ian

morning, I lay perfectly still in the center of our king-sized bed,

ak door cli

epped into the room. His presence was a suffocating weight, a gravitation

ick, cloying layer of hothouse orchids. Serena Chase. The scent was rubbed deep into his

thing even, pretending to be asleep. I felt the warmth of his large

ecoiled. The tainted Mate-bond flared with a sickening wrongne

into a blade. He interpreted my instinctual revulsion as a conscious rejecti

t, a futile and cowardly act that extinguished the very last ember of my hope. Under the covers, my hand slipped into the nigh

nd, pouring a cup of decaf coffee. Dr. Smith's warning echoed in my skull: *Any severe emotional distress could be c

n walked in, dressed in a bespoke charcoal suit, l

ng the edge of the cold marb

ted, his voice devoid of a single drop of warm

my lungs. Before I could even process the cruelty of his bluntne

reject you, Vivian

e severing of the Mate-bond felt like my soul was being shredded through a meat gri

folder across the island. The Sterling Pack legal seal was stamped on t

the screen, and for a fraction of a second, his rigid jaw relaxed. A fleeting, genuine sof

nd walked out, leaving me to

n the folder. I had to know what my future held. I flipped past the financial payouts

The Bloodli

absolute authority to terminate the pregnancy to protect the Pack's genetic superiority. Should a pup be born, the Alpha will assume sole custody. The pup will be

blood draining entirely from my face. He wouldn't just divorce me. If he knew ab

un

h pot of coffee. Her eyes widened in horror as she took in my pale, shaking form

primal terror. I couldn't stay here. I couldn't let him see me again. I had to ge