nor

, stale sweat, and human anxiety, but none of it mattered the moment Damien stepped fully into the room. His Lycan aura-a suffocating, invisible force field o

ly unlocked a heavy me

wung open, my h

e bolted to the floor was Jamison. His bottom lip was split and crusted with blood,

gasped, rus

stomach. For a second, I just held him, breathing in his familiar scent. But the relief was

a punch at Caleb Thornton? Jamison, your Ivy League acceptances, your en

nds. His good eye flashed with a defensive, wou

m. Damien stood silently in the corner, a massive, unreadable statue blending

leaned forward, his chest heaving. "I was at the club on the Upper East Side. Caleb was there

d. The air in my

rembling whisper. "He was laughing about how he humiliated yo

er bullet straight to the ch

't Caleb's cruelty that broke me; it was the crushing realization that my defect-my broken, w

te him, burying my face in my hands as a ragged, ugly sob

ffocating silence, brok

shadows

, torrential rain, and dark Cuban tobacco flooded the c

e a low, smooth rumble that vibrated in the marr

g stranger who had walked in with me. But before my brother could snap

ien continued, his charcoal eyes locking onto Jamison with supreme, unquestio

ely paralyzed by the Lycan's oppressive weight. I lowered my ha

y destroying everything he relies on. You dismantle his wealth. You strip his status. You rip out the

is words hung in the air. It was

to a profound, terrified awe. He swallowed hard, his eyes

athed, his voice barely a whisper.