Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

The cup hit the floor and shattered.Neither of them moved.Lumina stared at the pieces on the kitchen tiles. At the coffee spreading slowly across the grout. At the mess of it. Then she looked up at Dylan and something passed between them that didn't need words.He had known since yesterday.He had known, and he had taken her to a rooftop with jasmine and fairy lights and held her face in his hands and kissed her, and the whole time Ethan Cole had been two kilometres away in a hotel room that Dylan knew the address of."How long?" she said."Cain confirmed he was here yesterday evening.""Before or after you picked me up?"Dylan didn't answer."Before or after, Dylan!""Before."She turned away. Walked to the counter, pressed both palms flat against it, and stood there. The back of her neck was hot. Her jaw was tight. She was not going to cry. She had cried over this man exactly once, and she was not doing it again and definitely not in her own kitchen on a beautiful day."You should

The morning after felt different.Not in a dramatic way. Just quieter. Softer around the edges. Like the city had turned the volume down slightly and given her room to breathe.Lumina opened the clinic at eight. Made tea instead of coffee for the first time in weeks. Stood at the window for a moment, watching Crestwood wake up, and thought about last night. About the quiet street and Dylan's forehead against hers and the word okay that had meant about seventeen different things when she said it.Mira arrived at eight fifteen and took one look at her face."You're glowing," Mira said."I'm not glowing.""You're absolutely glowing. You look like a woman who got kissed on a street corner last night.""I look like a woman who slept properly for once.""Same thing sometimes." Mira hung up her coat and smiled the smile of someone who was going to be insufferable about this for the foreseeable future. "I'm just saying. You look good. You look like yourself. The real version."Lumina handed h

The day of the summit finally came, and Lumina was all over the place.She almost changed her outfit four times before finally settling on the third option. A deep burgundy dress that fell to the floor in clean lines, fitted at the waist, simple at the neck. The silk hugged her figure like it had been made specifically for her, tracing every curve as she moved. It wasn't trying too hard, but the way it sat on her made her look breathtaking. Elegant. And pure heat.Mira sat on the bed watching the whole process with her arms folded and the expression of someone thoroughly enjoying every second of it."The burgundy one," Mira said."I'm wearing it, aren't I?""I'm confirming you made the right choice." Mira tilted her head. "Dylan is going to forget how to speak.""Dylan doesn't forget how to do anything.""Tonight he might." Mira stood up and walked a slow circle around her like she was assessing a piece of art. "You look incredible. Genuinely. Like something out of a dream that men wr

Lumina was curled up on the sofa with a book she had been trying to finish for three weeks when her phone lit up.She picked up. "Hey.""What are you doing?""Reading.""Have you eaten?""Yes.""What did you eat?"She looked at the cold tea on the table and the empty plate she still hadn't moved from two hours ago. "Food.""Lumina.""It was a proper meal, Dylan.""What was it?""Why are you calling me to ask about my dinner?""Because the last time you told me you'd eaten properly, you had half a biscuit and called it lunch." A pause. "Come over."She looked at her book. At the cold tea. At the quiet, empty clinic below her. "It's late.""It's eight thirty.""That's late for some people.""Is it late for you?"She smiled before she could stop herself. Put the book down. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."She could hear the smile in his voice too. "I'll leave the door open."……….He was in the kitchen when she arrived. She dropped her bag by the door, walked straight to the kitchen and

Somewhere across town, Cain sat across from Dylan at the kitchen table in Dylan’s house and made his case without apology."The annual pack social is overdue," he said. "People are unsettled and troubled, especially with everything that's happened these past months, the move, the security changes, all of it. They need something normal. One evening where nothing is on fire."Dylan looked at him. "We've had a slightly busy few months.""Which is exactly why they need it." Cain set his coffee down. "Just food, people, music, dance, and stuff. The main hall. Nothing complicated."Dylan looked at Lumina across the table, expecting her to defend him.She raised an eyebrow. "Don't look at me. He's right.""You're supposed to be on my side.""I am on your side, and that side needs a party."Cain was already reaching for his phone. "Two weeks. I'll handle everything.""You always say that, and then I end up involved.""You're the Supreme Alpha. You're always involved." He stood up. "It'll be