Silas's golden eyes burned with lethal promise. The temperature in the office plummeted to freezing. He stepped into the room and closed the heavy oak door with a soft, final click.

"Step away from the books, Sienna." His voice was a low, vibrating threat.

I lowered my hand. I did not step back. Fear is blood in the water. I forced my breathing to steady and turned to face the Beast.

"Your wards are leaking," I said smoothly. It was the only lie my brain could construct fast enough.

Silas paused. His brow furrowed slightly. "Explain."

"When Leo rushed in here earlier, he dragged a chaotic magical residue with him," I continued, making my voice sound analytical and bored. "It snagged on the ancient ward behind this specific shelf. I was checking to see if a rival Thread Binder attached a tracking string to your brother's jacket."

Silas crossed the room in three long strides. He stopped mere inches from me. The scent of bergamot, winter air, and fresh ash overwhelmed my senses. He was so tall I had to tilt my head back to meet his gaze.

He reached out. His large, gloved hand gripped my chin. He tilted my face up further. The leather was cold against my skin, but the sheer power radiating from his touch was scorching.

"A tracking string," Silas repeated. His thumb brushed my jawline. It was a terrifying, possessive gesture. "You are a brilliant liar, Sienna. But you are a liar."

My pulse pounded against his thumb. He could feel my racing heart.

"I am protecting my client," I whispered.

Silas studied my eyes. The lethal fury in his expression slowly morphed into dark amusement. He dropped his hand, taking the suffocating heat with him.

"You are too curious for your own good," Silas murmured. "I cannot leave you alone in my estate. You are attending the Equinox Gala with me tonight. You will stay by my side. If you wander off, I will let the Council guards tear you apart."

He turned and walked back to his desk. The conversation was over. I had survived the moment, but my cage just grew significantly smaller.

Three hours later, a shifter guard knocked on my suite door. He left a sleek black box tied with a gold ribbon on my bed.

I opened it with trembling fingers. Inside lay a gown made of deep emerald velvet. The fabric was heavy and luxurious. It felt like liquid silk slipping through my hands. Beneath the dress sat a pair of black stiletto heels and a simple, delicate gold chain necklace.

Silas was branding me. The emerald green matched the dark aesthetic of the House of Malphas. Wearing this meant I belonged to the syndicate. It meant I belonged to him.

I dressed quickly. The velvet hugged my curves with terrifying precision. The gown featured a high neckline but left my back bare to the waist. It was armor and vulnerability combined. I clasped the gold chain around my throat. It felt heavy, like a beautiful collar.

I walked out of my suite and descended the grand staircase.

Silas waited in the foyer. He wore a bespoke tuxedo tailored flawlessly to his broad shoulders. A black silk tie rested against his crisp white shirt. He looked like royalty carved from shadow.

When he heard my heels on the marble stairs, he looked up. His golden eyes locked onto me. The air in the foyer stilled. He did not speak. He just watched me descend, his gaze a physical weight traveling down the emerald velvet.

"You clean up well," Leo scoffed from the doorway, breaking the spell. The younger brother wore a dark suit and his usual chaotic smirk.

Silas did not look at his brother. He stepped forward and offered his arm.

"Stay close," Silas ordered softly.

The Equinox Gala was held in the glass atrium of the highest skyscraper in the territory. It was a gathering of apex predators.

We stepped out of the private elevator and into a nightmare of high society. The room was a sprawling expanse of crystal chandeliers, dark marble, and monstrous wealth. A string quartet played a haunting melody in the corner.

I pushed my magic into my eyes for a fraction of a second. The room exploded into a chaotic, blinding web of glowing threads. Thick red strings of rivalry crossed over golden bonds of forced alliances. It was a massive headache of dark magic. I dropped the sight immediately.

Waiters drifted through the crowd carrying silver trays. I took a crystal flute of champagne to steady my nerves. I took a sip and nearly choked. It tasted like cold copper and rusted iron. It was laced with trace amounts of raw magic to intoxicate monsters.

