ログインI tore through the forgotten logging trails on the Ducati. Every revolution of the engine rattled straight up through the framework of my body, a reminder of the beating Caspian had delivered in the estate dungeon just hours ago. My ribs felt like they were held together by nothing more than willpower and defiance, screaming in agony every time the rear tire lost traction in the marsh. But the physical torment was nothing compared to the terror gripping my chest. Cane was out there. He was walking directly into a slaughterhouse, and it was entirely because he thought he was coming to rescue me. Ten miles deep into the protected reserve, the dense overgrowth became impassable for a motorized vehicle. I killed the ignition, letting the street bike coast silently into a thicket of weeping ferns. I kicked the stand down, stepped off into the knee-deep mud, and drew my sidearm, thumbing the
My ribs still throbbed with a dull, agonizing ache, and the taste of blood lingered heavily on my tongue, but adrenaline and panic completely overrode the pain. Caspian thought he had broken me. He thought leaving me in that subterranean cell with my blood pooling on the floor would be the end of the story. He didn't account for Viper, and he certainly didn't account for what happens when you back an apex predator into a corner and leave the door unlocked.I killed the engine fifty yards from the garage, coasting the heavy street bike into the shadows before cutting the lights entirely. Slipping through the side personnel door, I expected the usual hum of tactical gear prep, the clinking of weapons being cleaned, and the rumbling chatter of the team.Instead, the compound was dead silent."Cane?" I called out, my voice tight and echoing off t
The iron shackle hit the stone floor with a thud, but the sound was instantly swallowed by the silence of the dungeon. I stood there swaying, every nerve ending in my body screaming in protest, the edges of my fractured ribs grinding together with every ragged breath I took. But the pain was fuel. A heat surged through my veins, pushing back the darkness and waking the primal predator resting beneath my skin. “I’m coming for you, Caspian,” I whispered into the empty, damp air, the vow tasting like salt on my bleeding lips. I didn't waste a second. Moving with careful, agonizing precision, I slipped out of my cell and crept down the shadowy corridor toward the holding cell where Torin had been suspended. The door was wide open, the wall-mounts empty, and the stone floor beneath them smeared with fresh, drying blood. "
Elena dragged me down subterranean stone corridors, the damp air thick with the scent of rust and old earth, until we reached the castle's deepest holding cells. As we marched past a series of heavy iron bars, a bruised and battered figure hanging limply against the rear wall caught my eye. Steel cuffs locked into the masonry held him suspended by his wrists, and dark blood dripped steadily from his battered face onto the stone floor. "Torin!" I shouted, rattling the iron bars with the last of my strength. He didn't even twitch, his breathing dangerously faint. "Don't worry, Eloise. You and all your little friends will be reunited in the afterlife, really soon," Elena mocked, shoving me hard against the door of an adjacent cell. Inside the damp stone enclosure, Elena roughly forced
The soft click of the side door latching below was the only warning I had. Pressing my face against the cool tinted glass of the office window, I watched Elena slip out from the shadows of the garage floor and step into the damp Miami night. In the dim amber wash of the security lights sat her vehicle, a sleek, pearl-white Porsche 911 Turbo S, its twin-turbo engine rumbling to life. I didn't hesitate. I spun around, quietly stepping back toward the blanket where Cane lay sprawled in a deep, exhausted sleep. Moving with the silent, fluid grace drilled into me by Viper, I carefully pulled the wool blanket higher over his bare shoulders. Once out the office door, I didn't take the stairs. I vaulted over the upper railing, landing soundlessly on the concrete floor below. &
The thud of my back hitting the concrete floor still echoed in my ears, the burn of Caspian’s grip searing across my throat. Before I could even draw a full breath, Cane was kneeling beside me, his hands hovering frantically over my shoulders, his amber eyes wide with panic."Eloise. Look at me. Are you okay?" Cane’s voice was a rough, fractured whisper, vibrating with the urge to tear the compound apart stone by stone.I coughed, pressing a hand against my bruised windpipe, and shook my head, pushing myself up onto one elbow."I'm fine, Cane. I just... I need a minute," I rasped, avoiding his burning gaze as I stood up on shaky legs.Without waiting for him to argue, I turned my back and headed straight for the metal staircase, needing the isolation of the upper of
The sun hadn't even thought about rising when the roar of an engine shattered the silence of the shipyard. I was already awake, sitting by Cane’s side, watching the slow, rhythmic pulse of the blue toxin beneath his skin. It was fading, but the cost was visible; he looked thinner, his power dormant
The second week was a lesson in humiliation. It was a slow-motion car crash, far more painful than the one that had totaled my Bugatti. That crash had been fast, while this was a daily erosion of my pride.I had spent two days crafting a resume. It was a pathetic document that made me feel queasy.
The door to Apartment 2B didn’t open with a thumbprint or a glide. It squeaked on rusted hinges, sticking against a linoleum floor that had seen better days. As Edward’s town car faded into the distance, leaving me standing in a hallway that smelled of industrial cleanser, the reality of the Miller
The car pulled over in front of Thorne Strategic Heights, towering like a tomb over Miami. Usually, this building felt like a symbol of my birthright, but today it looked like my last resting place. I caught my reflection in the tinted window of the town car. My gown was stained and torn, my blonde







