登入Melina's POV - 10 AM - Two Hours Before MeetingShe waited until Alaric left for his morning meeting.He'd kissed her goodbye. Told her to rest. Told her he'd be back in an hour to check on her.One hour. That's all the head start she'd have.She got dressed quickly. Jeans. Dark shirt. Jacket. Nothing that stood out. Nothing memorable.Her phone was in her pocket. The only thing she was allowed to bring according to the Vigil's instructions.No weapons. No tracking devices. No communication devices.Which meant she needed to disable the tracker.She knew the brothers had tracking on her phone. Had known since the beginning. They monitored her location. Her calls. Her messages.She needed to break that connection without them noticing immediately.She opened her phone settings. Found the location services. Turned them off.Immediately turned them back on.Then she did something she'd learned from a YouTube video weeks ago, back when she'd been planning the greenhouse theft.She created
And if she told him what the Vigil had said...that they'd poisoned Clara deliberately...he'd be furious. Would want to retaliate. Would do something that made the situation worse."I'm just tired," she said. "And scared. And feeling helpless. That's all.""You're not helpless. We're going to fix this. The Lunasol should arrive by tonight. We'll treat her. Stabilize her. And then we'll figure out how to prevent this from happening again.""How? If the Vigil keeps poisoning her....if they keep finding ways to hurt her...""Then we stop them." Archer's voice was hard. "Permanently.""You can't just....you can't kill them all....""We can if they keep threatening what's ours." His grip on her hand tightened. "Your mother is family now. Which means she's under our protection. Which means anyone who hurts her is declaring war on us.""Archer....""I mean it, Melina. We don't take threats lightly. And the Vigil has made themselves a threat." His black eyes held hers. "Let us handle this. Let
She was lying to them. Actively lying. Hiding the Vigil's message. Considering their offer.This was how it had started last time. Lying. Hiding. Planning something desperate.And look where that had gotten her. Trapped in a contract. Bound to three men. Her freedom gone.But her mother was alive.That's what mattered. That's what had always mattered.She'd made the choice once. To trade her freedom for her mother's life.Could she make it again?***The hospital had given her a room. Small. Sparse. A bed and a chair. Close to the ICU so she could be near her mother.She couldn't sleep.Lay staring at the ceiling. The message playing on repeat in her head.Your mother doesn't have to die. We can help her. Permanently.Permanently.That was the key word. Not temporarily. Not for a few weeks until the contamination returned. Permanently.How could they offer that? What did they know that the Howlingtons didn't?Unless....Unless they were the ones causing the contamination to return. Wh
Melina's POVThe phone felt like it was burning a hole in her pocket.48 hours to decide.Melina sat beside her mother's bed. her was sleeping now....sedated, the doctors said. To help her body rest. To slow the contamination's spread until the Lunasol arrived.If it arrived.If it worked.If this wasn't all a carefully orchestrated trap.The brothers had left twenty minutes ago. Some emergency with the estate. Security concerns. They'd tried to leave one of them behind, tried to make sure she wasn't alone....but she'd insisted."I need time with my mother. Just us. Please."Alaric had looked at her for a long moment. Like he knew she was hiding something. But he'd nodded. Left. Told her to call if anything changed.Now she was alone.She pulled out her phone. Read the message again.Unknown: Your mother doesn't have to die. We can help her. Permanently. No more Lunasol. No more contamination. A real cure. All you have to do is meet with us. Alone. We'll send you a location. Come alon
"The pattern is unusual. Contamination that returns this aggressively after successful treatment....it's not impossible, but it's rare. Very rare. And the timing...." He paused. "She was discharged from the hospital exactly forty-eight hours ago. Within twenty-four hours of being home, she collapsed. That suggests exposure happened almost immediately after discharge.""In her home," Aiden said."Most likely. We're testing everything...water, food, air quality. Looking for contamination vectors.""You won't find anything," Archer said quietly. "Because whoever did this was careful. Professional. They knew exactly how to deliver a dose that would activate slowly. That would look natural.""You think someone poisoned her?" Dr. Chen looked shocked."We think someone weaponized fey contamination against a vulnerable woman to force her daughter's hand," Alaric said coldly. "And we think they knew exactly what they were doing.""Who would...." Dr. Chen stopped. Understanding dawned. "The Vig
"But the Lunasol....""Should have prevented that. Should have eliminated the contamination completely." Archer's voice was tight. "This doesn't make sense.""Unless the Lunasol was compromised," Alaric said from the front seat. "Or the contamination source is ongoing. Or...."He stopped. Looked at Marcus.Some unspoken communication passed between them."What?" Melina asked. "What aren't you saying?""Nothing. Just thinking through possibilities." But Alaric's jaw was tight. His hands were clenched.He was lying. All of them were. She could feel it."Tell me," she demanded. "If you know something...if there's something I should know....""We don't know anything yet," Aiden said firmly. "We're just being cautious. Making sure we understand what we're dealing with before we make assumptions.""Assumptions about what?""About whether this is natural or...." Archer stopped. Looked at Alaric."Or what?" Melina's voice was rising again. "Or what, Archer?""Or deliberate," Alaric said quiet
Melina's POVThe kitchen was warm when she arrived at six AM.Aiden was already there. Shirtless as always. Two mugs of coffee on the counter. Eggs in the pan.He looked up when she came in. His dark eyes tracked over her face. Lingered."You're leaving today," he said. Not a question.She stopped
"About what.""About the fact that you're running yourself into exhaustion and it needs to stop."She stiffened. "I'm fine.""You're not." His voice was gentle but firm. "You barely sleep. You barely eat. You work twelve hour days and then go back to your room and do... whatever it is you do in ther
Melina's POVShe woke up at five thirty feeling him everywhere.Not Archer this time. Alaric. His mouth. His hands. The specific ache between her legs that came from being held open on a desk and taken apart methodically until she couldn't remember how to think straight.She lay there in the dark s
Then he went to work.Methodical. Precise. His tongue moving in patterns that made her unable to form coherent thoughts. He wasn't rushed. Wasn't frantic. He was solving her like she was a problem that required his complete attention.And he was very good at solving problems.Her hands gripped the