"Do not drink that," Silas murmured. He plucked the glass from my fingers and set it on a passing tray. "It will burn a human throat."

He guided me through the crowd. Every head turned as the Beast walked past. Monsters in expensive suits and heavily jeweled gowns parted like the Red Sea. No one dared to meet his golden eyes. They bowed their heads in submission.

Silas was a wall of cold indifference to everyone. He ignored the greetings of powerful fae lords and nodded curtly to ancient vampires.

But with me, he was hyper aware. His large hand rested on the bare skin of my lower back. The heat of his palm burned through the chill of the room. It was a steady, possessive pressure guiding every step I took.

"The Supreme Council is watching," Silas whispered. He leaned down so his lips brushed my ear. "Smile, Sienna. Pretend you are safe."

I forced a smile, though my nerves were screaming. We stopped near a towering ice sculpture. Silas was approached by an elderly man with pale, translucent skin. A Council elder.

"Silas Malphas," the elder hissed, his voice like dry leaves. "Your recent execution of the Iron Fang leader was quite sudden."

"It was necessary," Silas replied coldly. He dropped his hand from my back to face the elder fully.

I took a small step to the side to give them space. It was a massive mistake.

Within seconds of Silas dropping his guard, a towering man slid into my personal space.

He had broad shoulders, a thick silver beard, and eyes that glowed with a feral amber light. An Alpha werewolf from a rival pack. He smelled of wet earth and aggressive dominance.

"The human Thread Binder," the Alpha purred. He stepped so close his expensive cologne invaded my lungs. "I heard rumors Malphas bought himself a new pet. You caused quite a stir at the docks."

I lifted my chin, meeting his feral stare. "I am a legal contractor. I merely enforce the laws."

"You enforce his laws," the Alpha sneered, leaning closer. His massive hand reached out to grip my bare shoulder. "Maybe my pack needs a contractor. I could show you how a real predator treats his property."

He never finished the sentence.

A suffocating wave of dark magic crashed into the Alpha. The werewolf gagged, his amber eyes widening in sudden, raw terror.

Silas materialized beside me. He did not yell. He did not draw a weapon. He simply reached out and gripped the werewolf by the throat.

The sheer speed of the movement was terrifying. Silas lifted the massive Alpha off his feet with one hand. The werewolf clawed desperately at Silas's iron grip. The seams of his expensive suit tore under the strain.

"You are breathing her air, Thorne," Silas whispered. His voice was a deadly, vibrating hum that made the crystal glasses on nearby tables shatter.

The entire gala went dead silent. The music stopped. Every monster in the room watched the Beast of Malphas prepare to execute a pack leader over a simple conversation.

I felt a jolt of pure panic. If Silas killed him here, it would start a massive territory war. My shadow client would use the chaos to destroy the estate before I could find the Ledger.

"Silas," I said, placing my hand on his forearm.

His muscles were like carved granite beneath his suit sleeve. He was rigid with lethal intent.

"Let him go," I murmured softly. "He is not worth a Council sanction. The contract is all that matters."

Silas slowly turned his head. His golden eyes locked onto mine. The predatory rage swimming in his gaze was blinding. He looked down at my hand resting on his arm. The physical contact sent a shockwave of heat straight to my chest.

Silas opened his hand.

Thorne crashed to the marble floor, gasping for air and coughing violently. He scrambled backward like a beaten dog. He did not dare to look at Silas again.

Silas ignored the gasping Alpha. He turned to me and wrapped his arm firmly around my waist. He pulled me flush against his chest. The soft velvet of my dress rubbed against the fine wool of his suit.

"If anyone else looks at you tonight," Silas declared to the silent room. His voice carried undeniable authority. "I will blind them."

He did not wait for a response from the stunned crowd. He marched me away from the party, pushing through a heavy glass door leading out to an isolated balcony.

