LOGINThank you so much for reading this story!
LucasI watch Aurora for a long moment after her breathing falls into that deep, even rhythm that tells me she is really asleep. Not the kind where she might wake if the mattress shifts or the air changes. This is the kind where her body finally lets go.Her lashes rest against her cheeks, casting faint shadows. Her lips part slightly, just enough to soften her whole face. She looks younger like this.I move slowly. Everything about me slows when I peel myself away from her. I ease my arm out from beneath her head, inch by inch, replacing the space with the pillow so she does not feel the loss. She stirs once, a quiet sound leaving her throat, and I freeze. My eyes stay on her face until her breathing smooths again.Only then do I stand.I pull the blanket higher, tucking it around her shoulders, smoothing the fabric like my hands know exactly where to go. My wolf insists on it, a low push in my chest that says warmth matters, safety matters. I listen.I start looking around, letting
LucasAurora exhales sharply through her nose. I feel it before I hear it, the way anger moves through her like a flare, fast and hot. The bond carries it straight to me. No filter. No softening. Just raw feeling pressing against my ribs. She does not look at me. Her gaze stays on the wreck of her room like she is recording damage inside her own head.There is one thing I cannot fault this place for. Efficiency. Arthur gives an order and the house responds like a single organism. People move in and out without noise, without questions. Drawers are lifted, clothes folded, hangers aligned. In less than twenty minutes, the room resets itself. When the last person leaves, the door clicks shut and the silence settles. It is just me and Aurora now.I was not planning on staying here. But after what happened today, there is no way I am leaving Aurora alone. I don't trust anyone, not even Arthur. No one gets the benefit of my trust. Not guards. Not family. Not allies who stand too easily in
LucasArthur goes into war mode without letting any of the outrage seeping outside him.He stands in the middle of the corridor outside Aurora’s room, posture composed, hands clasped behind his back, expression unreadable to anyone. I know better. The calm is tight. Contained. His anger does not flare outward. It folds inward, sharp and focused, the kind that cuts clean.“Somebody was inside the house,” he says, voice level, eyes fixed on the guards lined up in front of him. “Inside Aurora’s room. And none of you were aware of it.”The guards stand straighter. One of them swallows. Another shifts his weight just a fraction, enough for me to clock nervous energy. Arthur sees it too. He sees everything right now.“Sir,” one of them says, choosing his words carefully, “nobody entered the private part of the house. As per your orders, all guests were contained in the main area.”Arthur turns slowly and points toward the open door behind us. The mess inside Aurora’s room is still visible.
LucasThe first thing that hits me when I enter Arthur’s office is the smell of smoke. Thick. Bitter. It sits in the room like it belongs here. Arthur takes another pull from his cigar and exhales slowly, eyes never leaving me as I cross the threshold. He looks exactly as he always does when he wants control. Relaxed posture. Sharp attention.The door closes behind me with a quiet finality. No echo. No drama. Just a sound that tells me this conversation is meant to stay contained.Arthur gestures toward the empty chair in front of his desk. I sit, my movements calm, my focus already dissecting the room. The bookshelf behind him. The way his fingers rest near the ashtray. The faint tension in his jaw that suggests he is expecting resistance.“So,” I say, skipping any pretense, “what is going on?”He does not answer right away. He watches me instead, like he is deciding which version of the truth to offer.“Arthur,” I continue, keeping my voice even, “I need to know everything. This is
LucasWhen Arthur called me that night, I did not pause to think. My mind knew it was related to Aurora.That is enough to make every other consideration feel small.Jack argued first. He always does when he thinks I am walking into something sharp. Mikhail backed him up, quieter but no less firm. Coming alone was a bad idea. Walking into her family’s territory without support was unnecessary risk. They were not wrong. I knew that even as I ignored them.I could not bring anyone else into this. If something went wrong, it needed to end with me. So I told them I was going alone.When I reached the estate, Arthur met me before I even fully stepped inside. He looked the same as always. Controlled. Composed. But there was something underneath it that night, something restless.He told me he was going to acknowledge my relationship with Aurora in front of everyone.Not ask. Not suggest. State.He did not give details. He did not explain the timing. He just said it needed to happen tonight.
AuroraThe aura coming off Lucas is something I have never felt before.It presses into the space around him quietly, like the room itself has decided to lean away.There is something so dangerous about him... something you can't pinpoint at, yet you can feel it in your bones.The woman is still talking when he reaches them.She is halfway through another sentence, lips pursed with that familiar mix of pity and superiority, when she notices him. Her words die mid-breath. It is almost comical, the way her confidence evaporates. Her eyes flick to his face, then past him, as if searching for backup that does not exist.Lucas smiles.It is polite. Perfectly shaped. Empty.The kind of smile that makes your stomach drop before your mind catches up. There is no warmth in it, not even a trace. Just restraint sharpened to an edge.“The woman you are talking about,” he says, voice even and clear, “is my woman.”Every sound in the room thins out. Conversations stall. Someone behind me clears the







