Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

The moment I step into the hall, the room goes silent.Not completely. Music still plays. Glasses still clink. Laughter floats somewhere in the distance.But something shifts sharp, sudden, like the breath before a storm.I know, instantly, that something is wrong.My heels click against the shiny floor, and every step feels heavier than the last. My chest tightens, though I force my shoulders back. I smile the way a well-trained wife is supposed to smile. Calm. Elegant. Untouched by disaster.But the eyes that slide toward me are full of whispers.Aria’s here.Does she know?She looks beautiful… poor thing.Poor thing.I hear that one clearly.My hands shake. I lace them together behind my back so no one sees.Then I see him.Damon.My husband.He stands near the middle of the room, tall, strong, with that sharp jaw and cold, careful expression the world has always called “controlled.” I know better. Damon controls nothing when it comes to his senses. He hides them. He cages them. An

The moment Damon carries Sera out of the hall, I move after them.I don’t think so.I just follow.My heels click, my heart pounds, and my breath comes in short bursts. I don’t care if anyone sees me chase after them. Something inside me feels ripped open, and I need answers. I need the truth. I need something real, because everything else tonight feels like a lie.The hallway turns quiet as they disappear around a bend. I pick up my speed, almost running.Why did the mark glow for both of us?Why did Damon look terrified?What did he mean about the child waking early?None of it makes sense.I stop at the door of his private office, the one no guest dares to touch. It’s slightly open.I hear voices.Sera’s voice breaks first.“It hurtsDamon, it hurts if something is wrong.”Her breath is sharp, scared.Damon’s lower voice answers. “I’ve got you. I’m here. Just breathe. I’m not letting anything happen to you.”My chest contracts with something painfulshame, anger, uncertainty, all twi

Something inside me breaks when I hear my name echo down the hall.I walk more quickly.I then began to run.I don't look back.His voice keeps coming back to me like a wound that won't heal."Stop Aria. “Please.”When I keep going, my heels hit the marble like they're making a bad choice. Even though my lungs hurt, I don't slow down. I will not give him the chance to lie again. I will not let him catch me in the softness of his voice.“Aria!”The sound of his steps gets louder. Strong. Determined.Of course he chases.He always chases when it is too late.My breath shakes. My chest rises and falls too fast.My thoughts mix with pain and fury until I can’t tell which hurts more.He touched her stomach.He held her the way he used to hold me.He whispered things to her that he stopped saying to me months ago.And that bright mark…That mark that showed when their skin brushed.My entire world is slipping out from beneath my feet.I reach the end of the hallway, ready to turn quickly an

The corridor feels too small. My chest feels too tight. My mind feels too full.“Stop,” Damon growls. “She doesn’t need this.”“Yes,” Lucian says slowly. “She does.”I shake my head, trying to breathe. “Power? Bloodline? Claim? None of this makes sense.”Lucian’s voice softens a tone that doesn’t match his cold eyes.“It will.”Damon steps closer, blocking my view of Lucian again, his hands shaking.“Aria, please. Come with me. Let me explain. Privately.”“No,” Lucian says. “She stays.”“She’s my wife,” Damon snaps.“And she is more than that,” Lucian replies. “Much more.”Their voices rise. Their power presses against the air like invisible claws.I can feel both of them pulling at me in different ways.Damon with guilt. Lucian with truth.And I don’t know which is worse.He turns toward me again, chest heaving.“Aria,” he says, “listen to me. I swear I wanted to tell you everything. I swear I wasn’t trying to trap you in this life. But once we married, you became part of my pack

I will not wait this time.“You owe me the truth.”The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. They sound calm, but they are not. They are sharp. They are heavy. They have been waiting too long.Damon turns slowly, like he already knows this moment is coming. His face is controlled. Too controlled. That alone makes my chest tighten.“You shouldn’t have listened to him,” he says. “Lucian is dangerous. He feeds on doubt. He twists old stories until they look like weapons.”I let out a breath that almost became a laugh. Almost.“Funny,” I say, my voice low. “Because the doubt was already there. He didn’t plant it. You did.”His jaw tightens. I know that look. I have seen it during board meetings. During pack disputes. When he chooses power over softness.“I’m trying to protect you,” he says.I step closer. Not touching him. Not yet.“No,” I say. “You’re trying to control the story.”Silence stretches between us. Not peaceful. Not calm. It presses against my ears.“I heard you,” I co