Leah's POVFinn kept his silence, a rare occurrence that only deepened the enigma that surrounded him. The more time I spent with him, the more his mysteries unfolded, like shadows weaving around him. It was as if something dark and heavy, invisible to the eye, ensnared him. I desperately wanted to help lift that burden, but the 'how' eluded me, plunging me into sadness.Reaching out to grab his hand, he took a deliberate step back, evading my touch. "Finn, you know you can share anything with me,” I said softly, my heart pounding with every word.His face darkened, and his voice dropped to a whisper, "Leah, I don’t want to talk about it right now."“Finn, I understand, but the tattoo on your chest...” I whispered, my curiosity tipping the balance.He erupted in anger, his voice thunderous, "I’ve already told you. I don’t want to discuss it now!"His sudden outburst stunned me into silence. This was a side of Finn I had never seen before—maybe this was the real him, I thought. The rea
Leah's POV"I need you to perform for me, Miss Lewyn," Alpha Kyle stated firmly. "I saw your performance at His Majesty's birthday party recently. It was quite impressive.""Excuse me?" I frowned, taken aback."Alpha Mick is getting married and has invited all the other Alphas to Mediland. I was asked to put on a spectacular show to entertain them. The usual slave dances are so tedious. So, I thought I’d try something different...""I'm a fugitive on the run. You can't possibly think I could dance in front of a room full of Alphas who know my hus..." I hesitated, swallowing the word 'husband.'Finn clenched his fists angrily.Alpha Kyle continued with a lecherous smirk, "I should inform you that your husband will also be in the audience. He has already accepted Alpha Mick's invitation. But don't worry about it. The way I want you to dance doesn't emphasize your face but other parts of your body..."Before he could finish, Finn stood up, grabbing my arm and leading me away."Coming her
Leah's POVThe dressing room was the epitome of opulence. As I stepped inside, the soft glow of crystal chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling enveloped me, their light cascading like shimmering waterfalls over a piano. Plush, velvet couches in deep burgundy and emerald green were strategically placed for maximum comfort, luring anyone to sink in and relax. The air carried a subtle blend of sandalwood and cigarette smoke.Behind a curtain, I caught sight of Finn's tall, dark figure. He was leaning against the balcony, smoking and staring into the distance. When he noticed my presence, he turned back slowly, maintaining a calm demeanor. The servants left, closing the door behind them. We were alone in the dressing room."I didn't know you smoked," I said."There are many things you don't know about me," Finn replied, approaching me and cupping my face with his hand, the cigarette still between his fingers. His long, slender fingers brushed against my skin, making me tremble. I yearn
Leah's POVFinn didn't say a word, but his actions spoke volumes. This woman was his mate, and now, she was trying to attack me. My head buzzed with confusion and dizziness washed over me. I collapsed into a chair, struggling to comprehend the unfolding chaos. This scenario felt all too familiar - the man I loved clutching yet another deranged woman in his arms, and she wanted me dead. Nausea churned in my stomach."Finn..." I steadied myself, "Is this woman your mate?""Yes, she is," responded a voice from behind the door. I looked up to see Alpha Kyle entering the room."You should have heeded my warning, Miss Lewyn. You should have fled while you still had the chance," he said, his gaze fixated on the woman in Finn's arms.Recognition hit me—this woman looked familiar."Is she your...""Daughter. Yes, she is," Alpha Kyle confirmed, taking his daughter from Finn's arms with a look of utter disgust. He shoved her towards his servants."Lock her in her room," he ordered them. Then, tu
Leah's POV"I... Nina Lilith Thortone of the Moonhowlers Pack... accept your rejection..." Nina whispered, her voice a mere ghost of its former strength.Finn crumpled beside her, his body wracked with pain. Desperation and agony filled his eyes as he clung to her, his frame trembling.Nina drew upon the last vestiges of her life force and gazed at me, her eyes clouded with a mixture of resentment and gratitude."For a long time, I wanted to kill you..." she muttered, extending a frail hand toward me. "But I changed my mind... You were the only one... who tried to help me... I hate you... for being so kind..."The guards pounded on the door, their kicks echoing ominously through the room. The piano trembled with each blow, its structure threatening to give way.I grasped Nina's withered hands tightly. "Swear... Take good care of him... Don't ever hurt him... Don't let anyone hurt him... He has endured too much already...""I swear," I vowed, my voice steady. "I will take good care of
