LOGINWilliam laid completely still on the bed. Pain bloomed in every fiber of his body. He didn't need to check his body to know that he had already been decorated with bruises by Alex.
That bastard always resulted with violence. What was he even expecting if his mother was nothing but a witch. He stared at the ceiling as if a way out would magically appear from there. And shot up from his bed. “Ahh my gut’” he winced while holding his stomach. That really hurts like shit. But what can be worse than marrying Jacob Adams? The underground dragon, an Alpha that makes his fellow Alphas tremble in horror. Few can stand his pheromones, even his father is terrified. Scratch that. He's like an ant in front of him. Then how would he survive? He quickly ran to the window and looked down. “ I will probably die if I jump down from here.” He stood in front of the window. “Well, if I perish I perish” he climbed onto the window sill. He looked down at the ground from a far distance. He swallowed, his heart on his throat. “ You know what? I do care if I perish” He quickly got down. “I can't die with my whole intestines sticking out of my body like an art piece.” He closed the window, letting out a long sigh.“How do those people that commit suicide by jumping from a window, do it. I almost peed on my pants, my short lived life was about to flash before my eyes” He said caressing his chest. “ They must be bravely stupid.” He limped back to his bed, nodding his head, and gently laid on his bed. What do he do now, his being locked up like a prisoner without being sentenced by a judge? Should he just go ahead and jump? No. No. He needs to get out of here and fast. Or he would be known as the groom that died on his wedding day. It reminded him of the movie titled ‘The Killer Bride’ but at least the protagonist was the killer not the one killed. Or maybe he can come back as a ghost and wipe out his entire family. Hahaha. His laughter didn't reach his brown eyes. His eyes were just empty. Emotionless. That will be impossible. Tears strolled down his cheeks. Joking about the situation didn't help to relieve the weight of what is happening around him. “Others marry for love, while I am about to get married for a payment” He held the blanket tightly, as if it was his life line. “l never thought that old man would stoop to this level.” His knuckles turned red due to the amount of strength he used to hold the blanket. The already small room felt smaller. The air thinner. Even breathing felt like betrayal. “Maybe he's not as bad as I have heard about him” He murmured softly, desperately hoping to ignite a flint of hope. There was no trace of it. He just laid there, crying silently, his sobs buried in his throat. He curled himself up like a snake, pressing a pillow to his face. Every shiver felt like his slender body might snap in half. There was no need to sob out loud because—-no one would ever come. He could never be Cinderella. __________________________________ In the city of Hawkwood, midnight meant nothing. The streets were still bustling with life. But the underground black market at the outskirts of the city was more lively. There were so many black listed products, illegal materials and unregistered guns…Anything forbidden was sold there. It's a place of no laws but everyone who has been there knows there's only one law. That's not to enter the bad books of one man. In a basement shot in with iron heavy doors, sat a man in a black leather couch. He was dressed entirely in black and black gloves. His grey eyes intensely locked on the man tied on the chair. Not knowing there's another problem awaiting him. “So where did you keep my goods?” He said coldly as he took a long puff from the cigarette in his hand. “I’m telling you the truth, Mr Adams,” the man swallowed, a yellow liquid visible running down his legs. Mr Adams couldn't hide the disgust he felt when he looked at the little pool below the tied man. “ I haven't done anything to you yet.” He got up from the coach and walked slowly towards the man. He started thrashing around, trying to break free. But he couldn't, the rope just dug into his skin. “Please Mr Adams, believe me” the man cried, snot coming out from his nose. What, Mr Adams hated more than anything is lying. And the man was lying to him. He took out the dagger embedded with blue ruby at the handle from his waist straps. “You know you're lying to me, Felix” he stood one foot away from Felix. “And you know how much I hate being lied to” He moved. Fast. Clean Felix didn't have time to register what was happening before his blade came down. Aaaaah!!. Felix’s screaming filled the whole room. Two bloody fingers lay on the cold concrete beside his feet. “See the mess you made” Mr Adams said, pointing to the blood stains splattered on his trousers. “That was new.” Felix writhed in pain, breathing heavily. “P…please Mr Adams.” “That's not what you are supposed to be saying right now” He said, as he raised his dagger and sliced Felix 's palm off. Blood gushed out. He sighed, glancing at his ruined trousers. “Will you stop screaming already?” He bent down in front of Felix. “You're going to make me deaf’ “I'm.. s..sorry Mr Adams, I will never-” “Sorry won't get my goods back, will it?” he said, patting Felix's face. “If you don't want to lose your other hand, you'd better start talking” Mr Adams smiled. But that smile made Felix's whole body tremble in dread.Birds chirped somewhere beyond the window, faint and persistent. William's eyes fluttered open to soft morning light filtering through the curtains, and Jacob's face hovered far closer than expected, watching him with that same unreadable stillness.William startled, jerking back against the pillow. "What the..."His heartbeat stuttered sharply against his ribs. Had Jacob been watching him sleep?"Looks like you're alright now." Jacob said, voice even. His gray eyes stayed fixed on William's face, like he was still checking for something.William blinked, disoriented, the room swimming for a second before it settled."What exactly happened in the study?" Jacob's expression made it clear he wasn't taking 'nothing' for an answer again.William sat up slowly, the sheets pooling at his waist. He straightened his posture, not quite meeting Jacob's eyes. "My dad found out you gave me a black card." He paused, thumb pressing into his own knuckle. "Then he asked, no, he ordered me to give h
