He barely had time to regret it before Alexander’s head snapped toward him.
The look in his eyes was terrifying—cold, lethal, stripped of anything human. His entire body went rigid, muscles locking as if he were holding himself back from something violent.
Magnus felt a chill crawl down his spine. His own body tensed instinctively.
“You know what,” he said quickly, already stepping backward, hands lifting in surrender. “I just remembered—I have something important to do. Really important.”
He grabbed his phone off the desk and turned, heading straight for the door.
“Talk to you later,” Magnus threw over his shoulder.
He didn’t wait for a response.
The door shut behind him, leaving Alexander alone in the office—standing perfectly still, fists clenched, eyes dark with a storm that had yet to break.
***
Liana carefully placed Mia’s dinner on the table before settling into the chair beside her. She glanced at Mia, her expression gentle but searching.
“So… now that you’ve moved out,” she asked softly, “are you going to divorce? Or are you going to stay?”
“I’m not sure yet, Aunt Liana,” Mia muttered. She picked up her spoon and began eating, her movements slow and distracted. “I haven’t decided. We’ve had… differences. I don’t know yet.”
Liana nodded and continued eating. “That’s all right. Just don’t take too long to think it over. When relationships are strained this much, they can break and sometimes never recover. Some situations need to be handled carefully.”
Mia nodded absentmindedly. She kept eating, but her eyes drifted toward the suitcase propped against the wall.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Liana pushed her chair back slightly, starting to rise, but Mia was already on her feet. She reached out and placed a hand on Liana’s shoulder.
“I’ll get it, Aunt Liana. Please sit,” she said quickly.
Before Liana could respond, Mia was already moving down the hallway, her steps fast and uneven. Outside, the sky had deepened into shades of gold and red, the last light of evening bleeding across the horizon.
She opened the door—
And froze.
Framed by the burning glow of the sunset, Alexander stood on the doorstep.
Her breath caught. Instinctively, she stepped back, but he moved faster.
His arm shot out, sliding around her waist and yanking her forward. Her body slammed into his, trapped flush against him. Before she could react, before she could even inhale properly, his face buried itself in her neck.
His hand fisted in her hair, jerking her head aside and then his teeth sank into her skin.
“Ah—!” Mia bit back the sound, pain and shock jolting through her as his bite marked her sharply. A second later, his tongue swept over the spot, as if soothing what he’d just inflicted.
Then he did it again.
His teeth grazed her neckline, biting down once more, harder this time. She stiffened, swallowing every sound that threatened to escape her. He kept going—biting, licking, marking—his grip tightening as if he needed to brand her there, right then.
She didn’t dare make a noise. Liana was still inside, just a few steps away.
Mia pushed weakly at his shoulders, trying to create space, but he refused to release her. If anything, his arm locked tighter around her waist, his body pressing her more firmly against the doorframe as he continued, relentless.
Finally, she gathered what little strength she had left and shoved him harder.