Leah's POVFinn's face contorted with fury, his brows knotted, and his eyes blazing with unrestrained anger. The veins in his neck bulged as he fixed his glare on me. The air around us felt charged, as if the very fabric of reality was on the verge of tearing apart."I've already told you—it's none of your business!" Finn roared, shifting into his wolf form, his fur gleaming with a metallic sheen under the shimmering sunlight."Finn, you're weak now. You're not my rival. I need you to calm down and talk to me; this is important," I pleaded."I'm done talking to you! You manipulative bitch!" His wolf snarled, stomping its paws with an earth-shaking force. It seemed Finn's wolf was even grumpier than the man himself."Answer my question. Is Lucas Farrow your brother?" I repeated, my voice steady.Finn’s wolf could hold back no longer. With a powerful leap, it launched itself at me, its fangs bared. Just as its teeth were about to sink into my flesh, a black shadow flashed by, intercepti
Leah's POVI hadn't seen my father in a very long time. Growing up, we were never close. I spent most of my time with my eldest brother, Lucian, who became more of a father figure to me than our actual father ever was. To me, my father was merely a distant figure, a visiting duke when I was little, and a symbol of power as I grew older and understood his true identity. But the question lingered - did I really know who he was?I had always avoided delving into the details of his life, keeping my distance. As werewolves, we live by strict hierarchies, and a daughter, especially the daughter of the Lycan King, has no place to judge her fath
Leah's POVI slapped the back of Jorah's seat and shouted, "Drive. Drive now, Jorah!"Jorah hesitated for a fraction of a second before starting the engine. The car roared to life and surged forward with a sudden jolt. I flung the door open, willing Lucas to join us."Get in, Lucas! We have to go!" I mentally urged him.To my amazement, Lucas seemed to hear my silent command. He launched himself into the car just as it lurched ahead, crashing through several barricades.
Leah's POVNow, that hunger roared back, fueled by loss and longing. We gave in, tearing at each other, a storm of despair and need. His hands roamed my scarred flesh, rough and reverent, and I arched into him, swaying my hips, dragging it out like a ritual. Pain laced every touch, every thrust - his breath ragged, my moans breaking into sobs. We fucked like we were clawing our way out of graves, desperate to feel something beyond the wreckage of our lives.Inside, my wolf snarled, "This man is dangerous. He's lost everything for you. You're all he has. He shows up when the world burns - destiny or curse? Plus, he killed your child!"I answered her, fierce and silent, as Darren moved inside me, "This man bled for me, broke for me. He's my shield, my fate, my fucking heart. I've crawled through hell, and you never spoke to me. Why now?"My wolf went quiet, retreating, and I surrendered to him - to the ache, the heat, the ruin of us. We collapsed, spent, ta
Leah's POVThe sky shattered above me, a jagged maw of chaos spitting debris like venom. But Darren was there, his arms clamping around me, fierce and unyielding, rolling me across the ground as the hulking ship model plummeted from the heavens. It crashed where we'd been, its splintered bulk clawing the earth, and I felt the tremor in my bones. Dust choked the air, a gritty veil, but all I knew was his body pressed against mine, hard and desperate, his heat searing through the cold dread coiling in my gut.When the world stilled, our eyes locked. His stare cut through the haze, sharp as a blade, stripping me raw. Memories clawed their way up—him looming over me, blood-smeared and feral, shielding me from death's jaws. Tears burned my eyes, spilling hot and relentless, carving tracks down my dust-caked face. I couldn't stop them, couldn't cage the ache ripping through me.But then I caught it - or didn't. The air around him was wrong, empty. No musk of wol
Leah's POVI nodded, keeping my face smooth, blank - a perfect little mirror for the director's pride. Inside, my blood roared. These bastards had turned on Liam's father the second his body was cold, carved up his legacy, and handed it to Al Cosa on a silver platter. Everything Liam should've had—stolen. But I kept my claws sheathed, my fangs hidden. Not yet.Dinner came next, the shift announced by a waiter's clipped voice. I'd spent the earlier hours letting the deputy mayor fleece me at cards, folding my hands with a shy smile while his stack of chips grew. By the time we sat down to eat, he was rosy-cheeked and beaming, drunk on victory and wine. He clapped a meaty hand on my shoulder, his breath sour. "Leah, you've got to come to the seafood charity dinner next weekend. Big fundraiser for the Pier 16 Free Trade Zone. It'll be a hell of a show."I smiled, soft and apologetic. "I'd love to, but I'm flying to California next week. My company's got an ev
