The night burned away in a haze of heat and hunger, leaving only the hum of tension in the aftermath.

By the next evening, Jessica finally stirred, her movements slow as she rose from the bed.

She stretched languidly, her hand trailing along her hip as if to soothe the soreness that lingered.

Her lips curled into a smirk, satisfaction lighting her sharp features.

Her voice was low, commanding. "From now on, when I call, you come. No excuses."

I swallowed hard, forcing my trembling hands to stay still. "Understood."

Her golden eyes gleamed with amusement as she tossed the phone back onto the nightstand.

Jessica was a woman who thrived on control, a Luna by birthright, and the fiancé of Alpha George, her childhood companion. Yet the bond between them was a mere facade for the pack.

Each man left behind bore the scars of her amusement. Some clung to memories of her, desperate for her attention even after she'd moved on. Others were shattered, their confidence ground to dust beneath the weight of her indifference.

And she loved it.

"I enjoy their best years," she once said, her voice dripping with feigned innocence as she toyed with a glass of wine.

"And when they're no longer. entertaining, I set them free. Isn't that generous of me?"

But the truth was far darker. Jessica didn't just discard them-she broke them.

One man had begged her, falling to his knees in the rain, pleading with her to stay. She'd only laughed, her voice a melody of cruelty as she brushed past him without a word.

Another had tried to fight back, to reclaim his dignity. She'd destroyed him, using her influence to ruin his career, his name, his life.

"You can hate me," she whispered , leaning. "But you'll never forget me."

For Jessica, it was never about love or desire. It was about the thrill of domination, the rush of watching men crumble beneath her touch.

To her, they weren't lovers-they were trophies, fleeting conquests to be used and discarded.

But now, as her eyes lingered on me, her lips curling in satisfaction.

I wasn't even worth being one of her kept men. I was nothing more than a fleeting distraction, a toy to entertain her whims.

"You look like you'd rather be anywhere else. Do I make you nervous?"

I shook my head, averting my gaze. "N-no, Luna. I. I just-"

"Luna?" she interrupted with a soft laugh, sliding closer until her lips nearly brushed my ear.

"How sweet. But don't pretend you're here for anything but the money."

Her words struck like claws, but I held my tongue. She loved to see the flicker of shame, the resistance I couldn't fully hide. It made her victories sweeter.

I gave her enough reluctance to spark her appetite, enough submission to stroke her ego, and enough defiance to keep her coming back. Each moment was a step in my plan to make her remember me.

She leaned back, studying me with a predatory gaze. "You're different," she mused. "Not like the others. You've got this. edge. But I wonder." She tilted her head, eyes narrowing. "Can you keep up?"

Jessica had discarded countless men before me. To keep her attention, I'd had to evolve-physically, mentally, even emotionally.

My body was honed to perfection, my charm carefully calculated, my every move tailored to feed her insatiable hunger.

And it worked. After llong months, she finally broke the unspoken rule. She asked my name.

"What do they call you?" Her tone was almost lazy.

I hesitated, letting the silence stretch just long enough to catch her interest. Then, I murmured, "Tulip."

Her brows lifted, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Tulip? "

She chuckled, leaning down to press a finger under my chin, forcing me to meet her gaze. "Well, Tulip, I suppose I'll keep you around a little longer."

But as her laughter filled the room, she didn't notice the fleeting shadow that crossed my face, or the hatred that simmered beneath my calm facade.

This name wasn't just mine-it was the name of the girl she tormented, humiliated, and destroyed years ago. The one she and her pack had left for dead in the woods.

Jessica leaned in closer, her breath warm against my ear. "You're special, Tulip. Don't disappoint me."

I offered a shy smile, hiding the storm brewing inside me. "I won't, Luna."

"Jessica," I thought, my chest tight with barely restrained fury. "This name will haunt you. You'll remember it, long after I've turned your world to ashes."

I used every gesture to entertain her, every tool she had never dared touch before. Every look, every word, every trembling movement of my fingers-it was all for her, to keep her eyes locked on me.

