All Chapters of Safe Between Monsters: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

WINTER'S POV"You're going to love them, sweetheart. Richard's sons are wonderful."I pressed my forehead against the car window and watched the iron gates swing open. The Moretti estate looked more like a prison than a home. Mom kept talking but I couldn't hear her anymore because my phone buzzed in my pocket.Unknown Number: Found you, baby. Did you really think you could hide?My hands went cold. I recognized that text. It's from Marcus. After six months of running and hiding, he'd found me again."Winter? Are you listening to me?"I shoved my phone into my jacket and tried to breathe. "Yeah, Mom. I'm listening."The mansion got bigger as we drove closer. Dark stone walls, tall windows, everything sharp and cold. My chest felt tight. I'd escaped one nightmare and driven straight into another.Mom parked and jumped out of the car like this was the best day of her life. She was too happy about Richard's money to notice I was falling apart. "Come on, they're waiting!"I took a breath

WINTER POVThey wouldn't leave my room.Dante sat on my bed like he owned it. Kai blocked my door. Luca checked every window lock like Marcus might appear any second."Tell us everything about Marcus Shaw." Dante's voice left no room for argument."There's nothing to tell.""Lying won't work, Winter." Kai crossed his arms. "We can stay here all night."My phone buzzed in Dante's hand and jis jaw clenched as he read the screen. "Four more messages. All threats.""Just block him.""He'll get a new number." Luca turned from the window. "Men like him don't stop until someone makes them."I wrapped my arms around myself. My whole body felt cold. "I don't want you involved.""Too late." Dante stood and walked toward me. "He found you in one day. He knows where you sleep so start talking or I'll find him myself and you won't like what happens."I pressed against the wall and tried to breathe. "What do you want to know?""Everything." Luca's voice was gentle but his eyes were hard.My throat

WINTER POV I woke up to someone in my room.My eyes flew open and I saw a shadow by my window. A tall male and my heart stopped."Marcus," I whispered."It's just me." Luca's voice came from the darkness. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."I sat up and turned on my lamp. Luca stood by the window fully dressed even though it was three in the morning. "What are you doing in here? I locked my door.""I picked the lock." He said it so casually like breaking into my room was normal. "I couldn't sleep, I wanted to make sure you were safe.""By sneaking into my room in the middle of the night?""Would you have let me in if I knocked?""No.""Then I made the right choice." He sat on the edge of my bed. "You were having a nightmare. You kept saying his name."My face got hot. "You were watching me sleep?""Protecting you while you sleep. There's a difference." His hand reached out and brushed hair from my face. "Do you want to talk about it?""No.""Winter." His voice was so gentle it hurt.

WINTER POVThe house didn’t feel like a house anymore.It felt like a war zone.Men in black uniforms moved through every room, speaking into radios, checking windows, securing doors. The shattered front entrance was being boarded up, wood slamming into place with sharp, echoing cracks.Every sound made my body flinch.I stood in the middle of the living room, arms wrapped tightly around myself, trying to breathe through the adrenaline still flooding my veins.Marcus had been here.He’d stood exactly where I was standing.He’d looked at me like—“Winter.”Dante’s voice cut through my thoughts. Calm. Controlled. But underneath it… something darker.I turned.He stood a few feet away, jacket off now, sleeves rolled up, a faint bruise forming along his ribs where Marcus had hit him. Luca was speaking quietly to one of the security men near the door, while Kai leaned against the wall, jaw tight, eyes still burning with leftover violence.They were all watching me.Not like prey.Like some

WINTER POVMy hands were still shaking when we got back.Not from fear.From adrenaline.From the way my body hadn’t frozen this time.From the fact that I’d actually fought back.The house looked worse in daylight. Broken door. Cracked walls. Security moving in and out like shadows. The air still carried that sharp, metallic edge of violence.But something inside me felt… different.Awake.“You’re bleeding.”Kai’s voice cut through my thoughts.I blinked. “What?”He stepped closer without asking, his fingers catching my wrist before I could pull away. His touch was warm. Firm. Careful in a way that didn’t match the way he fought.“There,” he said, tilting my arm slightly.A thin line of red trailed along my skin where the man had grabbed me.I hadn’t even noticed.“It’s nothing,” I said.Kai didn’t let go.“It’s not nothing,” he murmured. “It’s a reminder.”“Of what?”His eyes lifted to mine.“That next time, you don’t let them get that close.”My breath hitched slightly.Something a