*CHAPTER FIVE: THE QUIET CLAIM*
Eli hadn't seen Vera again.
But the very next morning, a small box arrived at the café. No return name. Just his name, handwritten in perfect black ink.
*E. R.*
Inside: a sleek silver bracelet with a blue gem at its center. Simple. Elegant.
And subtly laced with *Alpha scent suppressants* — high-grade, undetectable, expensive.
Eli's fingers trembled as he lifted it. Only one man would send something like this without asking.
Lucien.
He wanted Eli hidden… and safe.
***
Two days later, a man in a suit came to the café. Said nothing. Just handed Ms. Lan a folder — a business license, full ownership of the café now transferred to her name. Taxes paid in full. Building fees waived. She stared, stunned.
Eli's rent suddenly dropped to *zero*.
She looked at him with a curious smile. "You have powerful friends, don't you?"
Eli didn't answer.
***
Security cameras appeared on the corner of his street. A black car sometimes idled near his building at night — never interfering, just *watching*. Silent shadows replaced the silence he'd once found comfort in.
And still, not a single message from Lucien.
Only quiet protection.
Only distance.
***
At the Moretti estate, Sera leaned on Lucien's desk, arms crossed. "So you're sending gifts now?"
Lucien didn't look up. "He won't accept me."
"Then why not stop?"
Lucien's voice was cold. "Because even if he hates me… no one else touches him."
---
Eli didn't wear the bracelet.
He kept it in a drawer, untouched.
He didn't acknowledge the new lock installed on his apartment door, or the shadowy figure who followed him home just far enough to disappear when he turned around.
Each silent gesture from Lucien made him feel more exposed — like he was still within the Alpha's grip, even from miles away.
He hated that part of him felt *safe* because of it.
He hated that part of him still wanted to go back.
***
More gifts came.
A navy wool coat, tailored perfectly to his size — his favorite color, the exact shade he always wore.
Eli left it folded on the table.
A leather notebook with his initials engraved in gold.
He never opened it.
Then, one night, a delivery man showed up with a small box. No words. No message.
Inside: a photo.
It was of his sister — safe. Smiling. Working at a small clinic in a neighboring city. She hadn't spoken to him in over a year.
Eli's breath caught.
Lucien had found her. Protected her. Silently.
Tears burned his eyes — not because he was grateful, but because it only made everything harder.
He placed the photo face-down.
And locked the box.