Leah's POVHours bled into each other. The party grew loud, sloppy. I slipped away to the pool terrace, heels dangling from my fingers, the night air sticky with salt and regret. The water shimmered like broken glass.Josephine used to fling herself into a pool to play damsel on my wedding night to get Lucas' attention. And that happened like in my my last life. And Darren - my shadow, my sword, the man who'd bled for me in alleys and ballrooms alike. Where was he now? Dead, surely. He'd have torn the slave market apart otherwise.The champagne bubbled bitter on my tongue. A tear fell - weakness - but the night hid it."Mrs. Winters." The deputy police chief staggered over, tie undone. "You're missing the fun.""I was just admiring the view," I lied. "I was just thinking to myself, you must be very good at your job. So young for a deputy chief."His chest puffed. "Beginner's luck.""Luck favors the bold," I said, leaning clos
Finn's POVI let him paw at me, a doll in his grip, his anxious eyes boring into me. It stirred something - anger, maybe, or worse, something soft I couldn't stomach. I shoved him back, sharp and sudden. "I'm fine," I snarled, turning to walk away.The flowers hit the ground behind me, petals scattering like spilled guts."Pick them up," I ordered, my tone cold.He immediately obeyed, bending down to gather the mess, his muscles flexing beneath the suit. I watched him, my mind a battlefield of desire and disgust. He was mine, bought and owned, yet with every touch, every glance, I felt like I was the one being claimed.I stepped on his back. Hard.Kairo scrambled on all fours before me, fingers trembling as they snatched at scattered petals - crimson on stone, like the blood already smearing his split lip. His haste amused me. The way his breath hitched, the way his shoulders tensed when my shadow fell over him.I let him hope for a s
Finn's POVI hated clinics. It stank of antiseptic and rotting blood, a paradox that clung to my tongue like acid eating through rot. Dr. Jafar's shadow pooled beneath the flickering fluorescents as he blocked the hallway - a vulture in a stained lab coat, wings spread to guard carrion."His lungs collapse twice daily now," the doctor said, teeth yellow as old piano keys. "The machines breathe for him. You understand? No more speeches about sensative topics here."I stared at him with a blank face. "Move."The ward beyond was a cathedral of dying. Monitors chirped hymns. Tubes coiled like sacred serpents around my brother's skeletal frame. Lucas' chest rose in mechanical spasms - a marionette jerked by invisible strings. I'd seen livelier corpses in the slave pits.His hand felt paper-thin when I took it, veins mapping failures under cold skin. "Brother," I said, savoring the word's rancid sweetness.Eyelids peeled back like fresh wounds. Re
Finn's POVThe dungeon stank of piss and rot, the air so thick I could taste it - bitter, sour, like the inside of a grave. A slash of crimson moonlight cut through the wall, spilling over the stone like blood from a fresh wound. My scars itched, a map of every bastard who'd torn me open and left me hollow. I needed it tonight, that sharp, searing proof I wasn't just a ghost rattling in this fucked-up shell.He was there, the slave, strung up like some beast, chains gnashing at his wrists and throat. Wolf poison hissed on his skin, blistering it raw, but he didn’t flinch. Those eyes - wild, molten - locked on me, burning with a love so desperate it could choke us both. He lunged as I got close, chains screaming, his voice a ragged snarl. "Alpha!"I saw his skin searing as it touched the chain.I tilted my head to look at the guard standing next to me.He panicked and said, "Sorry, Alpha! He has broken so many chains... We have to dip th
Leah's POVLater, they dragged me to the monitoring room, a sterile cage of flickering screens and stale air. The video looped endlessly - Antonio's fall, a silent plunge into the dark sea, over and over like a sick ritual. I sat there, wrapped in a scratchy blanket, shivering for show, while Al Cosa perched across from me, an old vulture hunched over his prey. His eyes, sharp and unblinking, devoured the footage, and not a flicker of pain crossed that wrinkled mask. Ruthless bastard, I thought, savoring his son's last moments like a fine cigar, no tears, no cracks. Just cold, hard control.Johnny, his slick consigliere, loomed nearby, arms crossed, voice smooth as oil."Mrs. Winters," he said, "I've no intention of detaining you here. But as the sole witness before Tony's fall, you've got an obligation to tell me the truth. What happened?"I shrank into the blanket, letting my hands tremble, my breath hitch."He took me to the balcony," I mumbled,
Leah's POVThe limousine door hissed open, releasing me into a hurricane of camera flashes. Miami's salt-rotten breeze tangled with the stench of money and gardenias as I stepped onto the crimson carpet, Rafael Laflamme's final creation clinging to my thighs like a lover's last breath. The dress was a funeral shroud in reverse - black silk devoured by blood-red crystals, cut low enough to make the paparazzi forget their own names. Four tall, dark male models flanked me, their hollow-cheeked perfection a living barricade. I'd chosen them for their vacant eyes. Men who looked at nothing saw nothing.Whispers followed like gnats. Who is she? I smiled behind the lace mask, its spiderweb patterns itching my scars. Let them wonder. Let them choke on their own curiosity.The ballroom swallowed us whole, chandeliers dripping light onto a thousand masks - feathers, gold leaf, animal snarls. I tasted champagne on the air, acidic and false. The first waltz began i