The cold night air hit my bare back, but Silas's body heat kept me from shivering. We were hundreds of feet above the glowing city streets. The rain had stopped, leaving a heavy fog curling around the sharp corners of the skyscrapers.

Silas pinned me against the stone railing. His hands gripped my waist. His thumbs pressed deep into the soft velvet. He was breathing heavily, the remnants of his monstrous rage still rolling off him in dark, invisible waves.

"You told him to stop," I gasped, my heart racing. "You almost started a war over a simple threat."

"I do not share what is mine," Silas growled, leaning down. His face was inches from mine. "You wear my colors. You work in my house. You belong to the Malphas Syndicate."

"I belong to myself," I argued. My voice shook with a dangerous mix of fear and an undeniable, forbidden attraction.

Silas reached up and traced the delicate gold chain resting against my collarbone. His touch sent liquid fire through my veins.

"Then why," Silas whispered, his golden eyes dropping to my lips. "Is your heart beating so fast for a monster?"

I opened my mouth to lie. I wanted to tell him it was just fear.

Before I could speak, a sharp, metallic click echoed from the shadows of the balcony.

"Step away from the girl, Silas."

A man stepped out of the heavy fog, aiming a modified crossbow directly at Silas's chest. The metallic bolt was glowing with toxic green magic.

I recognized the man instantly. It was the shadow client who hired me to steal the Ledger.

Author's Note

Did Sienna's quick thinking save her, or just trap her deeper in the Beast's cage? Silas definitely showed his possessive side tonight! But who is this shadow client crashing the party, and how did he get past the Council guards? Let me know your best theories in the comments! Please like and share if you want to see Silas protect his Thread Binder in the next chapter!

The metallic click of the crossbow echoed over the distant sirens of the city. The fog rolling across the high balcony felt like ice against my bare back.

The man holding the weapon wore a tactical suit designed to absorb the ambient light. He looked like a shadow detached from the wall. The heavy bolt loaded into his weapon glowed with a sickly, toxic green magic. It was a poison designed to rot a monster from the inside out.

"Step away from the girl, Silas," the assassin repeated. His voice was muffled by a dark fabric mask.

I recognized the rough cadence of his voice immediately. He was the operative who stood behind my shadow client in the dark alley two days ago. He was the muscle. He was not here to kill Silas. He was here to check on my progress. He was using the threat of violence to force an interaction.

Silas did not step away. He did the exact opposite.

The Beast shifted his weight, moving his massive frame to shield my body. His broad shoulders blocked my view of the glowing green weapon. The possessive instinct was immediate and terrifying. Silas did not flinch. He did not raise his hands in surrender. He stood with the relaxed, lethal posture of a predator annoyed by a pesky insect.

"You brought a toy to a slaughter," Silas murmured. His voice was a dark vibration that rattled the glass doors behind us.

"This toy is dipped in Chimera venom," the operative sneered. "It will turn your blood to acid before you hit the ground. Step away from her."

"Shoot me," Silas challenged softly.

The operative hesitated. That single second of doubt was all the Beast needed.

Silas moved faster than my human eyes could process. He did not lunge forward. He dissolved. The shadows cast by the balcony lights violently stretched and warped, swallowing Silas whole.

The operative gasped and fired the crossbow in panic. The green bolt tore through the empty space where Silas had been standing just a fraction of a second prior. The toxic magic hissed as it struck the stone wall behind me, melting the heavy marble like hot wax.

A suffocating wave of dark magic crashed onto the balcony. The temperature plummeted. Frost formed on the iron railing.

Silas materialized directly behind the operative.

The Beast reached out and gripped the back of the man's neck with one large, gloved hand. The operative screamed, dropping the heavy crossbow. The sound of crushing bone echoed in the cold air. Silas lifted the struggling assassin off the ground with terrifying ease.

"Wait," I shouted, my voice cracking with panic.

If Silas killed him, my shadow client would assume I betrayed them. They would activate whatever fail safes they had waiting for me. I needed this man alive. I needed to know my deadline.

