Lucien’s POV
The downpour outside was relentless, but even that couldn’t mask the scent of her night–blooming jasmine
+8 Pearls
soft, delicate, and slightly sweet, like
nothing more than noter a storm, I could hear Kael shouting in the distance, his voice hoarse and desperate, but it was
to me now.
My focus was entirely on her.
Riley
I watched from the shadows of the corridor as she sprinted down the stairs, her limp barely slowing her down, that <b>stubborn </b>determination etched into every fragile step she took. She was running toward me. Me- the man she should have feared The cursed Alpha she didn’t fully understand. And yet, she came
She <b>always </b>came.
She blinked, confused, watching as I pulled the ring from my finger- the silver one I had worn for years, engraved with the sigil of the Duskgrave <b>line</b>. It was more than a ring. It was a legacy. A curse. A vow.
And I <b>slid </b>it onto her finger.
Her breath hitched. She stared down at the simple <b>band</b>, watching it slide past her knuckle and settle perfectly against her
skin.
A perfect fit.
<b>Just </b>like her.
Her mouth parted, but no words came.
“Wearing this means you’re mine,” I said softly, voice low, rough with restrained emotion. “And that I’ll protect <b>you</b>. Always.”
<b>She </b>looked up at me, <b>trembling</b>.
I could see the war in her <b>eyes </b>disbelief, wonder, fear, <b>and </b>something that looked dangerously close to hope. She wanted to. believe me. She wanted to trust me. But she’d been broken too many times to fall so easily.
Still, she didn’t take the ring off.
Didn’t say no.
That was enough.
For now.
I picked her up gently and carried her upstairs, ignoring the dull <b>ache </b>in my muscles, the way the rain had soaked me to the bone She didn’t protest. Her head rested against my shoulder, her fingers still curled around mine.
Back in her room, Iid her down on the <b>bed</b>, adjusting the pillow behind her, smoothing her hair from her forehead.
She looked so small in that moment, <b>but </b>not weak. Never <b>weak </b>
She was quiet as I pulled the <b>nket </b>over her, but I saw how her fingers lingered on the ring – how her <b>thumb </b>kept <b>brushing </b>oser the cool metal like it grounded her.
I didn’? say anything else I didn’t need to
I turned off the light and left the room, letting the darkness wrap <b>around </b>her <b>like </b>a second promise
Down the hall. I returned to my own chambers
Steam still clung to the frosted ss of the shower, the air thick with redar and heat 1 toweled off my hair slowly, every
motion precise Calm
<b>But </b>inside?
Inside, I was a storm.
+8 Pearls
The wolf beneath my <b>skin </b>paced restlessly, ws skimming bone, fangs bared in satisfaction. She’d epted the ring. She
not by the mate bond, <b>not </b>yet. But by <b>me</b>. By choice.
was marked now
–
<b>And </b>that meant more.
The mate bond was instinct.
This was will.
I dropped the towel and walked to the window, pulling open the heavy curtains. Rain <bshed </b><b>against </b>the ss, and down
below. I saw <b>him</b><b>. </b>
Kael
Soaked. Broken. On his knees
His fists <b>mmed </b>into the mud as he screamed up at <b>Riley’s </b>window, voice cracking with remorse. He looked like a beast trying to rip its own heart out dramatic, pathetic, and utterly predictable.
I watched him with detached interest, lighting a cigarette and leaning against the window frame. Smoke curled around my face as I exhaled slowly, watching the scene unfold like a y I’d seen too many times.
Guilt. Repentance. Self–pity.
A performance<b>, </b>all of it.
My lips twisted into <b>a </b>faint smirk<b>. </b>
if he thought Riley was the same na?ve girl he used to manipte, he was in for a brutal awakening.
She belonged to me now.
And I would destroy anyone who tried to take her from me whether they wore the mask of a repentant brother, a jealous ex, or even a corrupted <b>Alpha</b>.
I flicked ash into the tray and murmured to myself, “Kael Vale is far too idle. I <b>should </b>find him something to do.”
I reached for my phone.
Tapped Duke’s number.
No answer
Strange.
1 frowned, hit redial Sull nothing. The third call went unanswered too
I nced at the time–10:03 pm.
Duke wouldn’t be asleep. Not now. Not with how I trained him
Interesting.
Fleaned back into the <b>chair </b>again, gaze slipping <b>back </b>to the <b>storm </b>outside.
Karl was still kneeling Sull bleeding Still calling out a <b>name </b>she <b>couldn’t </b>even hear
And Hairy was upstairs sleeping in my bed.
A Broken Alpha Heiress Revenge