Leah's POV I opened my eyes and saw Finn walking away from me. Looking at his back, I felt that my heart was shuttered into thousands of pieces. I wanted to call him back, but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I curled up and started to cough, gliding down to the floor. Jalin came in and found me curling on the floor. He rushed forward and held me up. "My Goddess, Leah. You're burning like a stove. What happened?" Jalin said. I didn't say anything but pressed my face against Jalin's chest, starting to cry out. "What the fuck are you looking at, Farrow?! Call Dr. Monk!" Jalin shouted. That was the last thing I heard when I passed out into oblivion. Jalin's POV "What happened to Leah?!" Lucian's voice was so loud that I didn't even have to put him on the speaker. "She's fine. She caught a bad cold and there was some remaining fluid in her chest. It triggered mild pneumonia..." I said. "Pneumonia?! Is she dying?!" Lucian shouted. I love Lycans. They're so adorable. T
Leah's POV "Leah, wake up." I heard a voice in oblivion. I lifted my arms to cover my eyes. "Leah..." The voice called my name again. "Finn..." I mumbled. I stretched out my arms toward the source of the voice. A pair of hands held my arms. They felt warm. No, they weren't Finn's hands, which were always cold. I opened my eyes and saw the blurry figure of Lucian sitting next to my bed. He placed his hand over my forehead and gently said, "Leah, I'm here. You don't have a temperature anymore. That's great." "Water..." I whispered. My throat was burning. A cup of water appeared in my sight. It was Jalin who was holding it. Lucian held my back and added a pillow behind my back, so I could sit upright. I turned my head away to avoid seeing Jalin. I heard Jalin's voice - "Leah, I know you're mad at me, but..." "Why didn't you hire Finn? Why did you ask him to work for Lucas?" I took a sip of water and said impatiently. Jalin cleared his voice and said, "There are some techn
Leah's POV As I walked into the headquarters, I saw Laura arguing with Ava in the lobby. "Are you deaf? I've already told you, you can't see Miss Lewyn today!" Laura said in a cold voice. "I need to see her right now!" Ava stomped her feet and said. "What's the situation here?" I approached them and asked. "Aha, great. You're here!" Ava leered at me and shoved a folder into my face. "Here, take this. This is the contract of the old Trafold Hippodrome project. Alpha Kyle is arrested and there's chaos in Moonhowlers Pack. You need to take this opportunity to seal the deal. All you have to do is to sign this contract." I ignored her and walked into the elevator. Ava followed me into the elevator and said eagerly, "Come on, Leah. Don't be so stupid. You can sleep with Lucian and get what you want. But do you think that you can depend on him forever? You need to prove yourself worthy in business. That's the only way for an aspiring girl to stand in this line of work." "Aspiring? Inte
Leah's POV My heart was pounding like crazy. I had a bad feeling about this. Troy wasn't around and Laura was in her office. If someone sneaked into this SPA room and tried to assault me, nobody would find out. I stood up from the Jacuzzi and tried to grab my clothes, but I got lightheaded because I stood up too fast. Just when I was about to faint, a pair of hands grabbed my waist and caught me. I heard a familiar voice with a French accent- "Désolé, Mademoiselle Lewyn... I'm so sorry for the interruption..." "Gaspard?" I asked. Gaspard Laflamme. The tailor. Why is he here? I thought to myself. "Oui! Miss Lewyn. I'm..." The glowing light from the window illuminated the chiseled feature of the handsome young tailor. He looked awkward and embarrassed because I was completely naked. He pulled a towel and wrapped me up. "I'm sorry, Miss Lewyn... I came here to bring you the dress for tonight's Grand Ball. I got lost again. Everything here is big and you're like a princess who's
Leah's POV"Oh, in that case, I must have remembered it incorrectly," I lowered my head and stared at him in his eyes. "Memory is a very interesting thing. Do you have the feeling that when you meet someone for the first time, you feel like you've known this person for your entire life?""I'm just a humble tailor, Miss Lewyn. I know nothing about memory and life," Gaspard replied, gently stroking the hem up above my knees and pinning it on the belt beneath my waistline. I suddenly felt a wave of warmth spreading from my loins all over my body. It was like my whole body was ignited.
Leah's POVJust when I thought that my entire life would end on that day, I heard a loud voice -"Leave Leah alone!"Darren?! It's Darren's voice!I lifted my eyes and saw my reflection in the mirror. I saw the image of Darren jumping at Gaspard and gripping his neck.The hands that supported me immediately loosed, because Gaspard shifted backward.
