登入Lyra's POVMy hands were still trembling as I slammed my bedroom door shut. I was so incredibly angry that I could feel the heat radiating off my skin. I hated the way they looked at me, like I was a piece of furniture they owned rather than a person with a life of my own. They had absolutely no right to monitor who I talked to or who I went to coffee with."They don't even give me a chance to do anything," I whispered to the empty room, my voice shaking with frustration.They kept trying to explain how Joshua wasn't supposed to be around me, acting like his friendship was some kind of betrayal. They treated me like a nightstand, something to be dusted and placed wherever they wanted. They only came to me when they needed my body or when they needed to satisfy their own possessive urges, yet they had the audacity to talk about how I needed to be with no one but them? It was hypocritical and disgusting.I paced back and forth, the anger fueling my every move. I decided right then that
Lyra's POVThe ride back to the estate felt like a dream. Joshua drove his car with such smooth confidence, his hands relaxed on the steering wheel, and I found myself just staring at him in total awe. He had opened the car door for me earlier, treated me like a princess, and paid for my coffee without a second thought. These were the normal things I would see in movies or read about in stories, things that I always thought were reserved for girls who had perfect, quiet lives.I couldn't believe a guy like him actually existed. None of the brothers had ever done simple things like that for me. They were all so rough, so intense, and so focused on their own agendas that they never stopped to just be kind. They treated every interaction like a battle or a negotiation. Being around Joshua was like stepping into a different world where I was allowed to be soft. It made me feel genuinely happy, and for the first time in forever, I let myself believe that someone was actually interested in
Lyra's POVThe entire day felt like I was walking through a thick, gray fog. I couldn't stop thinking about Rowan. His face, the way he looked at me in the supply room, and the hurt in his eyes kept replaying in my mind over and over. I was torn between feeling bad for him and feeling furious that the brothers thought they had the right to monitor my every move.When I finally finished my shift at the company, I went straight home, desperate for some peace. As soon as I walked through the front door, the sound of voices drifting from the study stopped me in my tracks. I didn't need to peek inside to know who it was. They were all there, debating the details of Raphael's upcoming marriage to Victoria like it was just another business merger.The anger bubbled up inside me again, hot and sharp. I didn't want to hear another word about that woman or their political games. I walked past the study without saying a word, refusing to talk to any of the brothers. I just wanted to disappear in
Lyra's POVThe silence from him was deafening. By the time the final bell rang, the hope I’d been nursing all day had withered away. I walked all the way home by myself, the cold air biting at my skin. It became painfully clear to me that I was a fool for expecting a change. Truly, they only cared about me being the White Wolf and nothing else. My existence was just a strategic asset to them. No one contacted me except to track my location, as if I were a stray pet they were constantly trying to surveil.I reached my room, threw my bag onto the floor, and made a decision. I was done. I was going to move out, no matter what it took. I didn't need their mansion, their security, or their suffocating oversight. I was tired of being watched, tired of being humiliated by their political games, and tired of waiting for a man who couldn't even commit to me in the light of day. Maybe if I stayed away, if I disappeared into the city, no one would come looking for me. I was more powerful than th
Lyra's POVI blinked, the world slowly coming back into focus. Joshua was still looking at me, his hand gently shaking my shoulder. I felt like I had just woken up from a very long, confusing dream. I quickly regained my composure, smoothing down my hair and forcing a polite, small smile onto my face."I am so sorry," I said, my voice sounding a bit shaky. "I was just thinking about something else. My name is Lyra. It is nice to meet you, Joshua.""It is nice to meet you, too, Lyra," he replied, beaming at me.I took a good look at him. He had a very friendly face and warm eyes that didn't hold any of the sharp judgment I was used to from the other students at this school. Most people here looked at me like I was a disease they didn't want to catch. They either whispered behind my back or stared at me with pure, cold hostility. But Joshua was different. He was pretty easygoing and incredibly nice.He probably does not know yet, I thought to myself. He is new to the school, so he hasn'
Lyra's POVThe room was quiet, save for the soft sound of our breathing. I lay on the small, tucked-away cot in the back of Raphael’s office, the weight of his arm draped over my waist pinning me in place. The frantic energy of the night had vanished, replaced by a strange, hollow clarity. The alcohol had completely left my system the moment I opened my eyes, leaving behind a sharp, stinging reality.I stared up at the dark wooden ceiling, my mind reeling. I couldn't believe I had ended up here. I had come to this bar to drown my sorrows, to get angry, to be anything but the girl who was being traded away like a piece of livestock. And instead, I had let my emotions, my jealousy, and this cursed mating bond drive me straight into Raphael’s arms.I glanced over at him. He was still fast asleep, his face relaxed in a way I rarely saw. He hadn't pushed me away; in fact, he had been the one driving us toward this moment. I thought back to Jeremy. When we had been together, there was this
CASPIAN’S POVThe brick path was too quiet. That was my first thought as I turned the corner, the usual student chatter absent. Then I saw the crowd, and the quiet made sense. They were all watching something. No, not something. Someone.My heart gave a single, hard thud against my ribs.Lyra.She
LYRA’S POVThe days blurred into a rhythm of early alarms, stiff office clothes, and the quiet hum of Blackwood Capital. I didn’t go back to Onyx. I was too tired, my mind too full of spreadsheets and meeting notes and the careful, distant politeness of my new colleagues. But a part of me missed it
ROWAN’S POVThe elevator doors slid open to the executive floor, and there she was.My breath caught. Just for a second. I’d seen Lyra in club wear, in casual clothes, rumpled and angry in the mansion. But this was different. She stood in the sleek, minimalist lobby wearing simple black trousers an
LYRA’S POVThe cab ride back to the mansion was a blur of streetlights and my own ragged reflection in the window. My cheek still burned where I’d touched it after hitting Jeremy. My palm still stung. But deeper than that was a hollow, aching cold. I was so tired. Tired of the push and pull. Tired