Luna POV With Alex towering over me, I kick my feet forward, catching his knee. He stumbles, and in his moment of distraction, I attempt to crawl away. But as I move, I realize my hands are tied behind my back—there’s no way I can grab the gun. I curse silently, my legs my only remaining weapon. As Alex crawls toward me, I swing one leg toward his shoulder. He notices, grasping my foot, but that’s exactly what I wanted. My other leg swings up, catching him square in the face. He grunts in pain, momentarily dazed, but before I can capitalize on it, his hands grab my knees, slamming my legs apart. He kneels on my thighs, pinning me to the ground, his weight unbearable. Panic rushes through me as I thrash, screaming in fury. The knife gleams in his hand, a reminder of what’s coming if I don’t do something. “Too scared to untie me and make it a real fight?” I taunt, laughing despite the fear clawing at me. I hoped my words would spark his sick desire for the thrill of a chase, but th
Dante POV I come back into the office and immediately notice Luna’s absence. Glancing at Callum, he laughs, shaking his head. “Rich guided her upstairs to get ready, then took her to Ladies’ Night.” Nodding, I relax, dropping into my chair. “Good, we need to discuss things.” I grab the piece of paper from the desk and hand it to him. It’s the address for where Brian is. Callum takes it, scanning the paper before handing it back. “What are you thinking?” “Ashley’s staying there, I’m sure of it. But we need to know if that’s where Brian has the women. Are they living there? Are the other guys hiding there too? We don’t know anything for sure.” I run a hand over my face, frustrated. “We can’t just storm in without knowing what we’re walking into.” Callum nods. “We need someone unconnected to watch the place, right? Someone outside of our circle.” “Yeah. Brian and his men run nights, just like us. By six, most of them will be crawling into bed. We go in the morning when they’re as
Dante POVI glance around the room, panic rising. “Where’s Luna?” I scan the faces in the room, trying to find her. Rich stumbles forward, his face bloody. “Where the fuck is Luna?” I yell, grabbing him by the shirt. “I—I don’t know. Sasha told me to help with the fight, and I… I don’t know where she went.” Rage floods my veins. I spin toward Sasha, her face pale with guilt. “Why the hell were you paying women to start a fight?” I demand, my voice a low growl. “Luna wanted to leave,” Sasha stammers. “So I said I’d create a distraction.” I stare at her, disbelief washing over me. “You created a distraction so she could slip away? Do you know what you’ve done?” My voice rises to a roar. “If she’s dead, you better fucking run!” I scream in her face, watching her flinch before she bolts from the room. Callum is already on his phone, his voice sharp. “I’m sending the address now. Everyone get in the cars.” I storm out, rage propelling me forward. Callum tries to stop me. “You can’t
Dante POVI slam the man’s head into the wall, dazing him long enough for me to bring my knee up into his stomach, sending him to the floor. Without wasting a second, I dash down the hall, following the sound of Luna’s voice. “Luna!” I shout, my heart hammering in my chest as I burst through a door. Another man stands between me and her, and I don’t think—I just act. I tackle him to the ground, my fists raining down on his face until he’s no longer moving. Blood stains my knuckles, but I don’t stop. I have to get to her. Callum is close behind, shooting down anyone who dares get in the way, clearing a path as we charge toward the room. The closer I get, the louder her screams become, and my blood boils with a fury I’ve never felt before. We burst into the room, and there she is. Luna. My Luna, tied, beaten, but alive. “Luna!” I roar, my voice shaking the walls as I lunge toward her, fury and desperation coursing through me. I barely register the man on top of her, my vision blurr
Dante POV I sit back and look at Alex’s lifeless body. Over the years, I’ve had women come from Brian, and Alex was always one of the men they mentioned. He caused psychological issues so deep within some of those women they won’t ever be the same. Now he’s dead, and it’s at my hands. But none of that feels like a victory—not with Luna’s blood still on the floor, not with the thought of what could have happened if I’d been just a little too late. I didn’t realize it was Alex over Luna until it was nearly too late, and now, his words won’t stop haunting me. Did she turn her darkest moments into fantasies? Into pleasure? Alex’s twisted games still have their claws in her, don’t they? The thought makes my stomach churn. Alex and I were always compared because we like the same things—the chase, the power—but I’m nothing like him. I would never enjoy it if the woman didn’t want it. In fact, the idea of someone hating what we did and us still doing it, sickens me. But Alex? He thrived o
Dante POVThe hours pass, each one dragging slower than the last as I sit there, wrestling with myself. I can’t sleep. I won’t sleep. My eyes stay fixed on her, watching her chest rise and fall with every breath, and the storm inside me continues to rage. I want to yell, I want to hold her, I want to fuck her, I want to punish her, I want to tell her I love her—I don’t know what I want. All I know is that I can’t stop thinking about her, and I can’t stop this war inside my head. The night stretches on, and I sit there, unable to move, unable to do anything but stare at her and wonder how the hell we move forward from this. Standing, I walk out of the room, tension thrumming through every muscle in my body. Rich looks up at me, probably sensing the storm brewing inside me, but before he can say anything, I snap, “Don’t fucking leave her! I’m going to the gym.” My voice is rough, harsher than I intended, but I don’t care. I need space, distance. I need to hit something. I stalk down
