All Chapters of THE STERLING SPARK: LEGACY OF THE BEAST: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

Elena’s POV​The Obsidian Tower did not just sit in the center of the city; it loomed over it like a dark god carved from shadow and glass. As the heavy doors of the ballroom swung open, the scent of the evening hit me like a physical weight. It was a mixture of expensive lilies, aged scotch, and the metallic tang of unbridled power. This was the annual Masquerade Gala, the one night a year where the monsters of the corporate world wore masks that finally matched their souls.​I stepped onto the polished marble floor, my heels clicking with a rhythm that felt far too much like a countdown. Click. Click. Click. Every step was taking me further away from my old life and deeper into the mouth of the beast. My dress, a deep midnight blue that shimmered like a bruised sky, felt like armor. It was backless, draped low to show off the skin I had spent years caring for, all to serve as a distraction. The lace mask over my eyes was tight, the delicate patterns pressing into my skin, reminding

Elena’s POV​The penthouse was silent, but my head was screaming.​Alaric knew who I was. The secret I had carried for ten years—my real name, my real family—was gone in a single second. I felt naked, even though I was still wearing my blue silk dress. I looked into his amber eyes. They weren't cold anymore. They were burning.​"Why?" I whispered. My voice shook. "If you knew I was a Sterling, why did you bring me up here? Why didn't you call the police?"​Alaric stepped closer. He was so tall that I had to tilt my head back to see him. Without his shirt, he looked like a giant. The muscles in his chest were hard, and his skin was warm. He smelled like wood and expensive soap.​"The police are for boring criminals," Alaric said. His voice was deep and smooth, like honey. "You are not boring, Elena. You are the daughter of the man I hated the most. And yet, when you touched me in the ballroom, the pain in my head stopped. For the first time in months, I didn't feel like a monster."​He

Elena’s POV​"Go! Go! Go!" Jax screamed. He didn't even stop to grab his coat. He just snatched his laptop and shoved it into his backpack.​The red light on the computer screen was still flashing. It felt like a heartbeat—Alaric’s heartbeat. He was coming. I could feel it in the air. The room suddenly felt too small, too hot. That strange spark in my stomach was glowing again, like a tiny heater inside my skin.​We ran out the back door of the warehouse. The air outside was cold and smelled like old rain and car exhaust. My blue silk dress was ruined. The hem was torn, and I had kicked off my high heels so I could run faster. My bare feet hit the cold, dirty pavement, but I didn't care about the pain.​"This way!" Jax pulled me into a dark alleyway.​The city was waking up. I could hear the sounds of distant sirens and the rumble of garbage trucks. But over all that noise, I heard something else. It was a low, heavy sound.​Vroom.​A black SUV turned the corner at the end of the bloc

​Elena’s POV​Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Mr. Thorne?" a woman's voice called out. It was sharp and professional. "The medical team is ready. We need to run the first blood panel."​Alaric stood up and smoothed his hair. The vulnerable man disappeared, replaced instantly by the cold CEO. "Come in, Dr. Vance," he said.​The door opened, and a woman in a white lab coat walked in, followed by two nurses carrying a mobile ultrasound machine. She looked at me with cold, calculating eyes. She didn't see a woman. She saw a laboratory.​"Is this the subject?" the doctor asked.​"This is my wife," Alaric corrected her. The word hit me like a physical punch. "And you will treat her with more respect than you treat yourself. If she loses even a single drop of blood more than necessary, I will personally see to it that you never practice medicine again."​"Of course, Mr. Thorne," the doctor said, her face going pale.​Alaric looked at me one last time. "I’ll be in the study. Don't f