Zane stared up at Jeremy, who had his finger on the trigger, ready to end it all. Jeremy’s lips curled into a sadistic smile as he aimed the gun squarely at Zane’s forehead. Desperation and helplessness consumed Zane as he wondered if this was truly the end for him. He could feel the cold metal of the ground beneath his knees, the weight of the situation pressing on his shoulders. He had been in countless fights and faced death before, but never like this—never so defenseless.Cana’s voice broke the silence, her pleas raw and desperate. “Please, Jeremy, don’t do this! Please don’t kill him! I beg you!”Her words only seemed to fuel Jeremy’s sadistic pleasure. He tightened his grip on the gun, giving her a mocking glance. “Oh, I’m going to kill him, Cana. And I want you to watch every second of it.”Tears streamed down Cana’s face, her heart hammering against her chest. Zane’s bloodshot eyes locked with hers for what he feared might be the last time. The tension in the air was unbearab
Cana felt the surge deep within her as Larz stood above her, his eyes glowing a brilliant blue. The grief of losing Raquel, the terror of seeing Zane so close to death, and the helplessness of being unable to protect those she loved swirled inside her, igniting something she had never felt before. Power. It roared within her, pulsing through her veins, ready to erupt.She could feel it—this incredible force, something that had always been there, locked away deep within. Her heart raced, and her mind buzzed with thoughts too fast to hold on to. The air around her trembled, and the very ground beneath her began to quake. Larz stared down at her, unimpressed. His icy smile never wavered, and before Cana could fully harness the power rising in her, he reached down, his fingers cold as death, and pressed them gently against her forehead.The world went black in an instant. Cana’s body slumped, her power dissipating as quickly as it had come, and she fell into a deep, unnatural sleep.Acros
The living room of Zane’s cabin felt tighter than usual, a suffocating weight hanging over them as Zane and Axel argued for the third time that day. It had been two days since the hellhounds Larz and Akam attacked, leaving a trail of death and devastation in their wake. The once formidable pack was a shadow of its former self, struggling to heal physically and emotionally. The gaping wounds inflicted by the twins would have taken humans months to recover from, but thanks to their supernatural abilities, their healing was well underway. Still, even werewolf rapid healing could not soothe the deeper scars — the scars of failure, of betrayal.Zane paced back and forth, his fists clenched as his eyes bore into Axel. “We were both too weak! She needed us, and we couldn’t do anything to save her. What kind of Alphas are we?”Axel shot him a look of equal frustration. “You think I don’t know that? Do you think I don’t regret it every second since they took her? But you keep acting like blami
The tension in Zane’s home had reached a boiling point. It had only been two days since the hellhounds attacked, but with each passing hour, the frustration and tension between Zane and Axel grew sharper, like a blade being honed. They couldn’t go a single day without clashing, each one’s frustration feeding into the other’s until it was a combustible force neither could control.Zane stood across from Axel, his jaw clenched as he barely kept his anger in check. He couldn’t hold back anymore. “Why are you still here, Axel?” he asked, his voice tight. “You claim to be in love with Cana, yet you were just as useless as I was when she needed us most. If you care so much, why don’t you do something?”Axel’s eyes flashed with irritation. “You think you have a right to lecture me?” he shot back, his voice rising. “You’re the one who let her get taken. You should be asking yourself why she’s even involved in this mess in the first place.”Zane’s fists clenched. “Don’t you dare act like you h
The room was dark, save for a single sliver of moonlight that slipped through the cracks in the heavy iron door. Cana sat on the cold, unforgiving floor, her body aching, her spirit battered but not broken. Days had passed in this cell, stretching endlessly, blurring night and day into one relentless experience of isolation and despair. She barely felt the hunger anymore; it had become a dull ache she shoved aside, along with everything else that weakened her.The hellhounds hadn’t said much in those first few days. Larz, the more twisted of the two, took apparent pleasure in taunting her, dropping cryptic hints that suggested something far worse than mere capture awaited her. It made her uneasy, knowing that whatever plans they had weren’t finished. She was caught in a web she didn’t understand—yet.Tonight, though, something felt different. There was a tension in the air, a tightness she couldn’t shake, as if the darkness itself was pulsing with something terrible. Cana’s mind, weak
:As dawn broke, Lionel returned to Zane's place, moving cautiously. He looked around, making sure he hadn't been followed and that no one was awake to witness his arrival. He’d been careful to leave no trace of his recent visit to Cana, and now he needed to cover up any lingering suspicion. Knowing he needed a more convincing look, he took a sharp breath and roughly deepened his bruises, wincing at the self-inflicted pain.After a few moments, he moved with careful purpose toward Raquel’s cell. His face held a smug confidence as he opened the door, the metal creaking softly. Raquel looked up, her expression one of both fury and weakness. Her defiance had not waned, but her spirit had taken a beating; Lionel could tell she’d been weakened by her confinement.He leaned against the door, his voice a low, taunting whisper. “Zane’s planning your fate as we speak, Raquel. You can sit here and wait for his justice, or… you could make a deal with me.”Raquel's gaze narrowed. "Oh, so you're o
