"Yeah… yeah, take me."
"Kiara… wait… is that you?"
The sudden brightness burned her eyes. Kiara blinked fast and froze when she saw the man over her.
"Alpha Kyrian? How… how can it be you?"
The man's hand closed around her chin, firm and cold. His dark eyes flashed like a storm. "If you are in my bed, little hybrid, you should know I am not a man to be trifled with."
Kiara's heart thudded so hard that it hurt. "That's not it. I made a mistake. I never thought—"
"You walked in. You whispered those words." His voice dropped lower, rough like a growl under his breath. "Tell me why."
Kiara pushed weakly at his chest. "I… I thought— I needed help." as she swallowed so hard.
"Help?" Kyrian's eyes gleamed. For a heartbeat something dangerous stirred there, not fully human. The air in the room thickened with a heat she could not name. She caught a faint echo of a wolf's low snarl.
Her breath hitched. "I'm in trouble. I'm in serious debt. They will come for me."
Kyrian's grip eased a little but his stare stayed sharp. "Who owes? You?"
"Yes. My father died. My mother left. She took my little sister and left me to pay for everything. I can't." Kiara's voice cracked. "I can't."
Kyrian's jaw tightened. "You run from the Silver Crest pack?"
She nodded, ashamed.
He sat back, the wolf in him still close to the surface. For a long moment he said nothing. Then he spoke, his voice steady but heavy. "I can end it."
Kiara looked up, startled. "End it?"
"I can pay your debt. All of it." His eyes held hers. "But you give me something in return."
Her throat went dry. "What… what do you mean?"
"Be my mate." The words landed like stones. "Two years. You stay under my roof. You wear my mark. When the time is done, you walk free."
Kiara's breath left her in a rush. "Mate? But… Why me?"
Kyrian's gaze darkened. "Because the Moon chose. Because you walked into my den tonight as if you already knew." He leaned close, his scent of pine and smoke curling around her. "And because I need someone who can stand beside me without games."
She shook her head fast. "But you don't even like me."
"I don't need to like you. I need you to agree." His eyes glinted like amber. "No love. No touch. Just the bond. Two years. Your debt is gone."
Her heart pounded. "You're serious."
"My word is law, Kiara." His voice lowered to a dangerous rumble. For a split second, his eyes flickered gold. The wolf inside him pressed forward, showing teeth. "But if you play with me, if you lie, I will not be gentle."
Kiara felt the weight of his power, the Alpha edge that made the air itself vibrate. She swallowed hard. "And when two years are over?"
"You walk free, just like I said. No strings. No claim." He tilted his head, studying her like prey. "Unless you change your mind."
She looked down at her trembling hands. Every door behind her had closed. Every face she knew had turned away. She had no pack, no money, no home. Only this man with a wolf's shadow in his eyes.
"I…" Her voice shook. "I accept."
Something flashed across his face—quick, unreadable. "Good."
The air seemed to ease, but only slightly. Kyrian reached for the lamp and switched it off. "You stay here tonight. Tomorrow we will make it official."
Kiara opened her mouth, then closed it. She lay back stiff as a board as he moved to the couch across the room, a silent shape in the dark. The scent of pine lingered.
****************
Two years later, in the Blackwood estate, the morning sun spilled across a table set for two.
Kiara watched the news flicker on the large flat screen. A famous CEO of Lumina Atelier had fallen from the stage, from where she was addressing the audience in Paris, causing chaos. Cameras caught a tall man in a sharp grey suit striding through the crowd, lifting the injured woman into his arms before sweeping out of sight.
Even with only a side view, Kiara knew him. She would know him even if he was ashes. Alpha Kyrian.
Last night he had held her for a heartbeat, and whispered he would come home early. Her eyes moved to the untouched breakfast she had made with care. The food sat cold and lonely.
She rose, walked to the table, and dumped every dish into the trash. Her fingers ached where tiny burns marked her skin, but she did not flinch. She turned, face blank, and went upstairs.
The quiet rooms seemed to echo with everything she had kept silent for two years.
She packed fast. Her clothes. Documents. Nothing more. On the day they had signed their bond, they had also signed a release for the end of two years. Three months still remained, but Kyrian had broken the night with another woman in his arms. That was enough.
Kiara dragged her suitcase down the stairs. She dialed his number.
The line clicked.
An impatient voice came through, low and distant. "What is it?"
The cold tone cut through her. Her fingers tightened around the phone until her knuckles turned white. He had forgotten his promise from last night. Maybe he never meant it.
"Have you eaten?" she asked, voice quiet.
A pause. Only silence hummed for a few seconds. Then his voice, flat and sharp. "If there is nothing else to say, I will hang up. I'm busy."
The call ended before she could breathe.
Kiara stood alone in the grand hallway, the dial tone loud in her ear. A small sound escaped her throat, half pain, half disbelief. She bit it back hard, but the ache stayed.
Later, she drove out in his most expensive car, the engine's roar like a cry in the morning air. Straight to the city's seven-star hotel, where she handed over his black card with a steady hand.
"The Presidential Suite. Three months," she said.
The clerk smiled politely. "That will be one hundred and fifty thousand euros, ma'am. A 30 percent fee applies if you leave early."
"Run the card."
Inside she felt hollow. But soon the bond would end. Soon everything would end.
****************
Hours later, near dawn, he returned to the estate. The housekeeper was already cleaning. "You just came in, sir? Breakfast?"
"Mm." He rubbed his forehead, the dull ache of the night heavy in his skull. "Where is Kiara?"
"Madam must have gone to the company. I haven't seen her since I came."
Kyrian glanced at his watch. Kiara always lingered over breakfast. The house felt too quiet, too cold. His wolf shifted inside him, restless.
The housekeeper held out a sealed envelope. "Sir, this came early this morning. The property office said someone sent it to you."
Kyrian took it, distracted, and opened it without thought.
The bold letters hit him like claws.
Divorce Agreement.
His eyes darkened to a deep, dangerous gold. A low growl rumbled in his chest, the sound more beast than man.
He scanned the pages. Every property, every car, every stock—split in half.
"Quite ambitious," he muttered, his voice a low snarl.
The housekeeper shrank back, wide-eyed.
With one hand gripping the papers hard enough to crumple them, Kyrian pulled out his phone and dialed.
The call connected.
Soon, a sleepy female voice came through the phone. "What is it?"