"Are you going to kill me?" I asked, my voice trembling even as I tried to steady it.
Keep it together, Vivian, a voice whispered inside my head. Stay calm.
He could be the one-the monster the town whispered about. The thing responsible for every scream that haunted Shadow Lake's nights.
A low, dark chuckle slipped from his chest-the first sound I'd heard him make. It was soft, mocking, almost amused. My stomach twisted. Was I imagining it? Was that... the killer's laugh?
"You're a smart girl, Vivian," he said finally, his tone smooth, dripping with cruel confidence. "I'm sure you're smart enough to know screaming won't save you from the big bad wolf."
The words rolled off his tongue slowly, deliberately, each one colder than the last. And that voice-God, that voice. Deep, calm, familiar. It crawled beneath my skin, both terrifying and... alluring. No. What was I thinking? I couldn't possibly find anything about this sick man attractive.
"Are you going to kill me?" I repeated, louder this time. My body trembled against the chair, the old wood creaking under my movement. The air was thick, too warm for a basement. That alone was wrong-no place in Shadow Lake ever felt warm. Warmth didn't belong here.
Then I heard him move. Footsteps-slow, deliberate. A shadow loomed closer until the faint light caught the metal in his hand.
Cold steel pressed against my cheek. I flinched as a sting tore through my skin. A bead of blood slid down my face, warm against the chill that gripped me.
"No," he murmured. His knees brushed mine as he leaned in close, his breath steady, unnervingly calm. His voice came in a whisper against my ear.
"I'm not going to kill you," he said. "But I am going to leave a mark-claiming you as mine. And only mine."
His words sank into me like poison. My breath caught in my throat as fear clawed at my chest. I wanted to scream-but the sound refused to come.
VIOLET
I've been called too much since the day I grew hips and learned how to use my voice.
Too loud. Too soft. Too thick. Too Black.
Too hungry for men who never knew what to do with me.
That's fine.
Let the weak choke on my flavor.
I came here to work. A two-month contract with a secretive werewolf pack, patching up warriors and pretending the whole fated mates thing doesn't apply to humans like me.
Then I met him.
Leon Starling-six-foot-six of alpha arrogance, with glacier eyes and a body built to sin.
King of the Crescent Moon Pack.
And apparently... fated to me.
Our first meeting? In his oversized, overcompensating office.
He told me to show respect.
I told him to choke on it.
"You're in my territory, human," he growled.
"And you're in my light," I said. "Move."
The problem?
I don't want to be claimed.
I want to be taken.
But every time I lean in, he backs off.
Like he's scared I'll break.
"I don't want to hurt you," he says, voice hoarse, fists clenched.
I smirk, slow and wicked.
"Then you're not man enough to fuck me."
⸻
LEON
She walked into my office like she belonged there.
No fear. No scent of submission. Just fire, hips, and attitude.
She was supposed to be another healer.
A professional. Temporary.
Not mine.
But the moment I scented her, I knew.
Violet Blues is everything I've been searching for-and everything I shouldn't touch.
Defiant. Human. Forbidden.
She looks at me like she dares me to try.
Laughs like she knows I already lost.
"You think your little attitude makes you strong?" I snapped.
"No," she purred, dragging her gaze down my body. "But it makes you hard."
I should've walked away.
Should've buried the bond howling in my blood.
Instead, I backed her against my desk and nearly begged.
She doesn't want love.
She wants to be ruined.
"Say it again," I growl, my voice raw.
"You're not strong enough to take me," she whispers.
And that's when I knew-
She wasn't sent to complete me.
She was sent to destroy me