Ivy’s POVThe silence outside Axel’s house felt like the calm before a storm. I took a deep breath, trying to summon the courage to face him. Ever since Jeremy’s death and the hellhounds’ attack, I’d been drifting, lost, with no real direction. But now, I needed help. I needed Axel.As I stood before his grand iron gates, I had to fight down the wave of dread that was rising in my chest. If anyone had told me a few weeks ago that I’d end up begging Axel for forgiveness, I’d have laughed in their face. Yet, here I was, hoping he’d even let me through the door.When his second-in-command finally appeared, I forced myself to meet his questioning gaze. He looked me over with something like contempt before nodding and walking away. “Wait here,” he said over his shoulder.Minutes later, the door to Axel’s office swung open. I stepped inside, keeping my head down, unwilling to face him right away. A part of me was too ashamed to look into his eyes, to see the judgment I knew would be waitin
A chilling silence settled over the room. Cana lay slumped against the wall, trying to make sense of her fate as her eyes flicked over to the two looming figures in the shadows. The hellhound twins, Larz and Akam, stood like statues on either side of her, their eyes cold and unfeeling. They were silent but watchful, as though every breath she took was an affront to their very existence.Yet, tonight, something was different. Cana noticed a flicker of something deep and unsettling behind their gazes, almost like the ghosts of memories long buried.“Still clinging to hope?” Larz sneered, his voice low and almost reflective, a far cry from his usual harshness.Cana lifted her head, meeting his eyes with a spark of defiance. “I’m not afraid of you.”Akam chuckled softly, the sound reverberating through the room like distant thunder. “You should be.”As he spoke, an old memory seemed to wash over him, and his gaze grew distant. Cana sensed a shift, a crack in their menacing façade that hin
Shadows of PowerThe morning sun filtered through the thick curtains of Zane's house, but Cana barely noticed. Axel hadn’t contacted her telepathically for a while, so she decided to get him off her mind by trying to tap into the dark powers within her; sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor of her room, she focused on the strange energy that had been stirring within her for weeks. The dark power hummed beneath her skin, urging her to let it out. She closed her eyes, her breathing steady as she tried to channel it.At first, nothing happened. But then, a spark of energy surged through her fingertips, and the air around her seemed to shimmer. A vase on the nearby table rattled and then shattered into pieces. Cana flinched, opening her eyes.“What the hell was that?” she muttered to herself.The door to her room burst open, and Mia appeared, her eyes wide with alarm. “Cana! What’s going on in here?”Before Cana could answer, Mart peeked in from behind Mia, his usually calm demeanor re
Zane sat at his desk, his eyes fixed on the reports in front of him, but his mind was elsewhere. The conversation with Cana replayed over and over in his head. She had apologized, but the lack of clarity still gnawed at him. Her words felt more like a pacifier than the truth.“Are you going to stare at that paper until it bursts into flames?” Mart’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts. Mart leaned against the doorframe, a knowing smirk on his face.Zane sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I can’t shake this feeling. She’s hiding something, and it’s not just about that night. There’s more.”Mart entered the office, closing the door behind him. “Look, Cana’s been through a lot. Maybe she’s trying to protect you or herself. Have you thought about that?”Zane shook his head. “That’s the problem. I don’t want protection. I want honesty. If she’s keeping secrets, it could put all of us at risk.”Mart frowned. “You think it’s connected to Axel?”Zane nodded. “ I don’t think so.”Meanwhile,
“Do you think he knows?”Zane sat in his office, his hands clasped together tightly on the desk as he listened to Mart’s incessant pacing. The tension in the room was palpable, the soft shuffle of Mart’s shoes across the floor punctuated only by his muttered thoughts. Cana and Mia sat nearby, exchanging glances, their expressions a mixture of concern and curiosity.Mart finally stopped, turning toward Zane with wide, panicked eyes. “Do you think he knows?”Zane leaned back in his chair, his gaze calm but calculating. “Knows what?”“This morning,” Mart began, his voice trembling, “the cops called me. Apart from Axel, there were 4 other buyers for your shares; today, They were asking questions about the four clients who…died. How the hell did all four of them just end up dead.” He paused, swallowing hard. “I am sure he’s behind it; do you think Axel figured it out? That I’m a fake? That I had something to do with it?”Zane’s expression darkened slightly, though he remained composed. “It