Dante POV I make my way to the office, slamming the door shut behind me. Sitting down, I try to focus, but my mind is still spinning, still churning with everything that happened. I can’t stop thinking about her—about what she did, about how reckless she was. But more than that, I can’t stop thinking about how much I still need her, even now, even after everything. It’s fucking unbearable. A searing pain grips my chest, sharper than any knife, as the realization crashes over me—I have never truly loved anyone until her. Until Luna. And now, she’s ripped me apart, tearing at the very core of my being, piece by agonizing piece. The rawness of it, the unbearable weight of that truth, crushes me from the inside out. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. The agony is so consuming that I’m powerless to fight it. I try to push it down, to bury it beneath my anger, but the pain flares hotter, stronger, until there’s nothing left but a burning need to do something. Anything. With a primal scre
Luna POV I watch Dante as he sleeps—no, more like passes out. It’s strange to see him like this, so still, so quiet, as if the weight of everything finally crushed him into unconsciousness. He’s usually so aware, even in his sleep. When I touch him, he instinctively pulls closer, makes some noise of acknowledgment. But now? Nothing. Just the soft, steady rhythm of his shallow breathing. The guilt in his eyes earlier haunts me. I saw it flash across his face when he went to touch my neck, when he saw the bruises. He shouldn’t feel guilty, but he does. This wasn’t his fault; it’s all on me. Every decision, every reckless choice I made led us here. I’ve never seen someone look so lost before. When Dante came to me, his body was shaking, raw anger radiating off him, but it wasn’t the fury that stuck with me—it was the tears in his eyes, the way his voice trembled with hurt. Most people would’ve been terrified to see him like that, but not me. I felt safe. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Th
Jace POVI already know what comes next. The aftermath. What Dale’s dad did to her. But I don’t push. Not yet.Instead, I kneel in front of her, my voice steady. “Keep going, Firefly. Tell me the rest.”Serena’s whole body tenses like a coil wound too tight, her breathing shallow and uneven. Her fingers dig into her arms, nails pressing hard enough that I think she might break the skin.“I don’t—” she starts, but her voice cracks, and she swallows hard before trying again. “I don’t know how long it lasted. Time didn’t feel real anymore.”I stay quiet, my fists clenched at my sides as I watch her struggle to force the words out.“He didn’t stop,” she whispers. “Not after Paul. Not after I was shaking so bad I couldn’t hold the gun anymore. He just kept talking to me like I was some kind of fucking pet. Telling me I did good. That I was a good girl for listening. That he’d make it all feel better.”Her shoulders shake, and I want to stop this. I want to tell her she doesn’t have to say
Jace POVWhen we get back to the clubs, I take her straight upstairs. That’s when the problem starts. I can already see it in the way she sits down, shifting restlessly, like the energy under her skin won’t settle.“Firefly, I need to work,” I explain, watching her closely.“That’s fine. I can wait for you.”I wish it were that easy. “I need to lock you back in the room.”Her head snaps up, eyes narrowing. “Are you fucking joking, Jace?”“I’m serious. You’re fine now, but that doesn’t mean in ten minutes you will be. So you either go in the room, and I lock you in where you’re safe, or you stay with me all night.”Her arms cross, her glare is sharp and challenging. “You can’t fucking force me.”She believes that? I move before she has the chance to fight back, grabbing her, lifting her as she screams and kicks. Carrying her into the room, I shove her onto the bed and move quickly, slamming the door shut and locking it before she can get back up.“Jace, please.” She pounds on the door,
Serena POVBecause this… this moment, the weight of it, the regret sinking into my bones, it’s what he was trying to avoid.I grip his shirt tightly, my voice barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry.”He exhales slowly, his arms tightening around me like he’s afraid I’ll slip away. “Don’t be. I made my choice, and I don’t regret being with you.”But I regret the way it happened, I don’t say it out loud, but I know he can feel it.We stay like that for a while, wrapped up in each other, the hum of passing cars and the distant rustling of trees filling the silence between us. I don’t want to pull away, but the weight of everything I’ve just realized presses on my chest, suffocating me.I shift slightly, and he feels it, how tense I’ve become. His hand moves to my chin, tilting my face up so I have no choice but to look at him. His gaze searches mine, and I know he sees it, the guilt eating away at me.“Serena,” he says firmly, his fingers brushing my cheek, “I meant what I said. I don’t regr
