But I knew.
I knew long before this asshole laid a hand on her. I knew her when she was young. Desperate. Fucking naive. When she wasn’t a cold, ruthless cunt.
When she was mine.
My jaw snapped tight. Something cracked.
Maybe the steering wheel.
Maybe me.
He pulled away from her. They turned, disappearing deeper into the underground car park. I waited. I don’t know what held me there. Instinct maybe. It sure as hell wasn’t love. She killed that a long time ago. Headlights split the shadows. A navy-blue Audi crawled from the lot and turned onto the street in front of me. My jaw locked again. The steering wheel groaned under my grip.
I grabbed my phone. Snapped a shot of the plates. It wasn’t jealousy that drove me to send the photo to Mason.
Mason:Run a trace. Get back to me—fast.
Sent.
I didn’t wait. Didn’t wonder.
I felt it—straight to my fucking core.
And it wasn’t Selene that came to mind.
It was dimpled thighs and a soft belly. One my fingers sank into. My voice growling low—That’s it. Don’t you run from this. Fucking take it.
Let Selene fuck her way out of this. Let Wolfe leash Cloe until she forgets her own name. I’ll be the one they come crawling to when it all burns down.
And I won’t save a single fucking one of them.
18
CLOE
The room spun behind me.Glittering. Rotting. Forgotten. The leash slackened in Wolfe’s hand. He didn’t drop it. Just…loosened—waiting.
Royal disappeared into the crowd. A flash of gold and cruelty. Loyal followed, melting into the crowd. I didn’t lift my head. Didn’t shift. Didn’t dare.
Wolfe tugged the leash once. A single, sharp pull. I moved. Slow and deliberate and rose to my feet. The leash tight enough to keep my head bowed. Enough to remind me that even standing wasn’t standing. It was permission. It was possession. It was proof.
He led me past a thousand whispered questions and a thousand sharpened smiles. Past a thousand knives disguised as curiosity. I followed. Because that’s what I was built for now. To kneel. Breathe. Belong.
The private elevator was waiting. Gold trim. Mirrored walls. No escape. No salvation.
Wolfe led me inside. The doors slid shut. The music died. The world stopped. It was only him now. Only me. Only the leash. He didn’t speak. Didn’t touch. He just stared at me. Watched mebreathe. Watched the collar rise and fall with every shaky inhale. Watched the chain tremble with every held breath.
“Kneel.”
Soft.
Deadly.
I dropped immediately. No hesitation. Because hesitation was betrayal. Because sacrifice didn’t wait. Itobeyed.
I knelt at his feet. Bare knees against cold metal. Hands resting lightly on my thighs. Head bowed. Breath shallow. And when the elevator finally opened—when the doors slid back to reveal the private floor—I followed him without needing to be pulled.
The penthouse door whispered shut behind us. Silence pressed heavy against the walls. The city sprawled beyond the glass, glittering and cruel. Uncaring.