Cana crept through the front door, the soft creak of the hinges reverberating through the quiet house. She glanced at the clock: 12:03 AM. Everyone should be asleep by now, she thought, her footsteps light as she made her way to the stairs.“Where are you coming from?”The voice, sharp and unmistakable, stopped her in her tracks. She turned, her heart sinking when she saw Zane standing in the living room, his arms crossed, his eyes cold and piercing.“I went to see a friend,” she replied, her voice barely steady.“Don’t lie to me,” Zane said, stepping toward her. His tone was controlled, but there was an edge of fury in it that Cana had never heard before.Her pulse quickened. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, and Zane could hear it too.“You never told me you were leaving,” he continued, his eyes narrowing. “And your heart is racing. Where. Were. You?”Cana had never seen this side of him before. Zane was always calm, gentle, and understanding. But this version of him—
The air was thick with tension as Cana reluctantly made her way to Axel’s private suite as usual. But tonight was different; she didn’t leave Zane's house by 3 am his time each step she took felt heavier than the last, and the weight of Axel’s control pressed down on her. The blackmail hung over her like a dark cloud, and though she despised being summoned, she had no choice but to comply.Axel had requested her presence to “celebrate,” but Cana knew better than to trust his motivations. She clutched the straps of her bag tightly, her mind racing with strategies to deflect his probing questions and maintain her composure.When she arrived, the door was slightly ajar. She knocked gently before stepping in.“Ah, Cana,” Axel’s voice was warm and inviting, but she could see the calculating glint in his eyes. He gestured toward a table laden with expensive wine and delicacies. “Join me. Tonight, we celebrate new beginnings.”Cana forced a small smile and moved cautiously to take a seat acr
Zane sat alone on the edge of the master bed, his eyes fixed on the glow of the bedside lamp. The shadows danced on the walls as his thoughts went back to Axel. Every time he tried to bury the past, every time he tried to forget, the memory of Axel attacking Cana while he was at the diner was still fresh in his mind; well, at least, that was what he believed from Cana. That moment had made his hatred wor and cemented his plan to destroy Axel piece by piece.But patience was key. The shares he secretly held were more than just a financial asset; they were leverage. Selling them now would give him the funds he needed to launch his next move without exposing himself. Axel had no idea who the real shareholder was, and Zane intended to keep it that way.A sharp knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.“Come in,” Zane called out, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside.Mart stepped in, his face a mix of weariness and curiosity. He had been running errands for Zane all day and had th
Axel’s POVThe dim light of the early morning entered through the curtains as I laid back against the plush pillows, my eyes fixed on Cana. She moved quietly around the room, gathering her things, avoiding even the slightest glance in my direction. I could still feel the lingering warmth of her presence, and I couldn’t help but smirk at the thought of how conflicted she must feel.“Enjoyed yourself tonight?” I asked, my tone dripping with mockery.Her shoulders stiffened at the sound of my voice, but she didn’t bother to turn around. She continued dressing as if I wasn’t even there.“Don’t contact me ever again,” she muttered coldly, picking up her belongings and heading toward the door.I chuckled softly as I propped myself up on one elbow, watching her walk away.“I’ve told you this so many times; your words don’t match what you showed me tonight, Cana,” I said, more to myself than to her.She slammed the door behind her without another word, leaving me alone in the luxurious pentho
Lionel leaned back in his chair, his fingers drumming on the polished surface of the conference table. The quiet hum of the room was broken only by the occasional rustle of paper from Larz and Akam, his two closest allies. Both sat opposite him, their postures tense and their eyes expectant. Lionel exhaled slowly.“That’s the plan for now,” Lionel said, his voice low but filled with determination.Larz, the larger of the two, leaned forward, his brow furrowed. “So we just wait? Until she’s... pregnant?”Lionel’s lips twisted into a smirk. “Unfortunately, yes. That’s Axel’s focus right now.”Akam shook his head, his fingers tapping impatiently on the table. “And what about Zane? We all know Axel doesn’t care about him. He’s leaving him to rot, but Zane’s still a problem—for you”Lionel’s smirk widened. “Zane is no longer a problem. He’s a pawn. Broken, desperate, clinging to what little he has left. Axel may not care, but I do. Zane’s pack will be mine soon enough.”Larz raised an eyeb
The sunlight passed through the hospital room windows, casting a soft glow on the e walls. Cana sat on the edge of her bed, the hospital sheets tangled at her feet. She was fully healed, her supernatural abilities healing the wounds overnight. Yet, the bruises on her soul felt raw and unrelenting.Zane’s voice drifted from the hallway as he spoke to the doctor. She strained to catch their conversation, hoping to discern whether her story from the night before had been convincing.“She’s recovering well,” the doctor said. There was a pause, and Cana’s heart raced as if it sensed trouble.“What concerns me,” the doctor continued, “is that her injuries... they appear to be self-inflicted. The cuts, the angles—it’s highly unusual. You may want to speak with her about—”“That’s enough,” Zane interrupted sharply.Cana’s stomach twisted. She couldn’t see his face, but his tone betrayed his unease.Moments later, Zane entered the room, his expression guarded. “Ready to go home?” he asked, his