LOGINI slide my hand to her waist and pull her closer, my forehead settles against hers.“Listen to me mi cuore” I say in a low and steady voice. “You are not alone anymore. You have me now. Your children are safe. I give you my word. No one will touch them. No one will dare come near them but if they do, they will experience my wrath. Should you need any assistance with this you only need to let me know. I will help. When you are ready. But right now, right here, you are allowed to breathe. You are allowed to want something for yourself.”She searches my face, eyes glistening. “I’m scared.”“I know Cara” I kiss her again, slower this time. Coaxing her mouth open until she sighs and lets me in. “If you need me to stop tell me and I will. Always.”She doesn’t tell me to stop.Instead her hands slide up my chest and her fingers curl into the silk of my robe. I deepen the kiss. I let her feel the controlled hunger I'm keeping leashed behind every gentle stroke of my tongue. When she whimpers
Max's POV I feel her before I see her.The shift in the air is subtle. Barely perceptible to anyone else but to me it is as obvious as a change in temperature. Her hand is still on the door handle. Her shoulders stiffen and eyes widen just enough to betray her surprise before quickly composing herself. She did not expect anyone else to be here. I see calculation flicker across her face as she takes us both in. Her gaze moves from Damon to me and back again.“Good morning” she says politely.Her voice is steady but I feel the tension in her from across the room. Sharp, restless like the air before a storm.I do not answer.Damon does.He rises with the precise old-world courtesy reserved for moments like this. He inclines his head exactly the right degree. Respectful. Almost deferential.“Ms. Montoya. A pleasure as always”Too respectful.She notices.Her brows draw together for the briefest instant. Confusion flickers across her face before she tucks it away behind that professional
“He just… went back.” Back. Across a bench according to the teacher. I exhale slowly pressing my fingers against my temple for a second. “Listen to me” I say, quieter now. “You cannot do that. Not at school. Not anywhere people are watching. Do you understand?” They both nod. Melantha looks up at me. “He started it” “I know Cupcake” I say gently. “But that doesn’t change what I just said.” My mind keeps replaying the headmistress’s words. A pattern we’re starting to see. That’s what I was afraid of. It sits heavier now than it did in her office. The meaning of it settling deeper the more I think about it. It was easier when they were younger. When strange moments could be blamed on coincidence or imagination. Now they’re older and whatever they inherited from their father is starting to show whether I understand it or not Their father. I don’t know for certain. Not really. The thought comes the way it always does lately. Quiet but impossible to ignore. Instinct keeps
Grace’s POV I reach the school. The tightness in my chest hasn’t eased in the slightest It’s probably nothing right? Children argue. It's normal they get into trouble occasionally. Except my children aren’t how the world sees normal. And things haven’t felt particularly normal lately. The receptionist looks up as I enter a polite smile on her face. “I was called in for the Montoya boys” I tell her “And you are?” “Their mother” She nods and gestures toward the hallway. “The headmistress is waiting for you second door on your left.” “Thank you” I walk down the corridor as children’s voices drift faintly through the building, everything sounds normal, somehow that makes it worse. I knock lightly on the door marked headmistress, a firm voice calls from inside. “Come in” When I open it the boys are already there, seated side by side in chairs against the wall, their backs straight, hands resting in their laps. Like they know they’re in trouble and have no intention of makin
Chapter 51 Grace’s POV The door clicks shut behind me. For a moment the sound seems impossibly loud... My heart is still racing. Pounding a rhythm that doesn’t belong to the quiet corridor. My hands tremble slightly, brushing against the polished metal of the cart like it’s some kind of lifeline What exactly had I just done? I try to replay the conversation, the kiss. The way his hand had cupped my face. Like I was fragile glass. Like I was everything he’d been waiting for. And now… I was his. Or something like it. But what did that even mean. His girlfriend? Mistress? side piece? a fleeting hotel fling? And I’d even had the audacity to set terms. To tell him when it ended. To try to contain him within rules like some wild animal in a cage I press my palms to my cheeks and let out a shriek of frustration, cutting it off abruptly when I realize where I am. My pulse pounds in my ears. I glance around take a shaky breath and try to straighten myself. Smooth my uniform, tuck my hai
Chapter 50 Max’s POV The door closed behind her with the softest click. The sound somehow louder than any council decree or battlefield roar I had ever heard. I stayed where I was, forehead resting against the marble wall where her back had been moments earlier, palms flat against the stone as if I could still feel the heat of her through it. My blood cold for so long the chill had become normal moved with a restless thrum that hadn’t been there in years. Not warmth. Never warmth. But close enough to make the difference impossible to ignore. I had agreed to her terms. Only while you’re in the city. Only in this suite. When you leave this ends. The words taste wrong now that she is gone yet I had nodded without hesitation. Because the alternative was watching her walk away again. Five years ago I believed she was dead. Our bond had dimmed to a dull ache something constant but distant. Like an old injury that never fully heals. I buried myself in the only thing that still made s
Alexander’s POV Maximus Valencia is as intimidating as they say he is. Reputation rarely does him justice. It cannot capture the weight of standing this close to him, of being measured by something that has ruled longer than most human bloodlines have existed. His name alone reshapes rooms. His p
Max's POV She should have been found by now. The thought circles my mind endlessly. People do not simply vanish. Not in my world. Not without leaving a trail. And yet she has. No sightings. No confirmed movement. No trace strong enough to anchor. I stand at the windows of my office at Valenci
Alex’s POV Christopher Stratford is waiting to see me. I deliberately let him. When the doors finally open and he is ushered into my office, I rise from behind my desk on instinct. A courtesy long ingrained though rarely exercised. He stops when he sees me. I observe this with interest. H
Chris’s POV I am ushered into the private waiting room reserved for the CEO at Graham Constructions. The space is quiet. Too quiet. Polished stone floors. Neutral art. No windows. Everything designed to impress without revealing anything real. It feels intentional. Controlled. Vampire. I sit. T







