The heavy wooden door mmed <b>shut </b>behind them with a thunderous bang.
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In the next instant, Ronan Duskgrave shoved Riley Vale hard against the door, <b>his </b>muscr frame radiating heat and fury as it caged her in.
“Have you lost your mind. Riley?” he growled, his voice low, gravelly, and full of Alpha authority. His face hovered inches from hers, his scent–dark pine and aggression–thickening the air.
Riley was trembling, but not out of fear. She <b>was </b>seething-
Her chest heaved as she <b>stared </b>back at him with eyes zing in defiance. “Let go of me!”
But Ronan didn’t loosen his grip. Hisrge hand was mped around her wrist like iron, ws barely sheathed, his wolf on the verge of surfacing.
“What <b>the </b>hell are you trying to do?” he demanded, his eyes glowing faintly amber.
Riley’s breath evened. Her voice turned ice cold.
“No,” she hissed. The real question is–<b>what </b>are you trying to do?”
“I was locked in a rogue prison for five years. Five years. I lost my future. My health. My name. Everything I worked for- burned to <b>ash </b>because of you and your precious Vale pack.”
“I became this…” Her voice cracked, but she forced the rest out, this broken thing. And you stand here asking me what <b>I </b>
Her eyes locked onto <b>his</b>, daring him to deny it<b>. </b>
“All I’ve ever wanted,” <b>she </b><b>said </b>slowly, each word soaked in venom, “<b>was </b>to stay the hell away from you people. Is <b>that </b>too much to ask?”
For a split second, something flickered in Ronan’s eyes–<b>guilt</b>? Regret?
But Riley was past caring.
She gave a bitterugh. “You crushed my wings, Ronan<b>. </b>Do you even know <b>what </b>it feels like to be grounded when you were bom to soar?”
“I used to ask myself–<b>what </b>did I do <b>wrong</b>? What sin did Imit to deserve this? But <b>now </b><b>I </b><b>get </b>it. I was too good. Too strong Too fast. <b>Too </b>amart And that scared the hell out of you.”
“You couldn’t handle a she wolf being better than <b>you</b>”
Ronan’s face paled
cracked, revealing <b>the </b><b>shame </b>he’d buried deep, even from himself.
And Kiley saw it She saw the truth in his silence
“You hated that the gut running brude you in training could outpace you That the <b>warrior </b>you couldn’t catch up to <b>was </b>the same girl <b>you </b>were falling for So you broke her”
“Because if I was ordinary she spat, then maybe just <b>maybe </b>you could believe I belonged to you”
“Stop” Konan snapped, his voice dangerously close to trembling “That’s not true”
That I Haley’s vane ruse cutting through the air like a de “You couldn’t <b>stand </b>to see ine shine. You wanted me small. Obedient Powerless
stop it Kaley he barked 1 sand stop
But she didn’t stop.
You’re a coward, Ronan Duskgrave. You destroyed the girl who once loved you–just to feel superior.”
The words hit like ws raking across his chest. Ronan staggered back a step, his breath unsteady.
But then his wolf snapped..
In a <b>sh</b>. he surged forward and kissed her–hard and unforgiving
His mouth crushed against hers, not out of love, but out of desperation. Possessive. Punishing
Riley froze, stunned. For a heartbeat<b>, </b>she couldn’t even think. Then rage flooded every vein in her body.
She struggled violently, fists pounding his chest. “Get off me!”
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But Ronan wouldn’t budge. His arms locked around her, his body pressing her deeper against the door like he could consume
her whole.
He wasn’t kissing her–he was iming her.
And that was the final straw.
Riley’s wolf surged beneath her <b>skin</b>, a blinding sh of white heat <b>wing </b>to the surface.
Her eyes burned gold. Her canines lengthened. She could feel the transformation pressing <b>against </b>her bones.
But she held it back.
Not here. Not now.
Today is Lucien’s grandmother’s birthday.
<b>Andy </b>worked so hard on my look.
I can’t let this turn into a bloodbath.
But her restraint <b>had </b>limits.
She bared her teeth–and bit <b>down</b>.
Hard
Ronan <b>groaned </b>in pain <b>as </b>blood bloomed on his lip. He recoiled just enough, and <b>that’s </b>when Riley <b>pped </b>him.
The <b>sound </b>cracked through the room like thunder.
He staggered back, touching his jaw, blood <b>staining </b>his fingers.
“You’re disgusting” Kiley spat, wiping her lips with the back of her <b>hand </b>“You <b>make </b>me sick”
The <b>words </b>sliced through him far deeper than her teeth or p ever could
Eight years
He had loved her for right long, wasted <b>years</b><b>. </b>
He never turbed another woman
He waited
waited for her
s imprisoned, even after the world called her a traitor, he sull dreamed of the day she’de ba
10PM PP.
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And now
Now she looked at <b>him </b>like he was filth.
“You think I’m disgusting?” he choked, voice rough. “I-”
Riley didn’t give him the chance to finish.
“<b>You </b>don’t get to y the <b>victim </b>now, Ronan,” she said coldly. “You were never my mate. <b>You </b>were just the boy who envied the girl he couldn’t keep up with<b>.” </b>
Then she walked past him<b>, </b>shoulders <b>straight</b>, leaving behind the shattered <b>remains </b>of <b>what </b>used to be love.
And behind her. Ronan stood alone in the silence–bleeding, humiliated, and for the first <b>time </b>in his life<b>, </b>unwanted.
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