Six months had passed since I transformed from Jessica's one-night indulgence into her exclusive lover. From that moment, she ceased seeking the company of other men. I became her only companion, her only conquest.

To go from strangers to familiar was a challenge, but to move from familiar to intimate proved startlingly easy. I abandoned every shred of my prior restraint, choosing instead to present her with the role of a guileless, devoted boy. Together, we watched movies, strolled through city streets, and dined as though we were a normal couple.

But we were anything but ordinary.

Tonight, Jessica took me to a women's gathering-a soirée filled with the elite, women of unimaginable power and wealth.

My presence alone seemed out of place, a young man amidst this sea of influence and luxury. Yet Jessica appeared unbothered, even smug as she paraded me before them.

"This is my Tulip," she announced, her voice smooth and lilting, her gaze carrying the faintest glimmer of possession. The crowd's surprise rippled through the room like a faint shockwave.

Jessica was infamous for her aloofness, her pride-known to scoff at relationships and shrug off entanglements.

"Jessica's pet?" one of the women teased, a sly smirk curling her lips. "He must be extraordinary to hold your attention for so long."

Jessica's eyes sparkled with amusement, though there was a cold edge beneath. "He's young, obedient, and willing to learn," she replied lightly, her voice carrying an undertone of dominance.

The women laughed, their voices ringing with knowing mirth.

Some approached me, their fingers brushing against my shoulders and arms with calculated ease. One particularly bold woman, elegant in her emerald gown, moved closer, undoing my belt with a flirtatious grin. "Pass him along when you're done," she purred, glancing back at Jessica.

Jessica's laugh was quiet, a ghost of sound. "Perhaps," she said, her tone sharp enough to cut, "if I ever grow tired."

Their laughter swirled around me like smoke, suffocating and taunting.

I stood stiff, my gaze low, a faint tremor running through me. To them, I was nothing more than a toy, a pet-a golden canary trapped in a cage. But cages don't break without consequence, and even the tamest bird has talons.

I let my lips twitch into a weak, forced smile, my eyes flicking to meet Jessica's across the room.

She returned my gaze, and for a moment, her mask of elegance faltered. Her eyes narrowed, sharp as knives, though I couldn't tell if it was anger or something darker that fueled her glare.

In that moment, I wasn't begging for help.

My trembling hands and watery eyes whispered an unspoken plea-one laced with quiet rebellion.

"I thought I meant something to you," my silent stare said. I knew she would hear me even without words,Six months of shared nights, of whispered secrets and tangled limbs in the dark, had forged a bond deeper than words-a mindlink.

Jessica's pupils contracted, her wolf-like instincts bubbling to the surface. She sat straighter, her smile thinning, the lines of her face hardening.

"Tulip," she called softly, her voice low yet commanding, a predator's growl wrapped in silk. "Come here."

I obeyed, stepping towards her with deliberate slowness.

When I was close enough, she tilted my chin up with an unyielding hand and brushed her lips against mine in a kiss that was both delicate and possessive.

It wasn't affection; it was a claim.

Her fingers lingered on my face, but when I reached out to hold her hand, she flinched, almost pulling away.

My grip tightened-not hard, but enough to stop her retreat. For the first time, I saw a flicker of hesitation, even vulnerability, cross her features.

When I loosened my grasp slightly, she surprised me.

Instead of letting go, she clutched my hand with force, her nails digging into my skin. Her icy façade cracked further, and deep in her eyes, I glimpsed the turmoil-rage, longing, and something even she could not fully name.

The full moon crept higher into the sky, its silvery light spilling into the room. Beneath its glow, Jessica's aura shifted-feral, raw, barely restrained.

"You're mine," she murmured against my ear, her voice trembling with intensity. "And no one touches what belongs to me."

The room fell silent, the women around us exchanging wary glances. For the first time, the predator in Jessica had emerged fully, a wolf circling her territory, daring anyone to challenge her.

But she didn't know.

Underneath her possessive gaze, beneath my docile smile, my own blood began to stir.