Leah's POVOne of the 50 bedrooms in the lake house was changed into a treatment room, where Dr. Monk kept all of his expensive medical equipment.The door had been shut for the past 2 hours.I put down the third cup of coffee on the table and asked the maid to bring me the fourth one. She looked hesitant."Miss Lewyn, can I bring you some lemonade instead?" she whispered.I stared at her. My brain wasn't functioning af
Leah's POV"Are you sure about it, Leah?" Jalin asked."Yeah..." I nodded my head, feeling exhausted.Jalin said quietly next to me. His gaze fixed on the wall, contemplating, as if he had just stumbled upon a secret that had eluded him for a long time. I could tell his mind was racing with the implications of what I just told him."Jalin... What's going on?" I lifted my head to look at him.His chiseled jawline blocked
Leah's POVLiam's bitter laugh could've curdled milk. "Tried that shit. Dockyards wanted truckers with clean sheets - mine's dirtier than a motel porno magazine. Dealership garage? Turned out to be ex-cons crew running protection rackets." He leaned across the red vinyl booth, eyes dark as burned coffee. "I'm no saint, but I don't peddle drugs to kids. I used to keep my pride, trust me, I really did... till Nana's med bills hit." His throat worked like he'd swallowed glass. "Pride's just dead weight when your world's sinking, feel me?""But the girls, man..." I trailed off, the words sticking like a bee."Wake up!" His fist hit the table, silverware jumping. "You think this shit disappears 'cause it skeeves you out? My girls eat regularly. Don't get beat black-and-blue like some dollar-store pimps allow." His finger stabbed the air between us. "Without me? They'd be turning tricks in back alleys on Monday, end up as another Jane Doe in a dumpster by Tuesday. Tha
Leah's POVThe supermarket fluorescents buzzed like angry hornets. I trailed Liam past pyramids of canned beans, his boots squeaking against linoleum. He moved like a feral cat—all coiled tension and sideways glances. The discount rack called to him like a siren."Jackpot," he muttered, scooping armfuls of spaghetti boxes into the cart. The packaging screamed ITALIANA AUTENTICA! in Comic Sans. I snorted. Authentic as his leather jacket's "genuine pleather" tag."Grandma's got expensive taste in hospice care, huh?" I nudged a box with my elbow. The noodles rattled like dried bones. "Why not buy her real food now that you're rolling in mobster cash?"He didn't look up. "Nonna'd skin me alive if I wasted good dollars on truffle oil when Barilla's ninety cents." The cart shuddered as he dumped another box. "Besides, spaghetti's her love language. Ate it every Thursday with Papa Enzo before the cirrhosis got him."I let my claws retract just enoug
Leah's POVLiam stared. "What the hell are you?"I wiped my hands on his jacket. "Hungry."He laughed then, wild and unhinged. "You're crazy.""Crazy enough to fix your problems. If you obey.""Obey?" He raised an eyebrow. "That's kinky."I stared at him. "You want to save your grandmother? Stop playing gangster. You're a joke."His smile died. "Yeah? And what's your deal? Some kinda runaway mob wife?""Like you can't even imagine." I released him.Silence.He rubbed his neck. "Fine. What's the plan, boss?"I glanced at the photo. The old woman's eyes glared back, unyielding. "First, we get some money.""From where?"-Vinny's nightclub reminded me of Sheridan Club. It was a cacophony of neon lights and pounding bass, the kind of place where secrets were buried under the weight of too much noise and too many bodies.I walked in with Liam trailing behind me, his face still bruised
Leah's POVThe first thing I remembered was the cold. Not winter's bite, but the slick, oily chill of concrete against bare skin. My knees were scraped raw. My breath came in ragged bursts, fogging the air like gun smoke. I pressed my palms flat against the alley wall, felt the grime cling to my fingertips.Naked. The word slithered through my skull, venomous. Not just my body - my pride flayed open, left to rot beside dumpsters reeking of stale beer and regret.What the hell has happened to me? I remembered stabbing Lucas in the chest and walking into the flames.Now here I am. Naked in some sort of back alley.Voices slithered from the street."Lookie here... fresh meat. Yummy..." a man slurred. Three shadows lurched into the alley, their laughter wet and jagged. One held a bottle by its neck; the glass caught the neon buzz of the bar sign above. Red Rabbit Tavern. The letters bled crimson down the brick.Is this... human world?
