The slap of her palm echoed in the marble hallway.
Cassie's hand still stung.
My face didn't flinch.
"You think this is your castle now?" she spat, her perfectly lined lips curled in fury. "You walk around like you matter."
I didn't move. I didn't blink.
I smiled.
"That's the problem with mistresses," I murmured. "You confuse borrowed power with ownership."
Her face twisted, but before she could say another word, a shadow stepped between us.
Damien.
He didn't even look at her. His eyes were on me. Sharp. Burning.
"What happened?" His voice was quiet, too quiet.
Cassie rushed forward. "She—"
"She'll speak for herself," he snapped, finally turning to her. "And you'll learn your place."
Her mouth fell open.
Mine did too.
But it wasn't shock.
It was strategy.
"Is this what you want?" I whispered, meeting his gaze. "Women tearing each other apart while you watch?"
He stepped closer.
"This—" he said low, his hand gripping my chin, "—is what happens when you provoke wolves. And right now, Diana, you're bleeding in my den."
I pulled away. "Then maybe it's time I start biting back."
**
The next day, Claiborne brought me tea laced with tension. Her eyes scanned the room before she sat.
"He touched her," she said simply.
I didn't ask who she meant.
"She's been around longer than you," Claiborne continued, "but she's not stronger. You're making enemies faster than I can count."
"Good," I muttered.
Claiborne sighed. "Don't be stupid. You're outnumbered. Damien may defend you in public, but in private? He still owns your leash."
"I'm not on a leash."
Her brow arched. "You are. You're just biting the hand that holds it now."
**
The board meeting ended late. Damien told me to wait in his office. I didn't. I wandered into his private lounge instead—dark, sleek, cold like him.
I wasn't snooping.
I was reclaiming space.
Until I opened a drawer and found her photograph.
Cassie.
In lingerie.
In his handwriting: She obeys.
My stomach twisted. I didn't cry. I didn't burn it. I just placed it back and sat on the leather couch like nothing happened.
Ten minutes later, he walked in.
Saw me.
Paused.
"Looking for something?" he asked.
"No," I said. "I found it."
Something shifted in his eyes.
He walked over slowly. Sat beside me. Too close. Too silent.
"What did you see?"
"Her."
He didn't deny it.
He just leaned in and said, "She's a shadow. You… are the fire."
My throat tightened. "Then why do you keep feeding me ashes?"
He gripped my wrist suddenly. Hard.
"Because I'm afraid if I set you free… you'll never come back."
The words broke something open.
But I didn't let him see it.
"Maybe you're right," I whispered. "Maybe I won't."
**
That night, I found a letter slipped under my pillow.
Typed. No name.
> He won't protect you forever.
When his leash breaks, run.
I didn't sleep.
I just waited for dawn—and for the next strike.
**
The following afternoon, the driver took a different route from school.
I noticed too late.
The gate wasn't the usual one. The guards didn't look familiar.
And the car stopped halfway through a wooded path on Damien's estate.
The door opened.
Rhys Langston stood there.
Alive. Real. Smirking.
"Afternoon, little wife," he said. "Didn't think I'd let Wolfe keep you caged forever, did you?"
Before I could scream, before I could run—his hand was on my wrist, dragging me out of the car.
But this time, I wasn't the same girl he once threatened.
I turned.
And bit him.
Hard.
He cursed, stumbling back, blood on his hand.
"Good," he growled. "The fire's real. Let's burn him down together."
A gunshot rang out.
Then another.
The guards tackled Rhys.
Damien stormed out of the trees—tie off, eyes wild.
He didn't speak.
He didn't ask.
He just pulled me into his arms like I was already dead.
"You let him touch you?" he whispered in my hair.
"I fought."
His jaw clenched. "That's not enough."
"Then make it enough," I snapped.
He pulled back. His eyes were glass and rage.
"You're mine, Diana," he said darkly. "No one else touches you. No one else bleeds you. Not even fate."
Then he kissed me.
Hard.
Hungry.
Broken.
And I let him.
Because hatred and hunger…
Felt the same in his arms.