Jessica might think herself the hunter, but tonight, I would show her what it truly means to be wild.

Jessica had never meant for things to unfold like this. A man like me-a man who had once sold himself for scraps-should have never been able to slip beneath her skin.

But she let me in, and now, everything had changed.

If anyone had the right to claim her heart, it would have been Alpha George. They had been through too much together-childhood memories of him nearly dying to save her life, his loyalty unshakable.

He was the Alpha she had always been tethered to, even if their bond was fractured, broken in ways only they understood.

Alpha George, with his own flaws, couldn't fulfill her needs, not in the way she wanted. But in spirit, Jessica had always been his.

And yet... her body? Her body wanted something else.

She had warned me, the first time we met, her voice an icy command that felt like a brand on my skin. "Stay in your place," she'd said, her eyes flashing with authority. "Don't let Alpha George ever find out about you. And don't think for a second you can replace him. He is mine."

Her voice was a whip, sharp and unforgiving, but I couldn't ignore the hunger I saw behind her gaze.

I was her secret, her escape when Alpha George's strength failed her. She craved the fire of youth, the thrill of the untamed. I was nothing but a fleeting indulgence, a moment of borrowed passion.

But she made a mistake, underestimating the dangerous games she was playing.

Jessica's father, the Alpha of the Bridge Pack, was a legend. Ruthless, heartless. Known for his blood-soaked reign. From her, she inherited the coldest parts of his nature, the hunger for control, the crushing grip that bent everyone and everything around her to her will. She ruled with iron fists, and anyone who dared challenge her would be crushed underfoot.

But even Jessica, the untouchable, wasn't invincible.

It was at the party that it began to change.

She walked into the room, her presence commanding, a goddess surrounded by lesser mortals.

"You know what I want," she said, her voice low and husky, as she grabbed my hand and pulled me closer, her scent-musk and wildness-filling my senses.

I felt the change in her before she even spoke. The wolf inside her was restless. There was a wildness in her now that could not be tamed.

"I want you to break me," she whispered, her eyes darker than I'd ever seen them before. "I want you to show me who I am when I'm not in control."

The woman before me was no longer just Jessica, the powerful, the in control. She was something untamed, a creature caught between worlds.

And so I did.

I pushed her, spread her legs, and drove her to the edge where neither of us knew where passion ended and pain began.

She fought me at first, her control slipping like sand through her fingers, but then she surrendered. She let go. Her body was a storm, her lips demanding, her hands desperate.

Her wolf-her true self-was clawing at the surface, furious and wild. And I wasn't just a man to her anymore. In that moment, I was something else, something more-the challenge.

The storm. Her equal. And she let me claim her in ways I never thought possible.

We were lost in it, consumed. Flesh against flesh, soul against soul.

The hours dragged on, both of us marked, bodies bruised, bitten, our hunger and need laid bare.

Finally, the madness ended.

But Jessica wasn't done.

Her eyes were wild as she reached for the wine, her hands trembling. She tried to find herself again in that crystal goblet. But the calm was fleeting, like a whisper against a roaring tide.

"Tulip," she murmured, her voice quieter now. But it wasn't soft. It was full of finality. "I'm done with you."

I remained still, calm, the silence between us thickening.

"Don't come near me again."

I didn't say anything in response. I dressed quietly, my movements precise. No words. She knew me too well by now.

I was never the one to beg, never the one to demand. I knew my place.

But before I left, I placed the golden card beside her wine glass. Fifty million. A life's worth of silence, bought and paid for.

And then I draped a soft velvet blanket over her shoulders. A final, tender gesture. Because despite everything, I still cared. Even if she didn't care for me.

I turned to leave. But then, a crash.

Glass shattered. Furniture fell, smashed to pieces. Her rage exploded, a fury so fierce that even I-someone who had seen many things-was taken aback.

Behind me, Jessica was losing herself.

Her roar echoed through the villa, a sound so raw, so full of pain, that for a moment, I thought the whole building might collapse around us.

As I stepped out into the cold night air, my lips curled into a faint, satisfied smile.