Serena POVThe cold morning air bites against my skin, but I don’t care. Wrapped around Jace’s back, my arms locked tight around his waist, the world finally feels still. The roar of the bike beneath us drowns out everything, my thoughts, my doubts, the itch under my skin that hasn’t left since the withdrawals started. It’s just us, speeding through empty roads, the wind cutting through my hair, the vibration of the engine grounding me in a way nothing else has.I don’t know how long we ride. It could be minutes or hours. Time feels different out here, away from locked doors and heavy expectations. But eventually, Jace slows the bike, pulling off the road near a clearing that overlooks the water. I don’t ask where we are, I don’t need to. It’s quiet, open, and it’s enough.Jace cuts the engine, but I don’t move. My arms stay wrapped around him, my face pressed into his back, breathing him in, soaking in the moment. He shifts slightly, tilting his head toward me.“You getting off, or a
Jace POVAs the waves of pleasure slowly subside, our bodies remain tangled, our breaths uneven, heavy with the remnants of what we just shared. My fingers trace over her cheek, brushing damp strands of hair from her face, and I shift just enough to look at her. Her lips are parted, her pupils still blown wide, the aftershocks making her shudder beneath me.“How was that?” My voice is quiet, teasing, but laced with something deeper, something I’m not ready to acknowledge.A lazy, satisfied smile spreads across her lips as she blinks up at me, still lost in the haze. “Everything I wanted…” Her voice is soft, drowsy, and she buries her face against my chest, sighing in contentment.I exhale slowly, reaching up to unhook the restraints, my hands careful as I rub gentle circles over her wrists where the cuffs have left faint marks. She doesn’t move much, her body spent, boneless, completely relaxed against me.
Jace POVHer hands remain bound behind her, wrists secured in the soft leather restraints as my fingers continue their slow, deliberate exploration of her skin. Every inch of her is hypersensitive, every touch making her shudder beneath me. My lips follow the path my hands create, dragging heat in their wake as I kiss my way down her body, my tongue teasing the delicate curve of her hip. I have no concrete plan, only the intention of pushing her deeper into subspace, giving her mind the escape it craves.I bite down on the soft flesh of her inner thigh, and she gasps, her hips jerking instinctively toward me. The sound is addictive, a quiet plea wrapped in pleasure. Reaching behind her, I unfasten the restraints only to secure them above her head, forcing her arms up and keeping her open for me. Her breath is uneven, her body trembling with anticipation, and when my mouth moves lower, when my tongue strokes over her, she lets out a strangled moan that
Serena POVI hit the bag over and over, each impact sending a shockwave through my body. My breaths come in ragged gasps. I don’t even know what I’m angry at anymore, Dale, his father, Jace, myself. It all blends together in one endless scream inside my head.“Fuck you,” I hiss under my breath, but I don’t even know who I’m saying it to.Jace watches me, silent. He doesn’t try to stop me. He doesn’t try to tell me to slow down. He just lets me burn it off.When my arms shake and my legs feel weak, I finally stop. My breath is ragged, sweat clinging to my skin, and I brace myself against the bag, pressing my forehead to the cool surface.Jace steps closer, his voice quieter now. “Feel better?”I don’t answer right away. My body still feels like it’s running on high voltage, but the energy is different now. The desperation, the unbearable itch, it’s dulled.&l
Serena POVThe bedroom walls feel like they’re closing in on me, suffocating, even when Jace is there. He’s been letting me out, but only when he’s around, like he doesn’t trust me. Maybe he’s right not to. I don’t even trust myself right now.My skin crawls, my body restless, my thoughts moving too fast for me to catch. One second, I feel like I need to run, to escape, to do something—anything—but then it shifts, and I crash, exhaustion pressing me down like a weight.I hate this. I hate feeling like I’m not in control. It's been a week, I thought by now I would be fine, but I'm not.I pace back and forth across the room, my hands shaking as I rake them through my hair. Jace is sitting in the chair near the door, watching me with that same patient expression he’s had since all of this started. Like he’s waiting for me to snap.“Stop looking at me like that,&rd
Jace POVI head down the hall, my heartbeat picking up the closer I get to the room she’s in. When I push open the door, she’s still on the bed, legs crossed, fingers tugging at a loose thread on the blanket.She looks up, her expression unreadable. “Hey,” she murmurs.Stepping inside, I shut the door behind me. “You good?”She shrugs, glancing away. “I guess.”I walk closer, dropping into the chair beside the bed. “You ate?”She nods. “Rich made sure of it.”Of course, he did.Silence stretches between us, thick and weighted, until she finally speaks again. “Why are you here, Jace?”I meet her gaze, holding it steady. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”Standing, I watch her curl into herself, arms wrapped tight around her legs like she’s trying to disappear. She looks so damn small like this, so fucking frag