LOGINChristian's POVA FEW HOURS BEFOREDaring men called me beautiful before they called me anything else. Women too, though most learned fast enough not to say it twice. There was a word for what I was when I stood still and let them look—Adonis, someone whispered once, drunk on champagne and too stupid to notice what was beneath the face. They saw the jaw, the height, the eyes the color of a storm with a deadly glare. They never saw the rest of it until it was too late to run.But I was not beautiful tonight.Tonight I was what my father made me—cold, deadly, and without mercy.The smell of blood and concrete filled the air. My wolf sat just beneath my skin, calm for now, waiting. Upstairs, the whole pack was quiet, holding its breath, waiting to see if their Alpha was still a man tonight, or something worse.I rolled my sleeves to the elbow on my way down the stairs. I didn't rush.I never rushed.My eyes locked onto Enzo.My wolf stirred beneath my skin the moment I saw him, low and h
Scarlett's POV Christian didn’t wait for me to find my footing. He wrapped his fingers around the chain connecting my handcuffs and yanked me off the stage. I stumbled, my bare feet scraping against the hard marble, but he didn't care. He dragged me through the stunned, silent crowd of bidders like a prized kill with long strides. His grip on me hurt but what hurt most was the fact that despite all the pain I and my son had gone through because of him, he was still acting like the victim. "Christian, stop! Please!" I begged, my voice cracking as I struggled to keep up in the skimpy slip dress. "I have to—" I almost said it. The name of my son almost left my lips, but I choked it back down. If Christian found out about Leo, if he looked into those stormy gray eyes and saw his own reflection... I squeezed my eyes shut, a cold sweat breaking over my skin. I would die before I let the mafia touch my baby. Christian pushed me hurriedly into the car despite my pleas and climbed in besi
Scarlett's POV Leo was the only good thing born from the ashes of my stupid mistake. For four years, he was my entire world. Chloe joined me in Chicago after I ran from my father's house. We both left everything of our old life behind and worked hard to take care of our small family. I loved him with all the love my broken heart could give. Father tried to reach me severally after I left the house but I shut him out completely. I wouldn't bring more shame to him and most importantly, I didn't want to associate my spotless, pure son to the demons of the mafia.He had my heart, but he had Christian’s face. Especially those same stormy, unreadable gray eyes. Every time I looked at my son, I fought an agonizing war in my heart. I hated Christian for abandoning us, especially for leaving Leo without the fatherly love every child deserved. Yet every night, when Leo fell asleep with his head against my collarbone and Chloe thought I'd slept off, a treacherous longing would ache in my hear
Chapter 3 Scarlett’s POV The shower spray ran freezing cold, but it couldn't wash away the stinging burn of Christian’s words. I pulled my knees to my chest right there on the wet tile, sobbing until my throat hurt. He used me. He ruined me. And then he handed me right back to my father. For five years I had loved a monster and I had no time to grieve. The heavy thud of my bedroom door closing signaled his departure, instantly followed by the click of my stepmother’s heels in the hallway. Beatrice. She didn't even knock before throwing the door open, her sharp eyes scanning my disheveled state with suspicion. "Get up, Scarlett," she sneered, tossing a garment bag onto my bed. "Your father’s guests are arriving. Do not disappoint him today." I had already disappointed him and it was only a matter of time until he found out. I stiffled tears and walked out of the bathroom, clutching my towel around my body. Inside the bag was a pristine, long-sleeved white silk dress. It wa
Chapter 3 Scarlett's POV Christian’s eyes never left the curve of my breasts as the steam curled around us. My nub hardened under his unhinged gaze. I had never seen him this way. So unhinged, so affected. His Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed. He took a step closer until the heat of his body brushed the damp towel I clutched to my chest. The look in his eyes undid me. My core was clenching. I felt a stream of liquid down my legs and it had nothing to do with the shower I just had. It was all Christian. “Scarlett…” he drawled and my toes curled on the floor. “How could I leave? When the image of your naked body and the things I could do to you kept me awake all f*cking night?” His voice was a rough whisper. So he too hadn't slept? The sound of his confession gladdened me. “You’re trembling, Scarlett. How long have you been fantasizing about your stepbrother?” My breath hitched. He knew I had always wanted him. I couldn't speak. I only kept my eyes o
Chapter 2: The Taste of Ashes Scarlett 's POV I had always feared my step-brother. Everyone did and over the years, even father. And how could we not? Christian exuded the deadliest aura. Each night I sat at the dinning table, pretending to read while waiting for him to return from the ‘business errands’, father had sent him on. He strode in with a fierce, dark look in his eyes, blood dripping down his neck or arms, never sparing me a single glance. Yet, as much as I feared him, the danger around him only made my forbidden obsession grow. But standing in front of him tonight, I knew that I wasn't just risking my life being in this danger but I was embracing it, choosing it. "You think you're not him?" Christian’s voice was low, as he slowly stood up. He loomed over me. He was all muscle, ink, and raw malice. I twisted the straps of my robe, my legs shaking. "You breathe his air, Scarlett. You spend his money. You sleep safely under his roof while I burn." His words pie







