Forgive my tardiness, dear reader. I was sidetracked with edits to help ensure a smoother read for you all! More chapters are in the works this week, I promise!
*** Eamon's POVLil had left the party hours ago, but still wasn’t home.I regretted not following her, but I couldn’t reconcile that with abandoning the surveillance. It had seemed like the obvious choice at the time—keep my eye on the case, let her do what she needed. But as the night dragged on, regret settled in, gnawing at me like a wound that wouldn't heal.There had been no sense of urgency or danger through the mate bond, so I wasn’t exactly worried. Annoyed? Yes. Worried? Not yet. After all, I had explicitly told her not to leave the house but she’d done the opposite. My frustration grew tenfold knowing she wasn’t answering her phone because she’d left it behind in her apartment. I’d heard the damn thing buzzing when I tried to call.I busied myself with checking in on my team. Kirk had tracked Red to a Sanctum club, the kind of place with a dubious reputation and an even more exclusive clientele. She apparently had VIP access, which only fueled our optimism that tailing her w
*** Riona's POV"Will you do it again?" I had asked Dawn, my voice steady but my heart racing."Every time," she had answered without hesitation, her tone as cold as ever."When?""That's not the question you want to ask me," she had replied, her sharp eyes narrowing in that way that always told me she was two steps ahead."Aren’t you tired of burying them?" My voice cracked just slightly."You bury them," she had said, emotionless."Fuck you," I’d spat back, knowing it wouldn't cut as deep as I wanted."Is that all?""Give me the charge," I had demanded, my desperation barely contained."It’s simpler to bury them," she had said with that infuriating calmness."Give. Me. The. Charge."And then, a voice I didn’t recognize had cut through the air. "It’s already done. I hope you survive. I really do."Another night, reliving the same moment. More than four decades later, I’d make the same choice. Every single time. The only thing I’d change? Maybe adding a rune to automatically summon a
*** Third Person POV“We were asleep for a reason, a good one." Her voice was calm but edged with a severity that made Eamon pause. Skadi stood across the room, her stance rigid, her eyes locked onto his with an intensity that demanded his attention."It would have to be, considering the risk Lil faces shifting at her age." Eamon’s tone was controlled, but beneath it was a thread of concern. He took a seat back on the edge of the bed, watching her closely, his body tense as if preparing for something he couldn’t yet see."The shift is the least of our worries." She tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing as if daring him to challenge her.The room felt charged, the air thick with unspoken tension. Skadi's voice was low, her words deliberate, each syllable weighted with meaning."Death isn’t a worry?" His voice held a sharper edge now, frustration creeping in. "Being taken alive is the worry." Her reply was cold, almost dismissive, as she crossed her arms, her eyes darkening.
*** Lisa’s POVI waited, watching Drax lean back in his makeshift throne—a beat-up recliner that had seen better days. The room itself reeked of something desperate, something hollow. The kind of place that pretends to be more than it is, much like Drax himself.He was reveling in the aftermath of his climax, a disgusting display as the girl struggled between his legs, her body twitching as she made her final, desperate attempts to free herself. She clawed at his legs, weak punches landing uselessly against his torso. It wasn’t long before her fight drained out, her last breath spent in a stifled scream, her mouth still impaled on his cock. With a final shiver of satisfaction, he shoved her off, her limp body collapsing in a heap next to the other two women he’d discarded like broken toys.I didn’t flinch. I’d seen worse. Done worse.“Drax,” I said coolly, my voice cutting through the murky air. “This will be your last chance to leave before you’re just another body at my feet.”His e
*** Lilliana's POVI’d arrived early, and the hotel’s parking lot was as busy as I’d imagined. I’d just be another face in a sea of people—anonymous, forgettable.The air in my small car was thick with anticipation, a heady mix of excitement and nerves that clung to me like a second skin. I’d been sitting here too long, trapped in a loop of what-ifs. But there was something intoxicating about the waiting, about watching people filter into the hotel and trying to guess which one might be them. Him, her, them—it didn’t matter.It all came down to trust—trusting myself. Could I let go, just for tonight? Could I trust the process… his process? The thought made me chuckle, a nervous, half-choked sound that felt more revealing than comforting. My nerves were in overdrive, and the irony wasn’t lost on me.For nearly an hour, I watched people come and go, hoping for a sign, a clue—anything to tip the scales. Maybe I’d spot someone who looked as anxious as I felt, or someone striding in with ov
(SIX WEEKS EARLIER)*** Third Person POV------Opening: Instructor WantedTopics of interest: Deep Throating 101, How to Break into Fisting, and the Limits of Breath Play.Attire: Just enough restraints to keep one open for business.Timeline: One-night cram session, looking to enroll soon------Her fingers hovered above ‘post’ for the third night in a row. She didn’t think she’d ever make love again, but fucking—that was something she could do. John and she never fucked, never did anything 'kinky', but the sex was still great. It had been three years since the accident, and she hadn’t even dated, let alone been intimate with someone.Fucking wasn't even the right term. She didn't know what the right term was to label the desires she was having. At the root of it all, she knew what she really ached for was to relinquish control, step back into her feminine and renew the connection to her own life.The past year had been a struggle as her body had come back to life, and touching herse
(NOW)*** AlphaWatcher's POV“Interesting…” The word slips out as I lean back in the chair. The screen light is soft. It throws shadows in the room, but I don’t mind them. I hadn’t expected much tonight. The forums are usually full of junk. Clickbait. Bad attempts at fishing for attention. But this one is different.The ad is plain. Direct. It has just enough in it to show the person knows what they want. Or thinks they do. Most posts are desperate. Or worse. Full of fantasies that don’t make sense. But this one is clear. Serious. Thoughtful.I’ve seen plenty of submissives at the gatherings. The parties where everyone knows the score. Where the lines between what’s real and what’s not blur just enough to make it good. Those are controlled. Planned. I like the chase. Breaking down walls. Pushing limits. But the classifieds? They’re just a way to relax. To see who thinks they can play in our world.This ad isn’t the usual. There’s something deeper in it. Experience, maybe. Or hunger, he
(NOW)*** AlphaWatcher's POVHe had arrived early too. He always did. It gave him time to think, to watch. There was a calm in it, a sense of control. He needed that. She arrived not long after, and he saw her right away. Most people got out of their cars quickly, eager to move, to get on with things. But she sat there, watching. She wasn’t in a rush. She was taking her time, feeling out the situation. He admired that. It showed she had the right mindset—cautious but curious.After a while, he circled the parking lot, moving a few spaces behind her. His vision was sharp, better than most. He got a good look at her. She was more attractive than he’d imagined. Fresh-faced, no makeup, no manufactured perfume. Just her. It was refreshing, real. There was something grounding about it.Her car was old, a simple Honda, but in perfect condition. It looked like it had been kept unused in a garage for years. He concluded it had. She was practical, not flashy. He liked that too. Flashy people we