LOGINRileyThe heavy silence in the grand hall stretched out for several seconds while my father stared down at the ancient parchment, his hand hovering over the pack seal as the council elders whispered urgently among themselves about the financial ruins a court battle would bring to our shipping lanes. I didn't lower my gaze for a single second because my wolf was standing right at the surface, pushing the alpha energy through my veins to show him that I wasn't backing down from my demand to keep Fantine safe under our laws."You are forcing my hand, Riley, and you are risking the entire stability of this territory for a girl who was trained to be our destruction," Marcus said, his voice sounding tired as he finally picked up the heavy silver fountain pen from the desk blotter."I am saving this pack from a war we can't afford to fight on two fronts, Father, and when you sign that paper, you aren't just pardoning a runner, you are accepting the mate bond that the ancestors gave us to fix
RileyThe stolen sedan’s tires screeched as I swung the wheel hard around the final bend of the estate road, and the heavy iron gates of the Porter mansion were looming up in the dark rain just like they had a few hours ago, but this time I didn't stop for the gate guards or wait for their security clearances. I smashed the front bumper straight through the wooden parking barrier, sending splinters flying across the gravel driveway, and I brought the smoking vehicle to a violent halt right at the base of the stone steps where my father’s main enforcer squad was already running out with their flashlights drawn."Riley, turn off the engine and step out with your hands empty, because the Alpha has the entire perimeter on high alert and you are officially violating a direct council ban by entering these grounds tonight," Jayden shouted, running down the steps through the downpour with a look of pure disbelief on his face when he saw me step out of the driver's side with my suit jacket com
FantineThe cold rain was hitting my face and soaking straight through the fabric of my red dress as I stood in the middle of the gravel alley, and the bright headlights of the black sedans were blinding me so badly that I had to raise my hand to see the tall, gray-haired man stepping out from the rear seat of the lead vehicle. It was Marcello, my father’s oldest lieutenant and the man who had overseen my target training since I was a child, and as he walked toward us with his leather gloves tightly fitted around his fingers, the dozen enforcers around him shifted their automatic rifles to keep their barrels aimed straight at Riley’s chest."You really made a huge mess of things down here, Fantine, and your father is incredibly disappointed that his best asset is currently running through the city drains with a pack animal," Marcello said, his voice completely calm and level over the steady sound of the rain hitting the brick walls around us."My father doesn't have an asset anymore,
Riley The red emergency lights were flashing across the stone walls, and the loud sirens were making the small vault room feel like an echo chamber as I watched the heavy steel security door slide deeper into its track, locking us into the lower gallery before we could even make a run for the elevator banks. Fantine already had the leather folder tucked deep inside her red dress pocket, her hand resting firmly on her pistol grip while she scanned the narrowing exit path, and I knew that if I didn't use my wolf strength right this second, the automated quarantine walls would seal us fifty feet beneath the theater district until the high lords came down to collect our bodies. "The main corridor is completely blocked by the primary gate, Riley, so you need to break through the utility partition on the right side before the backup power kicks in and electrifies the iron mesh," she shouted, her voice cutting through the mechanical noise while she grabbed my shoulder to pull me away from
FantineThe velvet fabric of my red dress felt slightly restrictive as we stepped out of the brass elevator into the main lobby of the Blackwood Vaults, and Riley adjusted the collar of his expensive black suit while he gave a polite nod to the vampire receptionist sitting behind the marble desk. The subterranean facility looked like a high-end private club with its dark wood paneling and low lighting, but I knew from Julian’s layout maps that the stone floor beneath our polished shoes was loaded with pressure sensors and proximity wards designed to detect uninvited shapeshifters."Just keep moving toward the private viewing rooms on the left, Fantine, because the guard by the silver pillar is already checking his tablet and we need to log our entrance before the shift rotation changes," Riley murmured, his large hand resting flat against my lower back as he guided me past a row of velvet chairs."I see him, Riley, so stop looking directly at his security badge and try to act like a w
RileyThe screen of my burner phone was the only bright light left in the dark motel room as I waited for the call to connect, and my fingers were tapping a nervous beat against the cheap wood of the nightstand because the guy I was dialing was a half-blood vampire named Julian who used to manage our campus intramural leagues and now worked the late-night monitoring desk at the Blackwood Vaults. Fantine was sitting just two inches away from me on the edge of the mattress, her shoulder pressed right against mine as she tried to catch every sound from the speaker, and the scent of her skin mixed with the faint metallic tang of her fresh bandage was making my wolf growl with a restless, protective hunger that I could barely control in this cramped space."Riley, you shouldn't be calling this number at four in the morning unless your truck broke down on the state line or you finally decided to pay off that old tournament bet from sophomore year," Julian’s dry voice finally came through t
DanteThe burner phone on my desk vibrated against the wood, and I didn't hesitate to pick it up because the reports from my southern territory were getting worse by the hour. My enforcers were losing ground to the rival syndicates, our bank accounts were being frozen by the federal task force, and
FantineThe morning after the hospital incident felt like walking through a minefield because Riley didn't let me out of his sight for a single hour, and instead of taking me to the PR office or the student lounge, he dragged me straight to the private athletic training facility at the back of the
SeleneIt took the greatest ounce of restraint in my body which stopped me from walking across the library lounge and wiping the pathetic look off Fantine's face.The quiet investigation was just concluded and amidst the mini chaos of my secret arrival under the name of Sarah Jenkins, Riley Porter
FantineWe managed to get away from the old dormitory after a wild scramble through the back window because Riley threw a heavy wooden crate at Selene to block her shot, but the tension didn't leave my bones even after we locked ourselves inside the library for a late-night study session to maintai







