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8

작가: Lucky Star
last update 게시일: 2026-03-19 02:51:59

My mother’s face in my mind was always a blur of laughter and copper hair just like mine. How could that woman—the one who tucked me in with stories of old forests—be the mistress of a Syndicate shark?

"This is... mine?" I rasped, taking the parchment from Mason’s hand.

The clinical black ink was a death warrant for my old life. Subject A: Rowan Blake. Subject B: Victor Aldridge. Match: 99.9%. Paternity Confirmed.

"You're lucky I'm the one who tracked you," Mason said, his arms folding over his
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  • The Untamed Matriarch    57

    "I’m an analyst, Mason," I snap, the fire in my veins making my voice tremble. "Or I was. That was my path until you stripped it away, until you caged me in this fortress. You made it clear that the only way to breathe in this territory was to submit to Julian or bind myself to your Code of the Claw. You backed me into a corner.""I forced you into nothing!" Mason growls, closing the gap until the scent of cedar and storm clouds rolls off him in waves. "You marked that contract of your own volition, Rowan! You—""I am more than a bargaining chip!" I scream. The sound echoes through the timber beams, startling the horses.Mason flinches back, his pupils blown wide. "Rowan—""No," I say, stepping into the space he vacated, my jaw set as I stare into his glowing eyes. "Don't you dare try to talk your way out of this. It’s all a lie—the contract, the Syndicate laws. It’s just ink on parchment. None of it reflects the pull between us. All your protocols and your 'Code'? They’re just tools

  • The Untamed Matriarch    56

    I focus on the final item tucked into the container—a pair of pale, fur-lined tracking boots with intricate silver thread woven into the leather. I arrange these on the duvet and touch the soft pelt, my head tilting in silent contemplation.This is still a collection of spoils, I suppose. But they lack the bite of the silver-threaded corset or the heavy silk he used to mark me previously. Those were tools of dominance. This...This feels like Mason wants me cared for. The warmth that blooms in my chest at that thought is unexpected. It’s almost tender.I carry the new gear into the washroom, twisting my hair into a high knot to keep it dry while I scrub the day away. What’s his endgame here? Is he forfeiting our time in the third floor tonight? Is he shifting the hunt to a different terrain?Stepping out, I dry off and slide into the fluid silk, pulling the impossibly soft robe over my shoulders. I'm still marveling at the luxury of it when the heavy oak door rattles with a knock.I p

  • The Untamed Matriarch    55

    "Wait," Julian says, leaning forward and cutting through my thoughts. "Did you go out on another hunt with Nikolai? When?""Last night," I say, picking up my fork and prodding at my breakfast."What!?"I sigh, meeting Julian's eyes. "Honestly, Julian, if you want to be part of this pack, pay attention. You’re the last one in the Cross Estate to realize it." I shove a forkful of food into my mouth. If he’s so committed to this fake engagement, he should probably start tracking his 'mate' a little better.Julian studies me, and I see the exact moment he reaches the same conclusion I have."So," he says, flashing a sharp smile. "Let’s shift gears tonight. We’ll watch some movies, just like we used to back in the territory.""Maybe," I say, hesitating. I don't want to commit to anything if there's another box of silk waiting at my door. Or if Mason has another 'assignment' for his newest asset.At eleven, I walk into the Cross garage with a heavy heart. Caleb is already there, leaning aga

  • The Untamed Matriarch    54

    A half-hour has passed since Rowan fled the wing, and Mason remains anchored to the cold stone floor, paralyzed by a crushing weight of adrenaline and regret. He presses his eyelids shut, wishing—with a raw, jagged desperation—to be anywhere else, to be anyone else.God, he loathes himself in this moment. He hates every cold-blooded calculation and every ruthless choice that led him here, to this—lying in his silk boxers on the floor of a reinforced sanctum, feeling like a monster.He knows he’s made a catastrophic error. This wasn't how he envisioned his claim on Rowan. But for the life of him, he doesn't know how to exist without the armor of his dominance.As the thought takes hold, Mason scolds himself. He knows how to be a man, not just an Alpha. He’s bedded women in far simpler ways—natural, heated, focused only on the friction of skin and the rhythm of breath. He doesn't need the silver chains to perform; usually, they are just the tools of his obsession with order.Because tha

  • The Untamed Matriarch    53

    I glance at Mason’s face, my pulse thrumming in my ears, but I do as he says. I walk stiffly toward the stone wall, staring at the silver loops while Mason moves with predatory grace to a sleek cabinet nearby."What are these for?" I ask, my voice sounding small against the roar of the ocean outside."I’m going to show you," Mason murmurs. He steps up behind me, so close that the heat of his large, powerful frame radiates through the thin silk of the corset. I fight a traitorous, primal urge to lean back into him, to feel the solid strength of his chest against my spine."Hands up," he commands. "Over your head."I obey, lifting my arms, my palms flat against the cold stone. I wait, breathless."Good girl," he rumbles. He catches my left wrist first, wrapping a wide, fur-lined leather cuff around it. I twist my head to watch, my heart hammering when I see a delicate silver chain extending from the cuff to another one in his hand. Mason threads the second cuff through a D-ring above me

  • The Untamed Matriarch    52

    "Welcome back, Rowan."A short, sharp shriek escapes me as I bolt upright, spinning toward the sound. It has a slight metallic ring to it—no one is in the room."Get into the attire," the voice commands. I realize it’s coming from the silver-lined intercom on the wall near the door. I hadn't even realized the Estate had an internal comms system. "When the transformation is complete, proceed to the third floor. I expect you there in fifteen minutes."I freeze, my pupils blown wide as I stare at the speaker.The third floor? The restricted wing with the reinforced steel door?What kind of cage has he built up there?A long silence stretches between us before the voice returns, lower this time."Rowan? Do you acknowledge the command?"I stumble toward the wall, hesitating before slamming my thumb onto the talk button. "I... okay. Yes. I'm coming.""Excellent," he purrs. "Do not be late."My whole body is vibrating as I step away. Every bit of the peace I found with Nikolai has been incin

  • The Untamed Matriarch    23

    "We remember you, though!" Amy says, her voice bright with the hum of the champagne. "Because you were our little silver-furred Rowan Blake—"I stiffen at the name. Rowan Blake—the name my mother gave me to hide my bloodline. Only those from my old life, the life before the Syndicate, know that nam

  • The Untamed Matriarch    21

    Mason sneers at her, watching the realization of his venomous words shatter her composure."Is that…" Sierra starts, her voice cracking as her pride fights for air. "Is that truly the only value I have to you?" She slowly lowers the piece of sourdough."Yes," he says, leaning back. He savors the su

  • The Untamed Matriarch    20

    I follow Caleb and my other sentinel out of the room, ducking my head as we hurry into the vaulted stone corridor. Guilt gnaws at my insides; I hate being the catalyst for such a predatory display of dominance. Just as we reach the heavy iron-reinforced doors, a small, breathless voice echoes throu

  • The Untamed Matriarch    19

    I’m alone in the back of the obsidian-tinted SUV, watching the jagged cliffs of the coastline blur into the dark timber of the forest as we approach the Aldridge Compound.I stare up at the brutalist stone fortress of my biological father and feel my stomach knot. There should be a spark of instinc

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