Lycidas' POVLucian shook his head, his eyes closing as if the effort of speaking was too much.Late afternoon light slashed through barred windows, gilding dust motes that swirled like trapped spirits above Lucian's bed. My brother's once-indomitable frame now sank into feather pillows as if the mattress conspired to swallow him whole. His labored breaths syncopated with the grandfather clock's metronome tick-tock, tick-tockfrom the western wall - a sound that had scored every pivotal moment of our cursed lineage. I counted them as one counts heartbeats before execution: thirty-seven ticks since he'd last spoken. Seventy-three since I'd entered this tomb disguised as a king's quarters.When Lucian finally stirred, his eyelids lifted like rusted portcullises. Sunlight caught the silver threads in his black beard - premature aging, or the Moon Goddess' fingerprints? "Lycidas," he exhaled, the name disintegrating into a wet cough. I watched his thro
Lucian's POVJalin seized my chin, wrenching my face back to the mirror. "Are you waiting for me to dress you, Your Majesty?" His hands slid down, slow and possessive, unbuttoning my shirt with deliberate malice. The fabric parted, exposing my sunken chest, and his gloved fingers lingered, tracing the jut of my ribs. I grabbed his wrists, my frail grip trembling. "I'm tired," I whispered, voice a broken thread. "I don't want to see anyone today."Jalin sneered and tore the shirt from my shoulders, seams splitting like skin. He shoved me from the wheelchair, and I crashed to the floor, legs limp, a puppet with slashed strings. "Your brother's coming," he hissed, looming over me. "If you greet him like this - pathetic, lifeless - he'll think I've neglected my duties." His eyes burned with that familiar madness, a sadistic gleam that promised torment.I shrank back, breath shallow, rasping, "Jalin, please don't…" But he didn't pause. His hand fisted my hair,
Lycidas' POVI looked down at him, my jaw tight. "If you want the thing between us to work," I said, my voice low and dangerous, "you need to know some ground rules. The first and most important one is that you stay the fuckout of my family business. Do you understand?"He met my gaze, his eyes calm, unflinching. "Yes, Your Highness, I understand. But the thing is, since you entered the Kingdom, all your actions have been under the control of the Court. They reported your arrival to His Majesty, who summoned me last night..." I grabbed him by the throat, slamming him against the mirror. The glass cracked under the force, shards raining down around us. His face was scratched, blood trickling down his cheek, but he didn't struggle."Did you go and see my brother last night?! Did he fuck you?!" I roared.He whispered, "Your Highness, Lucian is sick now. He didn't...""If you mention my brother's name again," I snarled, "I'
Lycidas' POVI woke to the sting of sunlight slicing through the heavy drapes, the kind of light that felt like a mockery after the night I’d had. My head throbbed, a dull ache that seemed to echo the chaos of my thoughts. I rubbed my eyes, squinting at the room around me. It was obscenely luxurious, every surface polished to a blinding sheen, every piece of furniture carved with ornate, gaudy details. I sat up, the silk sheets slipping off my bare skin, and let out a bitter laugh. Finn's bedroom?The place reeked of excess, of a desperate attempt to mask something hollow. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, my feet sinking into the plush carpet. The air smelled faintly of cedar and something metallic—blood, maybe, or the ghost of it. I stood, stretching the stiffness from my limbs, and made my way to the bathroom. The shower was scalding, the water slamming into my skin like punishment. I leaned against the tiled wall, let
Finn's POVLycidas didn't buy it. His clawed hand seized my hair, wrenching my head back so hard my neck screamed, and I gasped, the pretense slipping as pain flared."Fucking slut, is that all they'd taught you?!" he spat, raking his claws down my spine, tearing skin, spilling blood. I whimpered - half act, half truth—and he sneered, pressing his heat against me, his cock a brutal threat between my thighs. "You're a fucking disgrace. A whimpering slut who'd spread for any cock that paid."I clenched my jaw, nodding like I hated it, but the words sank into me, heavy and hot. "Yes, Your Highness. But now, I am yours..." I choked out, still clinging to the lie of reluctance, but then he slammed me face-first into the hardwood floor, his hands pinning my neck, and the air left me. He thrust in, no warning, no mercy, and the pain - fuck, the familiar, thrilling pain - was a jagged blade splitting me open. I screamed, the sound raw and real, my mask shattering