Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

Chapter Forty OneZane’s POVThe heavy mahogany doors of the penthouse office slammed open, the lock splintering against the frame with a violent crack that echoed through the top floor of the hospital complex.Zara didn't even flinch.She was sitting gracefully behind her father's massive glass desk, a crystal glass of aged scotch resting between her manicured fingers. The soft moonlight filtering through the panoramic windows caught the sharp, predatory gleam in her eyes as she slowly took a sip, completely unfazed by my grand entrance."You're late, Zane," she purred, setting the glass down with a delicate clink. "And here I thought an Alpha was always punctual.""Shut up, Zara," I growled, the raw, furious rumble vibrating deep in my chest as I closed the distance between us. I slammed both of my palms down on the smooth glass surface of the desk, leaning in until I was inches from her face. "What the hell were you doing at Pier Forty-Two?"Zara tilted her head, a mock expression

Chapter Forty Three Laila’s POV The heavy, thick-bottomed glass bottle tore through the stale air of the bar with terrifying velocity. It was aimed straight for the center of his chest—a frantic, rage-fueled projectile packed with every single ounce of betrayal, confusion, and bone-deep exhaustion I had carried since waking up in that golden cage of a hospital suite. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to break that calm, impenetrable mask of his. I wanted to see him bleed, if only to prove to myself that the terrifying, invincible Alpha standing before me was actually human enough to feel pain. Zane didn't even blink. With preternatural, terrifying speed that defied every law of physics, his head tilted just an inch to the left. The wind from his movement whipped the dark hair across his forehead as the heavy wine bottle missed his ear by a mere hairsbreadth. It didn't hit him. Instead, it sailed right past his shoulder and smashed violently against the wooden doorframe behind h

Chapter Forty Five Laila’s POV Zane cleared his throat, snapping his dark eyes back up to my face as if he hadn't just gotten caught staring at my chest like a hungry animal. He shifted his broad shoulders, pulling out a thick, black leather folder from the inner pocket of his jacket and tossing it onto the wooden counter between us. "I am not going to hand you charity, Laila," he said, his voice dropping into a deep, gravelly tone that cut through the cold air of the ruined bar. "I know your pride won't take it, and I know your brother would rather rot in a cell than take my money. So we fix this the proper way. On home turf." I looked down at the sleek folder, then back up at his face, narrowing my eyes into tight slits. "What is this?" "A private, off-the-books underground fight," Zane said calmly, tapping his large finger against the leather cover. "Right here. In The Masks. Tonight." My jaw almost hit the concrete floor. "Are you insane? Look at this place! The doorfra

Chapter Forty-SevenLaila’s POVZane leaned back in his leather executive chair, resting his forearms against the cool glass surface of the massive table. He tapped his long, calloused fingers against the top page of the thick document sitting between us, his dark eyes tracking every tiny flick of emotion on my face."The proposition is simple," Zane said, his deep, gravelly voice filling the sunlit room with an easy authority. "I am going to merge your club with mine. We combine The Masks with my private downtown venue under a single operational network. The profit margins will finally make sense, the overhead costs drop to almost nothing, and Rico's thugs won't be able to touch a single brick without declaring war on my entire pack logistics empire."I stood there by the edge of the glass table, my arms crossed tightly over my chest.My head was still throbbing from the hangover, my body felt hollowed out, and the sheer exhaustion of the past few weeks sat on my shoulders like a mou

Chapter Forty-NineLaila’s POVZane didn't budge an inch when my palms pressed against his warm, bare chest. Instead, his dark amber eyes danced with a slow, wicked heat as he looked down at my hands against his skin."I will agree to your little marketing stunt on one condition," he purred, his low voice vibrating right through his sternum against my fingertips.I narrowed my eyes, refusing to drop my gaze despite the nervous, electric fluttering in my stomach. "And what condition would that be, Alpha?""You direct the promotional shoot yourself," Zane said smoothly, stepping back just enough to let cool air slip between our bodies, though his eyes never left mine. "No outside photographers, no random studio crew running around my private estate. Just you, your friend, and a camera. If you want to use my image to build your empire, you have to be the one calling the shots.""Deal," I blurted out before my brain could stop my mouth.Twenty-four hours later, I was standing in the cente