​Aurora’s POV

​He walked over to a small table and picked up a heavy, leather-bound crop. He didn’t look at me as he spoke.

​"You have a choice tonight. One choice. You walk out that door right now, and you never come back. You go back to your boring life, your boring man, and you forget I ever existed."

​My breath caught. If I left, I’d lose my only chance of revenge. I’d never get my revenge for my family. I couldn’t let him go. Not yet.

​"And the second choice?" I asked, my voice trembling.

​Raymond turned, his eyes burning through the holes of the mask. "You stay. But you prove to me that you’re loyal. Not to the contract, and not to your guilt. To me. You stay here tonight, and you do exactly as I say, no matter how much it hurts. You give me everything, and you forget his name exists while you’re in this room."

​He stepped closer, the leather crop tapping against his palm. "So, what’s it going to be, Aurora? Are you going back to him? Or are you mine?"

​I thought of my family. I thought of the silver blade I wanted to sink into his heart. If I had to endure his touch, if I had to let him break me just to get what I needed, then so be it. I could endure anything for the sake of my mission.

​"I’m staying," I whispered, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. "I’m yours."

​I saw his jaw tighten behind the mask. He looked almost... disappointed. Or maybe it was a deeper kind of rage. To him, my choice proved that I was just a woman obsessed with the thrill he gave me, someone who would toss away a good man like Oliver just for the sake of a monster’s touch.

​"Good," he growled, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the center of the room. "Then let’s see how much you’re willing to sacrifice for your pleasure."

​As he pushed me down, the anger in his touch told me that tonight, he wasn’t going to be gentle.

Raymond let out a low, cold whistle. The door behind me opened, and two men I’d never seen before stepped into the room. They were large, their faces partially hidden with masks, and they radiated the same heavy, aggressive energy that filled this club.

​"These are my friends," Raymond said, his voice like ice. "We have a habit of sharing our submissives. And tonight, I’ve decided that the three of us are going to have our way with you."

​The air left my lungs. I looked at the two strangers, then back at the man in the mask. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst through my chest.

​"You either agree to this, or you go," Raymond stated flatly. He leaned back against his desk, crossing his arms. "If you’re as ’loyal’ as you say, if you truly belong to me, then you’ll accept what I give you. If you don’t... the door is right there."

​I stood frozen. Every fiber of my being wanted to scream no. The thought of these strangers touching me made my skin crawl with a deep, sickening irritation. I thought of Oliver—his gentle hands, the way he looked at me with so much love—and a sob caught in my throat. If I did this, I was truly destroying the woman he loved.

​I looked into Raymond’s challenging eyes. The air in the room was thick, like a storm was about to break. He thought he was winning this game of chicken, but as I stared at the dark holes of his mask, a realization hit me. I didn’t know much about the man behind the mask, but I knew his animal. Raymond was possessive. He had marked me as his, and a wolf like him didn’t share his kill.

​This was a test. He was trying to scare me away, trying to force me out of his life. Why? Why chase me so hard only to push me away now?

​Fine, I thought, my heart racing. If you want to play a game, let’s play.

​"Okay," I said, my voice barely a whisper but sharp enough to cut through the tension. "I’ll do it."

​I didn’t look at the two masked strangers. I kept my eyes locked on Raymond’s. I wanted him to see the moment I gave up my dignity for this mission. Slowly, my fingers reached for the buttons of my shirt. I let it fall to the floor. Then my skirt. I stood there in nothing but my matching red lace bra and panties, feeling the cold air of the room hit my skin like a slap.

​The two masked men didn’t wait. Their energy shifted, becoming dark and hungry. They moved in on me like vultures. One stepped behind me, his large, cold hands gripping my waist as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. I felt his wet, hot tongue against my skin, and a wave of pure disgust washed over me. The other man stood directly in front of me, his shadow towering over mine. He leaned in, his mouth grinding against the sensitive skin of my throat. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

​I felt sick. Every cell in my body wanted to scream, to claw their eyes out, to run home to Oliver and never look back. But I didn’t move. I kept my gaze fixed on Raymond.

​I saw it then. The mask couldn’t hide the way his body turned to stone. His chest was heaving, his hands balled into white-knuckled fists at his sides. The rage coming off him was so hot I could almost feel it burning my skin. We were waiting to see who would break first, and I refused to let it be me. I would let these men tear me apart before I gave up my chance to kill the monster standing in front of me.

​The man behind me slid his hand upward, his fingers fumbling with the hook of my bra.

​"Stop!"

​The word exploded from Raymond like a gunshot. The two men froze instantly, pulling their hands back as if they’d been burned.

​"Get out," Raymond growled, his voice a low, vibrating snarl that made the walls seem to shake. "Now!"

​The two men didn’t hesitate. They scrambled for the door, the click of the lock echoing in the sudden, deafening silence.

​For a second, Raymond just stood there, his breath coming in short, angry gasps. Then, he moved.

​He crossed the room in a blur of motion, his hands catching my waist and slamming me back against the cold surface of the desk. He didn’t give me a chance to speak. He crashed his mouth against mine, his kiss aggressive and desperate, tasting of the alcohol he had consumed and fury. It wasn’t a kiss of love; it was a claim. It was the kiss of a man who was losing his mind, a man who hated that he couldn’t let go.

​His hands were everywhere, bruising my skin as he pulled me flush against his hard body. He was kissing me as if he wanted to devour me, as if he wanted to scrub the touch of those other men off my skin with his own teeth.