To stop looking at me like I was the same girl he used to know.
But I didn’t say anything.
Because I wasn’t her anymore.
I was his.
And Hades knew it.
He stepped toward me—slow, deliberate—like he had all the time in the world to make me crack. His hand landed on my waist.
Not soft.
Not cruel.
Just… final.
Like a claim.
I flinched. But I didn’t pull away.
Because the truth was: he didn’t need to break me when silence would do the job just fine.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, voice like velvet and venom.
The words slid over my skin and sank deep.
Cliff moved behind him, dragging himself upright, his jaw clenched and eyes full of betrayal. He looked at me like I’d handed the wolf the keys to the gate. Maybe I had.
But I couldn’t meet his eyes.
Not with Hades’ fingers gripping my waist.
Not with the ring still heavy on my hand.
I stood there, frozen in the space between fear and defeat.
Between loyalty and survival.
The air crackled.
Hades didn’t say another word.
Because I’d already answered him. Without ever opening my mouth.
Chapter 14
Hades
I gripped him by the collar, fingers tight around the fabric like it might tear beneath my rage.
Cliff was heavier than he looked, but adrenaline made him light. Or maybe it was fury. Pure, undiluted possession thrumming under my skin.
He tried to speak—tried to say her name, like it belonged to him.
That was his mistake.
I slammed him into the front door first—just once. A warning.
