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The study stayed quiet long after our breathing slowed.Xavier finally pulled out, but he didn't move away. He stayed right there between my legs, one hand on the heavy collar and the other rubbing the silver bracelet on my wrist, almost like he had to touch them to believe they were actually there. The city lights hit his bare shoulders, showing the faint scratch marks from my nails. I sat on the edge of the desk in his shirt, my legs still shaking. The room smelled like both of us. For once, Ciel was quiet. He wasn't calm; he just looked stunned by everything that had happened."You kept the bracelet for six years," I said. My voice sounded rough. "You watched me from a distance. You let the Crown cage you. And you still put this collar on me like it was the first time you decided I was yours."Xavier's thumb brushed the moon charm. "It wasn't the first time. It was the first time I stopped pretending I could survive without the claim being visible."I looked at him. The violet i
I stared up at him, the silver bracelet still clenched in my hand. The moon charm dug into my palm."You bought this for me," I said. It wasn't a question anymore."Yes.""Before the rejection. Before that night in your penthouse."Xavier's eyes didn't waver. "Yes."The truth sat between us like a live wire.I had spent six years believing I was the only one who felt something that night. The only one left bleeding. The only one who had to rebuild herself from nothing while he walked away clean.Now the bracelet in my hand said otherwise."You let Freya take it," I whispered."I didn't let her do a thing." He lowered his voice. "She just found the receipt and flipped out. Started threatening to tell your dad, the Council, the Crown—everything. Back then, I was just trying to keep the bond a secret until I figured out how to claim you without starting a whole political war."I laughed once, bitter and sharp. "And then Scott reje
I couldn't sleep.The east suite was too quiet, the sheets too clean. Every time I turned, the collar around my throat felt heavier. Across the bed, Brie sat in borrowed pajamas, wearing the same worried look she'd had since the clinic was hit."Talk," she said. "And don't give me the 'I'm fine' version. You're vibrating."I stared at the ceiling. "I always liked him."Brie went still. "Xavier?""Yeah." The admission tasted like old regret. "Before Scott. Before everything."The memory came without permission.I was seventeen, standing in the training yard at Greystone Academy while every other student gawked. Xavier Beckett had just walked onto the field in black training gear, violet eyes sweeping across the crowd like he was already bored of existing among us.He was Freya's.Everyone knew it. The future alliance. The perfect match.I had been running drills with the other Omegas when my foot caught on uneven stone. I went down ha
Alistair set his wine glass down with the same calm he used when signing trade agreements."The offer is simple," he said. "Publicly renounce the mate bond and the Gleipnir claim before the Council and return to the Holloway name under my authority. In exchange, Roman goes free, the clinic remains untouched, and I'll ensure the Crown withdraws its interest in you."Scott's face went white. Freya looked almost satisfied. Elias stared at his plate. "No," he said. Alistair raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't speaking to you, Beckett.""You're talking about my property." Xavier didn't raise his voice, but the Alpha pressure was enough to make the crystal glasses shake. "She isn't going back to your family, and she's not giving up anything. If Roman isn't out in twelve hours, I'm going to tear your empire apart piece by piece until you remember why everyone calls me the Tyrant."Property? I hated the sound of it, Ciel whispered.Atticus's recorder light kept blinking.I forced my expression to
The private dining room at the Vanguard Grand Hotel was designed to intimidate. Between the dark wood paneling and the mirror-polished silver, it was a place where lives were quietly destroyed over expensive wine.I entered on Xavier’s arm, wearing the emerald green dress he had chosen. It clung to my curves and plunged low at the back, leaving only my heavy Gleipnir collar to cover the nape of my neck. With my red hair loose and a sharp swipe of lipstick, there was nothing soft about my appearance.The moment we stepped inside, the conversation died.Scott stared too long, Alistair judged me with a cold gaze, Freya looked annoyed, and Elias simply stared.He completely forgot to act polite for a few seconds before he finally caught himself.Xavier noticed.His hand on the small of my back pressed a fraction harder, thumb brushing the bare skin just above the dress. A silent, possessive reminder.Atticus was waiting in our saved seats, lookin
I tried to look away.Xavier’s hand caught my jaw and forced my face back to his.“You’re fucking lying,” I whispered. My voice shook. “True mates don’t abandon each other. True mates don’t let the other one rot in the gutter for six years.”His eyes stayed locked on mine. Violet, steady, almost cruel in their calm.“I’m not lying.”“Then prove it.”Something dark and ancient moved behind his gaze.Xavier didn’t speak. He simply pressed his forehead to mine, one hand still wrapped around the heavier collar, the other splayed over my bare chest—right above my heart.The bond that had been pulsing between us for weeks suddenly ripped open.It wasn’t gentle.It was a flood.I gasped as six years of his side of the bond slammed into me all at once—The night I left his penthouse. The way his wolf had howled so hard Xavier had s







