INICIAR SESIÓNLilith's POV The Northern Alpha's trucks blocked the narrow mountain road ahead, their high beams cutting through the heavy snow like searchlights. Malakai didn't hit the brakes. He didn't swerve. He just shifted the armored SUV into a lower gear and slammed his foot on the gas."Brace," he said, calm as hell.I barely had time to grab the door handle before sixty miles per hour of reinforced steel plowed through the blockade. The impact was violent, bone-jarring, the kind of crash that made my teeth rattle in my skull. The pickup truck we hit spun off the icy cliff like a toy, disappearing into the darkness below. Our own radiator exploded on impact, steam hissing through the crumpled hood. The airbags deployed with a deafening crack, filling the cabin with white powder and the acrid smell of burnt rubber."Did you seriously just ram them?!" I gasped, coughing through the dust, my ribs aching from where the seatbelt had locked up.Malakai kicked his jammed door open and the freezing
Lilith's POVThe silence in the dining room was so heavy I could barely breathe. Arthur Sterling stood there in his perfectly pressed suit, looking at me like I was a piece of property he'd just successfully offloaded. Silas leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers against the mahogany table, enjoying every second of this disaster.Malakai didn't sit back down. He was standing so still it was unnatural, his eyes locked on Arthur like he was calculating exactly how much force it would take to snap his neck without getting blood on the expensive rug.Arthur cleared his throat, adjusting his cufflinks with that smug little smile that made me want to scream. "Lilith, don't look at me like that. This was for the best. The Triad was becoming a liability to the bloodline. Silas and I just... trimmed the fat."Ronan let out this sound that wasn't quite a laugh. It was more like a jagged, feral snarl. He didn't even look at Arthur. He stared at the window, his eyes flickering from hum
Lilith's POV The rain was coming down so hard I could barely see three feet in front of me. The private airstrip looked like something out of an apocalypse movie, all gray concrete and screaming jet engines. My hair was already plastered to my skull, my borrowed coat doing absolutely nothing against the cold.Malakai grabbed my arm, his grip desperate in a way that made my stomach drop. "You are not coming, Lilith. My father isn't some cartel boss. He's the actual devil. You're going to the safehouse."I yanked my arm back so hard I almost lost my balance on the wet tarmac. "Your father bought my debt to start a war with you. If you leave me in a safehouse, he'll just send another hit squad." I had to shout over the roar of the engines. "I'm safer on that plane."Vane walked past us, throwing his duffel bag into the cabin like he was trying to punch a hole through the jet. He looked back at Malakai, his split lip pulling tight. "She's right. The old man is a snake. Keep her where w
Lilith's POV The Maybach pulled up to the warehouse and I honestly thought I was about to walk into a crime scene from one of those true crime podcasts I binged during finals week. Instead, I walked into something way more unhinged. Vane was casually kicking a discarded weapon away from some unconscious guard like he was nudging a soda can off the sidewalk. But the real show was happening in the center of the room. Victoria. In immaculate white Prada boots. A trench coat that probably cost more than my entire semester's tuition. And a compact Glock pressed directly against Dominic Russo's temple. The guy was zip-tied to a rusted shipping crate, bleeding from his nose and looking like he'd seen God and wasn't impressed. "Oh, good," Victoria said, not even lowering the gun. Her eyes landed on me. "You brought the attack dogs. Tell the big one with the jawline to stop blowing up my crime scenes." Vane scowled, wiping rain out of his eyes. "You were in a minivan, Princess. I did y
Lilith's POV The Maybach tore through the streets like it was trying to outrun death itself. I watched the Opera House disappear in the side mirror, the glittering lights blurring into nothing as Vane blew through another red light. My heart was still hammering against my ribs, but not from fear anymore. From something else entirely. Something that felt a lot like hunger."Stop looking at me like that," Ronan said from beside me, his voice rough. "You're making it really hard to focus on the mission."I turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?""Like you want to eat me alive." His dark eyes dragged down my body, taking in the liquid silk dress that had ridden up to mid-thigh. "And trust me, princess. I'm not saying I'd complain. But we have bigger problems right now.""Russo's men," Malakai cut in from the front seat, his phone pressed to his ear. His voice was pure ice. "They pinged the van's plates. Heading toward the shipping yards."I pulled my knees to my chest, the
Lilith's POV I scrambled backward on the velvet couch, my hands flying up to my throat like I could still feel the pen buried in Julian's chest. My chest was heaving so hard I thought my ribs might crack open. The cold sweat was everywhere, dripping down my spine, soaking through the stupid liquid silk dress Malakai had picked out for me."Julian," I gasped, my voice cracking. "I stabbed him. He was in the room and the Feds—""Lilith, breathe."Malakai's voice cut through the panic like a bucket of ice water. He was kneeling right in front of me, his big hands gripping my knees so hard I could feel his fingers digging into my skin. His dark eyes were locked on mine, and for the first time since I met him, there was actual fear in them.Not fear of me. Fear for me."Look at me," he said, his voice low and steady. "You're in the antechamber. You fainted. The adrenaline from slapping Russo crashed your system.""But Julian—"Ronan let out a dark chuckle from somewhere behind me, but wh
Lilith's POV The sound of running water fills everywhere, echoing in the bathroom. Steam fills the air until it's almost heavy and thick, the scent of expensive jasmine clogging my nostrils…the kind my mother loved. But no matter how much perfume is poured, it still can't reduce the bitter, meta
Lilith's POV The room is suffocating and hot, like it's about to explode. Heat stings on my skin, my heart ramming in my ribs so hard I can hardly think properly. The silk ties are still wrapped around Roman's fingers and Vane? I can feel his long, masculine hands wrapped around my hip, pulling m
Lilith's POV One moment, I'm standing on the platform, the next, I'm being dragged out of the room. Vane doesn't lead me towards the red carpet at the main entrance or the hotel. Instead, he hauls me through the back service doors reserved for the workers, right past empty stacks of crates. His
PROLOGUE;They always told me the world was my oyster. Turns out I was just the pearl….polished pretty for someone else's collection.My name is Lilith. And no, this isn't one of those stories where I'm the rejected mate crying in the rain. I don't do rain, it ruins the suede on my Birkin. I was th