Silas paused. He turned his head slowly. His golden eyes burned with an unnatural, blinding light. The rage radiating from him was a physical weight pressing down on my chest. He looked at me, questioning my interruption.

In that brief moment of distraction, the operative acted.

He was wearing a suicide ward. A blinding flash of pure, concussive light magic erupted from the center of his tactical vest. The explosion of energy threw Silas backward. The Beast hit the stone railing with a heavy thud, his grip slipping from the operative's neck.

I covered my eyes, but the force of the blast knocked me to my knees. My ears rang violently.

Strong hands gripped my shoulders before I could recover.

The operative hauled me to my feet. He smelled of burnt ozone and panic. His mask was torn, revealing a jagged scar across his jaw. He shoved me against the glass door. His grip on my bare arms was brutal enough to leave dark bruises.

"You have three days, Sienna," the operative hissed directly into my ear. "Three days to secure the Primal Ledger. If you do not deliver the book by midnight on the third day, we will detonate the blood wards we placed on your heart. You will burn from the inside out."

My stomach dropped into a bottomless pit. A blood ward. They had poisoned me during our first meeting, and I never even noticed. The magical contract was a death sentence.

A guttural, monstrous roar shattered the ringing in my ears.

Silas lunged out of the dissipating smoke. He was a terrifying vision of pure violence. The shadows in the air twisted into sharp blades around his fists.

The operative released me instantly. He threw himself backward over the high stone railing.

I screamed, rushing forward. I looked down over the edge. The operative was not falling to his death. A thick cable of green magic shot from his wrist, attaching to a passing hover rail below. He swung away into the dense fog, vanishing into the neon glow of the city streets.

Silas slammed his fists against the stone railing. The marble cracked under the impact. He breathed heavily. The dark magic swirling around him slowly began to recede, drawing back into his skin like liquid smoke.

I stood frozen against the glass door. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. Three days. I only had three days to find the most guarded secret in the monster underworld.

Silas turned around.

The violent rage in his golden eyes faded into a cold, terrifying calculation. He looked at the spot where the man had disappeared. Then he looked at me. His gaze dropped to my bare arms. The red marks from the operative's brutal grip were already forming into dark bruises against my pale skin.

He crossed the balcony in two slow, deliberate steps.

"Who was that?" Silas demanded. His voice was dangerously quiet.

I forced myself to stand up straight. I pushed the sheer terror down into the darkest corner of my mind. My brain was my only weapon right now. If I panicked, the Beast would tear me apart to find the truth.

"I do not know," I lied. I kept my voice perfectly steady. I maintained eye contact. "He grabbed me when the light exploded. He was trying to take me hostage to ensure his escape."

Silas reached out. He gently traced the bruising on my arm with his thumb. The contrast between his lethal violence seconds ago and this delicate touch was mind bending. The heat of his skin sent a dangerous, confusing thrill straight to my chest.

"He called you by your first name," Silas murmured. "He said, 'Step away from the girl'. He did not shoot to kill. He shot to distract. And then he whispered something in your ear."

Silas leaned down. His face was inches from mine. The scent of winter air and fresh violence was intoxicating.

"What did he whisper to you, Sienna?"

I swallowed hard. The void of his existence stared back at me. I could not read his threads. I could not see his motives. I was flying blind in a hurricane.

"He said he was a hunter," I spun the lie quickly, anchoring it to a plausible reality. "He said he recognized me from the docks. He promised the human factions were coming for the Malphas Syndicate."

Silas stared at me for five agonizing seconds. He was searching for the micro expressions of deceit. He was waiting for my pulse to jump or my eyes to dart away. I held my ground. I visualized a wall of solid steel in my mind.

"A human hunter using Chimera Cartel venom and high level light magic," Silas noted dryly. The dark amusement returned to his voice, but it was edged with lethal warning. "You have a very active imagination."

He did not believe me.

