CLAUDEMY HEART WAS pounding so hard against my chest that it felt like I might actually suffocate under the weight of it. Every breath was a struggle, each inhale shaky as I continued to stare at him, the words he’d just said echoing in my head.I love you. I love you. I couldn’t make sense of it. I couldn’t understand how something so simple could make my entire world feel like it was cracking apart and coming together all at once.“What?” I choked out, my voice barely a whisper, my hands trembling as I reached for him, pressing my palm against his chest, needing to feel something—anything—that was real, that would make this feel real.Nikolai’s smile softened. It wasn’t sharp, it wasn’t cocky. It was raw. It was breathless. There was a quiet desperation in it, something so different. I felt my breath catch. His fingers slipped through my hair, gently pushing it back from my face as he leaned in, his lips brushing over mine—so soft it hurt, like he was afraid of breaking me.“I’m f
NIKOLAII TOOK A sharp breath, the kind that burned in my chest.Claude’s body was stretched out underneath me, all lean muscle and bruised beauty. I rolled to the side, pulling the sheets over us, and his eyes followed me—hand landing on my chest like he thought I would run.I wasn’t.I would never.“Can I mark you?” he asked again, voice rough, voice so fucking soft.He asked it like a man offering forever. Like he didn’t know I’d already sold my soul to make sure no one ever touched him again—he was mine, and mine alone.I swallowed the lump in my throat and reached for his hand on my chest, lacing our fingers together and kissing the back of his knuckles.“You sure?” I murmured, my voice heavier than I meant it to be.“Yes.”No hesitation.Fuck.I closed my eyes for a second. He deserved to know. Even if I didn’t want him to. Even if he left this bed and I spent the rest of my fucking life chasing him down, begging for his forgiveness—I couldn’t keep this from him.So I said it.“
CLAUDEI COULDN’T EVEN look at the food in front of me. My stomach roared from hunger—but I couldn’t stomach it. Not when my mind felt like it was suffocating me.Too much.Everything was too much.I yanked at the collar of my shirt, but it didn’t help. Nothing helped. It was like I was drowning in air—my chest so tight, it felt like I couldn’t even breathe.“Claude?”I snapped my head toward Nikolai, his gaze locked on me, eyes narrowed, like he could see right through me. But I couldn’t look at him.I did the right thing but I felt guilty. Guilty that I’d lied.But I felt like I had.“Claude, you need to eat.”I couldn’t even bring myself to move. My fingers tightened around the fork in my hand, the metal cold under my touch, but I stayed silent. My lips pressed into a thin, stubborn line, and I just… stared at the food, trying to ignore the growing ache in my gut, trying to ignore how everything felt like it was spiraling out of control.The scrape of a chair against marble made me
CLAUDE I FLEXED MY shoulders as I approached my fathers office. He had called for me about twenty minutes ago. I placed my balled fist on the door to his office, ready to knock but before I did, he muttered a “Come in.”I pushed the door open and my father was seated behind his desk, a smile playing on his lips. “Son, take a seat.” He said and I did.“You called.” I said curtly and his smile wilden. “Ahh, yes. I will just get straight to the point.” My father cleared his throat and placed his intertwined fingers on the desk. “There is a very important meeting that would be going on in Green Hill Pack—after the war and them helping us reclaim our pack, we have been offered a chance to —- and now that’s you’re no longer a kid, I want you to go to the meeting in place of me.”I swallowed harshly at the mention of the war, the same war that I had been rape by that—I pressed my eyes closed and puffed out a shaky breath. No, I couldn’t think of it. It h
CLAUDE TO BE HONEST, I couldn’t concentrate on what was being said throughout the conference meeting. A set of eyes lingered on my body, and I tried my hardest to ignore her. As soon as the meeting ended, I jumped out of my seat, avoiding mingling with the other ranking members, and made my way to the double doors. At the top of the stairs, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I forced myself not to curse. I turned around and sucked in a breath. The woman, gripping her knees and breathing heavily, looked up at me. She stood to her full height, glaring at me while dangling her nude heels between us. “I had to embarrass myself in front of everyone downstairs to catch up to you. Why are you running away from me, my mate?” I could only stare at her. When she reached out and touched my arm, I jumped back as if burned. The tingle where she touched me made it all too real. “I’m not ready,” I blurted out. She frowned, looking at me like I was mad—maybe I was. “W-what?” she choked, stepping clo
CLAUDE THE COOL AIR against my warm skin was a blissful invitation. I tucked my hands into the pocket of my jeans as I walked down a silent path. I noticed a stone chair in front of me and quickly made my way towards it. From a distance, a couple was approaching my way. He had his nose pressed into the woman’s neck, scent-marking her. I frowned watching them and my heart clenched for what I knew I couldn’t have. My phone dinged, and I had half expected a message from my father, but was surprised when it was from an unknown number. “Dear Tate Frank, your application has been well received and we are glad to let you know that you have been selected to join the Luxemar Yatch as a pet. Click the button below to confirm and the time and location for your pickup will be shown. Link expires in fourty eight hours.” I blinked in confusion, reread the message, and looked at the button to see that the timer was counting down. Clearly, the message wasn’t meant for me since my name wasn’t Tate
