Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

Lily – First Person POVIt had been days since my last encounter with Luke.The kind of days that stretch too long, quiet and heavy, giving your mind space to wander where it shouldn’t. Space to remember things you worked hard to bury. Space to imagine outcomes you don’t want but can’t stop thinking about.I tried to keep myself busy and work helped. The meetings, arrangements of files, answering important calls and making not so simple decisions. All of it demanded focus, and for a few hours at a time, I could almost forget.Almost.But at night, when the world slowed down and the noise faded, Luke crept back into my thoughts.I had known Luke long before he walked into my office wearing that calm smile and that dangerous confidence. Long before he looked at me like I was a puzzle he wanted to solve.Back when I still lived in the Looke mansion.Back when I was still learning how to make myself small and to walk quietly and speak softly. How to breathe without drawing attention and d

Lily’s POVThe next morning came too fast.I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling, already knowing the truth before my mind fully woke up. He was still the first person I thought about just like every other morning.Vincent.No matter how hard I tried to push him away, he lived somewhere deep in my thoughts, stubborn and unmoving. I had tried everything over the years, distance, silence, routine, logic. It worked only up till now.The night with Luke had not changed that.Going out with Luke was supposed to be a break from work and stress. A pause. A way to breathe again after years of pressure and buried feelings. I wanted something light, simple and something without history and pain attached to it. And Luke was kind, respectful in such a way and easy to talk to.But if I was honest with myself, a part of me went because I wanted a distraction. I wanted Vincent out of my head, even if just for a few hours.And it worked. A little.But not enough.Ever since the night Vincent and

Vincent’s povThe tension with Luke did not start today.It had lived between us for years, hiding behind polite distance and unfinished conversations. It slept under fake smiles, business emails, and long silences. We both pretended it was gone, but neither of us believed that lie.Luke had not stepped foot in the Looke mansion for a long time.Not since the night everything broke.So when I heard his car pass through the gates, when his scent touched the walls of my home again, I knew this was not a casual visit.Luke never came without reason.And this time, the reason had a name. He had come just as others because of Matthew’s accident.I was at the training grounds when it happened.The younger wolves were sparring under the late afternoon sun. Their movements were sharp but sloppy, full of energy and hunger. I stood with my arms crossed, correcting them when needed, watching for weakness. Training always calmed me. It reminded me of order and control.Then the air changed.I sm

Erica’s PovI have always known when something was slipping out of my hands.Power shifts have a sound, a smell and a silence that grows too loud when no one wants to be the first to speak.And lately, Vincent had been quiet in a way that frightened me.I woke up that morning alone again.The space beside me was cold, untouched and the sheets were smooth, like no one had been there all night. Vincent had not slept in our room for days now. At first, I told myself it was stress. That it was business, council pressure and territory disputes. I had made excuses for him for seven years, excuses were something I was very good at.But this felt different.This felt like abandonment done slowly.I sat up in bed and stared at the empty space, my chest tight. The bond between mates was supposed to be strong and unbreakable. But ours had always felt… thin. Like a thread stretched too tight. Like something held together by duty instead of love.I pressed a hand to my chest, searching for him thr

Vincent’s POV I knew the moment the game changed.Power has a rhythm. When you rule long enough, you don’t just see it, you feel it in your bones. It’s in the way conversations die when you walk into a room. In the way your most loyal people start choosing their words carefully. In the way reports arrive late, incomplete, filtered.It started as a whisper.Then it became a pattern.And now there was a storm building around me.I stood in my office, the city spread beneath me like a living thing. Lights pulsed in the distance and cars moved like veins carrying blood through the night. Everything looked normal.But nothing was.My reflection in the glass looked like a stranger. The sharp suits were still there. The cold expression and the control.But my eyes…My eyes were tired.A knock came.“Enter.”Marcus stepped in. He didn’t move the way he usually did. Normally he walked in with confidence, like a wolf who knew his alpha had his back.Now he moved carefully.“Alpha,” he said, “w