Music blasted through the club, bass thick enough to vibrate through his teeth. Light swept across the room in shifting colors, blue, then purple, then red, catching on glasses and skin and the haze of pheromones that hung thick enough to taste. Bodies moved against each other on the floor, drinks passed hand to hand at the bar. Alex's gaze swept the room, slow and deliberate, until it found Courtney, sitting near the edge of the floor, a drink loose in her hand. And across from her, Liam. He had been to clubs like this more times than he could count. But every other time, he had come here for something …a distraction, a body, a few hours lost in bliss. Tonight was different. Tonight he wasn't here to have fun. He was here for Liam. Alex's mouth curved into a slow smile. He started toward them, weaving through the crowd, the bass swallowing the sound of his footsteps but not the intent on his face. "Courtney." He came to a stop in front of them. Courtney tilted her head up, sur
The Stones Mansion.The moment Mr. Adams' car drove off, Vivian was already moving. Her heels struck the marble floor in short, urgent clicks that echoed down the hall. She didn't bother knocking. The study door swung open under her hand."Honey," she said quietly. "what happened?"Wilson stood with his back to her, shoulders rigid, one hand braced against the edge of his desk like it owed him money."He knows." Wilson's voice was flat.Vivian crossed the room and stopped in front of him, searching his face. "Honey, what are you saying?"He still wouldn't look at her. His jaw worked once, twice, before he finally turned, and the look in his eyes made her breath catch. It was anger unlike the kind she had ever seen on him before."William." He said the name like it cost him an arm. "He knows everything about the money."Vivian went still. What? How did that bastard know? "But how!""That night. After the wedding." Wilson's hands curled into fists at his sides. "He was outside our room.
William walked through the corridor to the dining area, but no one was there. Where did Sir Jacob go? Then he heard a maid’s voice behind him. "Mr Adams is waiting in the car." Thank goodness. He wanted to get out of here. William stepped outside. Alex and Vivian were waiting at the corner, but he didn't look at them. Jacob was already seated in the car, engine running, eyes on his phone. William got in. The door had barely shut before the car pulled away. In the side mirror, Vivian turned and hurried back inside. Alex stayed a second longer, watching the car go, then followed her. "What took you so long?" "Nothing." William said quietly. Jacob turned to look at him. His eyes lingered on him for a second too long, he didn't believe it. But before he could press, he saw it, the redness along his chin. He reached over and gripped William's face, tilting it toward the light. The temperature in the car seemed to drop a degree. A strong pheromone crashed into William befor
Wilson stepped away, took a deep breath, and regained his composure. “I don't have time for this.” He sneered. “Alex told me he saw you with a black card.” He turned toward William. “Is that true?” “Yes.” “Did Mr. Adams give it to you?” Of course he did. Did he think it had fallen from heaven? William kept his face blank, though his fingers curled against his palm, nails digging into his skin. “Yes.” Wilson held his chin, studying William the way he might study a product he had misjudged. “ I never thought Sir Jacob could give that to you.”A glint flickered in his eyes. “You aren't that useless after all.” The words landed exactly where they were meant to. William had heard a variations of them in his whole life, and his stomach still folded in on itself like it always did. But this time it didn't suffocate him. He breathed through it slowly. “I want you to give me fifty million. It wouldn't be so hard to do. If Mr Adams could give you a black card, getting Fifty million
This dinner couldn't be more enjoyable for William. Every bite tasted better than the last, not because of the food, but because of the stiff, thorny expressions worn by the three people sitting across from him. William glanced at his dad, then Alex, then Vivian, taking his time over each face like he was reading a picture book. He picked up his glass, swirled it once, and took a loud, deliberate sip just to watch Wilson's jaw tighten at the sound of it. He had never been happier to be eating beside Sir Jacob. These three would finally know what it felt like to choke down a meal in Sir Jacob's presence. May you all have terrible indigestion, he thought, and reached for another bite. Jacob watched him from the corner of his eye, the faint, goofy satisfaction William wasn't bothering to hide, the way he chewed a little too slowly, savoring it. Jacob's mouth didn't move, but something gleamed behind his eyes, there and gone, like a match struck and blown out before it caught. H
William held Alex’s gaze and kept his voice even, though the trembling of his fingers betrayed him. “I came for the same reason you did.” “Can you afford that?” Courtney, one of Alex's minions said, eyes scanning over William with a slow, deliberate pity that was somehow worse than outright mocke
Is that man crazy? How did he end up owing such an enormous amount of money? William suddenly slapped himself across the cheek. Yep, this was very much real. Something that wasn't cold flickered for a second in Jacob's gaze as he watched William's reaction. it was gone before it could be named.
The dining was awfully quiet.Then the sound of a spoon against a glass plate broke the silence. William couldn't wait for this dinner to end. He couldn't even enjoy the tasty food. “I heard from your father that you recently wrote the entrance college exam,” Jacob's grandmother said. “Yes” “
Six hands pinned William to the ground. He struggled, thrashing, twisting with everything he had. But there were too many of them and he was too weak, too small against their collective grip. The sound of tearing fabric cut through the silence of the mansion like something irreversible. Their nail