CLAUDEI sat across from my father, the room thick with the silence of the lies I was about to spin. He leaned forward, eyes narrowing as he studied me.“So, you’re saying Alpha Landon wants you at this meeting with the Federal werewolves… government officials?” His voice carried doubt, his fingers tapping the edge of the table.“Yes,” I replied, gripping my phone a little tighter.“And he didn’t think to tell me first?” His brow furrowed deeply.I met his gaze without flinching. “No.”He rubbed his beard—a beard I couldn’t seem to grow no matter how hard I tried. “It sounds suspicious.”“We’ve grown closer since our last meeting at his pack. He said he sees great potential in me as a future Alpha.” I spread my hands across the table, forcing myself to relax, or at least appear relaxed. “Don’t you think I have potential?”My father cleared his throat, a faint smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Of course, son. This could be a big opportunity for our pack.” His tone was clipped,
CLAUDEThe yacht jolted to life the moment the clock hit six, and I felt it in my bones. Turning to my side, I caught Amelia’s gaze already locked on me.“Come on, Tate, get that chain around your neck,” she grinned, slipping out of the short black dress she’d been wearing, leaving only the barest pair of matching black underwear.“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, my eyes widening, glancing around. Everyone else? Half-naked.Amelia laughed softly, pulling my attention back to her. “Oh, you didn’t know what you were getting into?” She gave me a light pat on the arm, her gaze turning almost sympathetic. “Relax, it’s just for show. No one’s asking you to strip completely. Just the shirt.” I exhaled hard, fingers gripping the cool metal chain in my hand. There was no reason to panic. No one here knew me, and if something went south, I could easily take any one of these humans. I was stronger. Better.“Oh, God, you’re like a lost puppy,” Amelia’s voice pulled me back, her hands on my
CLAUDEI COULDN’T EVEN look at the food in front of me. My stomach roared from hunger—but I couldn’t stomach it. Not when my mind felt like it was suffocating me.Too much.Everything was too much.I yanked at the collar of my shirt, but it didn’t help. Nothing helped. It was like I was drowning in air—my chest so tight, it felt like I couldn’t even breathe.“Claude?”I snapped my head toward Nikolai, his gaze locked on me, eyes narrowed, like he could see right through me. But I couldn’t look at him.I did the right thing but I felt guilty. Guilty that I’d lied.But I felt like I had.“Claude, you need to eat.”I couldn’t even bring myself to move. My fingers tightened around the fork in my hand, the metal cold under my touch, but I stayed silent. My lips pressed into a thin, stubborn line, and I just… stared at the food, trying to ignore the growing ache in my gut, trying to ignore how everything felt like it was spiraling out of control.The scrape of a chair against marble made me
NIKOLAII TOOK A sharp breath, the kind that burned in my chest.Claude’s body was stretched out underneath me, all lean muscle and bruised beauty. I rolled to the side, pulling the sheets over us, and his eyes followed me—hand landing on my chest like he thought I would run.I wasn’t.I would never.“Can I mark you?” he asked again, voice rough, voice so fucking soft.He asked it like a man offering forever. Like he didn’t know I’d already sold my soul to make sure no one ever touched him again—he was mine, and mine alone.I swallowed the lump in my throat and reached for his hand on my chest, lacing our fingers together and kissing the back of his knuckles.“You sure?” I murmured, my voice heavier than I meant it to be.“Yes.”No hesitation.Fuck.I closed my eyes for a second. He deserved to know. Even if I didn’t want him to. Even if he left this bed and I spent the rest of my fucking life chasing him down, begging for his forgiveness—I couldn’t keep this from him.So I said it.“
CLAUDEMY HEART WAS pounding so hard against my chest that it felt like I might actually suffocate under the weight of it. Every breath was a struggle, each inhale shaky as I continued to stare at him, the words he’d just said echoing in my head.I love you. I love you. I couldn’t make sense of it. I couldn’t understand how something so simple could make my entire world feel like it was cracking apart and coming together all at once.“What?” I choked out, my voice barely a whisper, my hands trembling as I reached for him, pressing my palm against his chest, needing to feel something—anything—that was real, that would make this feel real.Nikolai’s smile softened. It wasn’t sharp, it wasn’t cocky. It was raw. It was breathless. There was a quiet desperation in it, something so different. I felt my breath catch. His fingers slipped through my hair, gently pushing it back from my face as he leaned in, his lips brushing over mine—so soft it hurt, like he was afraid of breaking me.“I’m f