Silas grabbed my hand. His grip was firm but not painful. He dragged me off the balcony and back into the sprawling, crowded gala. The music was still playing. The monsters were still drinking their copper laced champagne. No one had heard the brief, violent clash on the balcony over the thick glass and heavy wards.

"We are leaving," Silas announced to Leo, who was lounging near the bar.

Leo took one look at Silas's face and nodded sharply, abandoning his drink.

The ride back to the estate was suffocating. I sat in the back of the SUV next to Silas. The heavy rain started again, drumming a relentless rhythm against the roof. The silence in the vehicle was heavier than lead.

Silas did not look out the window. He looked at me. He watched the way I breathed. He watched the way my hands gripped the velvet fabric of my gown. He was dissecting my lie piece by piece.

When we finally reached the gothic mansion, I moved to head toward my suite in the east wing.

"No," Silas commanded.

I stopped at the base of the grand staircase. I looked back at him.

"You are sleeping in my quarters tonight," Silas stated. He walked past me, taking the stairs two at a time. "Follow me."

My breath hitched. His private quarters. The inner sanctum of the Beast.

I followed him down the long, shadowed corridor of the west wing. We bypassed his main office and approached a set of heavy, iron reinforced doors. Silas pressed his hand to the metal. The wards hummed, recognizing his bloodline, and the doors swung open.

His bedroom was massive and dark. A huge four poster bed dominated the center of the room. A sprawling stone fireplace cast dancing shadows across the high walls. The air smelled strongly of his bergamot cologne and the faint, lingering scent of old paper.

"Sit on the bed," Silas ordered.

He walked into an adjoining bathroom and returned a moment later carrying a small silver tin. I perched on the edge of the dark mattress, my velvet gown spilling around my legs.

Silas knelt on the floor in front of me. The position was jarring. The heir to the most powerful monster syndicate in the city was kneeling at my feet.

He opened the tin and scooped out a thick, glowing blue salve with his fingers. He reached for my bruised arm.

"This will sting," he warned softly.

He rubbed the magical salve into the dark bruises left by the operative. The pain was sharp for a brief second, followed by a soothing, icy numbness. I watched his face as he worked. His jaw was tight. His golden eyes were focused entirely on my skin. He was treating my injury with a fierce, possessive care.

"Why did you bring me in here?" I asked. My voice sounded small in the massive room.

"Because whoever attacked us tonight bypassed the Council guards," Silas replied, keeping his eyes on my arm. "They are dangerous. And you are my contractor. I protect what belongs to me."

He finished applying the salve and stood up. He walked over to a dark wooden dresser and pulled out a simple black silk shirt. He tossed it onto the bed next to me.

"Change out of that dress," Silas instructed, walking toward the door. "I have business to attend to. Do not leave this room."

He paused with his hand on the heavy iron handle. He turned to look at me one last time. The firelight caught the harsh angles of his face, making him look like a beautiful nightmare.

"The Chimera Cartel does not employ human hunters, Sienna," Silas whispered. The quiet threat in his voice sent a violent shiver down my spine. "Try another lie tomorrow."

The heavy door clicked shut, locking me inside.

I let out a shaky breath and stood up. I was locked in his private bedroom. The Beast knew I was hiding something. The clock was ticking down on my life. I had three days to find the Primal Ledger, and I was currently standing in the center of the only room I had not yet searched.

I looked at the massive stone fireplace. I looked at the dark wooden dressers. My gaze finally settled on a heavy, iron bound chest sitting at the foot of his bed.

The Primal Ledger was close. I could feel the thick, humming magic vibrating in the floorboards.

I had to move fast before he returned.

Author's Note

Sienna is playing a very dangerous game of chess with a Beast who sees right through her! What do you think about Silas putting her in his own bedroom to protect her? Is it a strategic move or is he getting attached? And most importantly, will she find the Primal Ledger inside that iron chest? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Please like and share if you loved this chapter! See you next time!