The rain came down in sheets, turning the winding mountain roads out of Obsidian Ridge into slick, treacherous black ribbons. Nora gripped the steering wheel of her inconspicuous black sedan—one of the fleet cars used by the household staff—her knuckles white. She had bypassed the main gate by takin

The drive back to the Obsidian Ridge estate was a blur of dark pines and winding, moonlit roads. Nora Sterling’s hands gripped the leather steering wheel so tightly her knuckles were bone-white. *He stole your Alpha-heir seal off her dead body.* Gideon Cross’s words played on a relentless, agonizing

The next morning, the estate was a flurry of hushed anxiety. Darius had returned late in the night, only to find his precious ward nursing a second-degree burn wrapped in sterile gauze.

"I still don't understand how you could be so careless, Nora," Darius said, his voice a low, vibrating growl of