goi