CLAUDEI WOKE UP gasping.My lungs were on fire, chest heaving too fast, too erratically. My fingers dug into the sheets—no, not sheets. Not his. Not that ground. I sucked in a breath, pushing myself up, my back slamming against the headboard.I wasn’t there.I wasn’t there.I dragged a shaky hand across my face. My skin was slick and my hair hair, wet. My chest felt tight, like I couldn’t get enough air, and my throat was sore, dry.Then I turned my head.The space next to me was empty. The sheets were cold. I swallowed, but it didn’t help. The room was dark, with only the faint light outside spilling in. I listened, hoping to hear the sound of him—his breath, his movements, anything that would tell me he was still here, that everything was still… okay.But there was nothing.I told myself not to care. Told myself he was just out there somewhere, doing whatever it was he did when he left. That he’d come back. But the fear was already there. Growing.I shoved the covers off, my legs
NIKOLAII PRESSED MY lips into a tight line, arms folded as I leaned against the board, watching him sleep.How thin he’d become. How fucking fragile he looked. And I hated it. Hated the hollowness in his face. Hated the way he avoided my eyes, like he thought I’d look at him differently—like I’d leave. Like he was too damaged for me now.I took a sharp breath, pressing my thumb to the bridge of my nose. Three days. It had been three days, and I still couldn’t get the fucking image out of my head.The truth was, I was afraid. Afraid that this would be the thing that finally broke him. Afraid that he would snap and he wouldn’t come back to me. And worse—I couldn’t take him back to Russia. Not yet. He had to stay here, hidden, buried in one of my houses, hours away from his pack."You shouldn’t want me," he’d said.But Christ—I had chased him across the damn world and back just to have him. And no matter what, I did want him.I eased onto the bed, brushing his hair back, careful, but the
CLAUDE MY WHOLE BODY ached, and a grunt left my lips as I forced my eyes open. A shaky breath slipped out as I stared at the beige wall.I blinked. My vision blurred at the edges, my throat raw as I sucked in a slow breath, tasting clean air—warm, stale, nothing like the damp rot I’d been drowning in for… gods, how long?I turned my head slowly, but the space beside me was empty.Nikolai.He had—he’d—My heart slammed once, twice. I pushed myself up, muscles screaming, my body heavy and my arm ached. I looked down, saw the needle hooked into my vein. The sight made my stomach lurch. The sharp pull of skin. The cold press of metal. Hands that had grabbed, torn, held me down—A sharp breath burned its way through my lungs.I yanked the IV out. Blood welled at the puncture site, beading, slipping over my skin, but I barely felt it. It was nothing. Nothing compared to—I swallowed hard.The sheets smelled clean. Too clean. No sweat, no filth, no blood soaked into the fibers. My pack didn’
NIKOLAI EVERYTHING FUCKING HURT.My stomach felt like it had been torn open—because it had—the bandages wrapped tight around my torso doing nothing to ease the burning throb beneath. My left wrist was useless, broken and swollen, fingers stiff and unmovable. Every breath dragged through my ribs like a knife.Pain didn’t matter. Not when Claude was lying there, still as fucking death.I hadn’t moved from this chair in hours. Maybe longer. Time had blurred into the steady drip of the IV flushing the drugs from his veins, the too-shallow rise and fall of his chest, the quiet, pained sounds that barely even reached my ears. Sounds that never should have left his fucking lips. Not Claude. Not mine.I wanted to touch him. To brush my fingers over his skin, to feel the warmth of him and remind myself he was still here. Still breathing. But he looked so fucking fragile. A man who could bring me to my knees, reduced to this. Bruises painted across his body, silver burns marking his wrists whe
NIKOLAITHE GUN WAS empty. I already fucking knew that. He knew that. But I still held it like it meant something. Like I could shove it down his throat and pull the trigger just to hear the useless, hollow click. Viktor stood there, fucking smirking, like he hadn’t earned the slowest death I could give him. I wanted to carve that smirk off his face. I wanted him on his knees, choking on his own fucking teeth. His nostrils flared. He was scenting me—like an animal, like he had any right. I dragged in a sharp, deep, breath trying to steady the anger clawing at my ribs. And then he grinned. “This must be him,” he said, voice low, amused. His eyes slid past me—to Claude. Hanging there. Bound in chains. “The man I could smell all over you.” A pause. Just a second. Just long enough for me to hear it—Claude’s breath catching. Viktor chuckled. “The one who’s been fucking you.” His head tilted, his smirk stretching. “I must’ve taught you well.” Taught. The word felt like b
NIKOLAIHE WAS EASY to track.The chip was still in his ear.That meant he was still alive. That meant—I gripped my phone so tight my fingers ached, my jaw locking as I forced myself to breathe. It rang once. Twice. Then—“Nikolai.”I closed my eyes, exhaling sharply through my nose. “Enzo.”A pause. Then that goddamn smirk in his voice, like he didn’t realize I was this close to losing it. Or maybe he did and just didn’t give a fuck.“Didn’t expect you to call me this quickly.”I didn’t have time for this. Not when I finally knew where he was. Not when I didn’t know what they’d done to him. My Claude.My chest felt too tight. My pulse was a hammer against bone.“What kills a wolf?” My voice came out low, steady—too steady—but my fingers curled tighter around the phone, white-knuckled and my breath short.Enzo took a sharp breath. Then chuckled. “Why? You planning to get rid of me? Didn’t think you’d be so eager.”I bent down, yanked the zipper open on my bag, my hands moving fast, p