LOGINMORANO Yara’s heavy words kept ringing loudly inside my head, repeating like a curse until the car finally came to a smooth stop in front of the grand pack house. “Excuse us,” I muttered deeply to the front seat. The driver nodded instantly and left the car, shutting the door behind him and leaving the two of us wrapped in a thick, suffocating silence. I stared straight ahead at the steering wheel, my jaw tightly clenched. “I just want to make this completely clear to you right now. Next time, do not wear or take anything that wasn’t directly handed over to you by me. I will forgive your little stunt just for today.” I kept my voice soft, dangerous, and perfectly level, refusing to turn my head to look at her. “Who actually owns that dress, Morano?” she asked sternly. She didn't shift her position in the seat at all, her eyes burning holes into the side of my face. “It doesn’t belong to Adriana,” I supplied coldly. “That is not what I asked you,” she fired back, her sh
MORANOJackla was inside the private inner room with Priestess Yara while I sat alone in the quiet waiting area. Yara had bluntly asked me to join them, but my stubborn wife had instantly snapped back with a firm no, claiming she wouldn’t feel comfortable with me in the room. I scoffed under my breath at the fresh memory, my mind drifting right back to the dangerous stunt she had pulled at the breakfast table.Standing up to Adriana of all people was a death wish. I knew Adriana only held her tongue out of respect for my position, otherwise she would have lunged across the table and torn Jackla’s throat out.For the past few days, I had intentionally avoided Jackla. I had promised my own sanity that I would only speak to her when it was time to perform our marital duties, but she was ruthlessly pushing me straight to the edge. First, she had marched downstairs wearing that specific rosy pink dress—a dress I had personally bought years ago for Hazel. Seeing Jackla in it, with the f
JACKLA “You know I wasn’t in town for your wedding, so I apologize again, amore mio,” she purred. She called him that for the second time, and absolutely no one needed to translate that it literally meant my love.Another woman was calling my husband her love right in front of my face. Did she have any goddamn idea who I was?“Adriana, meet my wife, Jayla,” Morano said quietly. He kept his focus entirely on his plate, acting as if he hadn’t just casually introduced his new wife to a woman who was practically crawling all over him.Adriana pulled out a dining chair, sliding it inappropriately close to his side before sitting down. “So, how is life as a married man? How are the pack and the business? Fill me in on everything.” She waved a dismissive hand toward a nearby maid, who immediately scrambled over to start dishing out her food.Morano actually started talking, filling her in on his shipping businesses and pack territory. I sat there completely invisible to them, the rejection
JACKLA The days blurred by in a lonely haze, and I never laid my eyes on Morano during the sunlit hours. The only time I actually felt his presence was in the dead of night, when the mattress dipped under his massive weight whenever he crawled into bed to sleep. And every single morning, long before my eyes could even flutter open, he was completely gone. Today was no different; his side of the sheets was already freezing cold, and he was nowhere to be found in the quiet room.Was he intentionally avoiding me?I tried to tell myself that I couldn't care less. These past few nights had been the most peaceful moments I had experienced since arriving here, and a part of me truly wished our arrangement could just stay like this forever. But as I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress, a small piece of folded paper on the bedside table caught my eye.I picked it up, unfolding it to find his sharp, elegant handwriting. Come down for breakfast at 9:00 AM sharp. Don’t keep me waiting
MORANO “Boss,” Jake’s tense voice sliced straight through my heavy thoughts. “I’m sorry to barge in like this, but you really need to see this right now.” I straightened up instantly in my chair, locking my dark past away and entering full work mode. Jake stepped forward and slid a tab across the desk. The glowing screen flashed with the security footage of a few suspicious men roaming around the pack yesterday. They were moving in a calculated, sneaky formation. I recognized the crest on their jackets immediately. Kael’s men. The same men I tortured last night. “How fucking stupid can he actually be?” I scoffed, a dark, dangerous laugh vibrating in my chest. “He really thinks we wouldn't spot his rats crossing our lines? The boy is even more brainless than his dead father was.” “I’m just glad our border patrol caught their movements before they could pull off whatever stunt they were planning,” Jake chipped in, tapping the screen to close the surveillance tab. “I need t
MORANO She had passed out completely cold after sex, and the first thought that crossed my mind was to call the head maid to come clean her up. But there was this strange, unyielding pull in my chest to do it myself. I carried her limp body into the bathroom, lowering her gently into the warm bathtub. I washed every single part of her body with my own hands, changed her into soft, clean clothes, and tucked her securely into the sheets. I stayed right there, watching her sleep all through the night. She looked so incredibly peaceful, but I knew the dark truth. For how long could that peace truly last with a ruthless man like me? I had forced myself to leave the bedroom very early in the morning because I knew I wouldn’t be able to fight the primal urge to cuddle her all night, and I didn't want my actions creating any soft delusions in her head. But down at breakfast, the urge returned. I wanted to sit right there and watch her eat. I wanted to watch her nervous fingers f
JACKLA “Tricked you?” I repeated, my voice rising slightly despite the fear gripping my chest. “How did I trick you, Morano?” “The northern airstrips!” he roared, slamming his hand against the stone balustrade right next to my head. The sound echoed through the courtyard like a gunshot. “The plan
MORANO I stood in the doorway, my eyes locked on hers. I remembered the night she had slaughtered those men…how she had moved like a scarlet flame, fierce and unshakeable when the bullets started flying. But when Castellano’s men had moved to capture her, she had frozen. She hadn't lifted a finge
MORANOThe clock on the wall hadn't even struck five when I gave up on sleep. The darkness of the cabin felt heavy, pressing against my chest like a physical weight. I stood by the window, watching the gray mist cling to the pines, but all I could see was the spray of blood against the floor from
JAYLA I grinned, a broken chuckle rattling in my throat even as the world blurred at the edges. I wasn't like Jackla. I wasn't soft, and I didn't want gentle. I thrived in the dark.“You know I love mine old,” I choked out, my fingers clawing at his wrist, “smart, rough, brutal... and dangerously







