Chapter 5 The first Fracture

The velvet box shut with a soft and final click, Giovanni looked at it like it was a coffin. Russell didn't rush and that was the worst part. He moved with a deliberate calm that made everything feel inevitable like this had already been decided long before she ever stepped into that cathedral.

"The silver one stays on," he said, setting the box aside. "The Council needs to see it when they return. But this" his fingers brushed the black leather collar, " this is what you'll wear for me." Her throat tightened and the cold weight of the silver collar already felt suffocating, the runes dampening her wolf, pressing her instincts into a muted, restless hum. The thought of another, made something inside her splinter.

"I can't," she whispered.

Russell stilled. It was subtle, A shift in the air like the kind of stillness that came right before a storm broke. "You can't?" he repeated softly. Giovanni swallowed hard, forcing herself to hold his gaze. And she said. "I won't." For a moment, nothing happened. Then Russell smiled.

It wasn't warm and wasn't kind, It was sharp and slow and dangerous, like a blade being drawn across skin. "There it is," he whispered . "I was wondering when you'd find your spine." He leaned down, keeping one hand beside her head, trapping her beneath him without even touching her and his presence alone was enough to cage her in.

"But let's be clear about something, Giovanni," he continued, his voice dropping lower. "You don't get to refuse me. Her heart pounded, but something new flickered beneath the fear. It was anger. "You said I chose this," she shot back, her voice trembling but louder than before. "That I told them I was yours, but you didn't give me a real choice. You never have."

Russell's eyes darkened. "And yet," he said quietly, "you're still here." Before she could respond, he grabbed her chin firmly enough to hold her still. "You think my brother showing up was a coincidence?" he asked. "You think the Council just decided to take an interest in my marriage overnight?"

Giovanni frowned and confusion cutting through the haze of heat and fear. "What are you talking about?" "Xavier is testing me," Russell said. "He's looking for weakness or a crack in my control. And right now " his grip tightened slightly, " you are that crack." The words hit me harder than any physical blow. "I'm a crack?" she repeated, her voice hollow.

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "An unproven mate, unsecured heir and a liability." Something inside her chest twisted painfully. "I'm not a thing," she said. "No," Russell said, his tone almost thoughtful. "You're more dangerous than that. Things don't get taken from me. People do." Giovanni stared at him, her breath catching.

"Is that what this is?" she asked slowly. "A war between you and your brother?"

Russell didn't answer immediately. His gaze flickered over her face, as if weighing how much to reveal. "Everything is a war," he finally said. Silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. Then Giovanni did something unexpected. She laughed. It was soft at first then sharper and almost hysterical.

Russell's expression hardened. "What's so funny?" "This," she said, gesturing weakly between them. "All of this. You, your brother, the Council, the collars, the injections" her voice cracked. "You're all fighting over power, and I'm just... what? The battlefield?" Russell's jaw clenched. "You're the prize," he corrected.

"That's worse," she shot back.

For the first time something in his expression shifted not quite but... unsettled. Giovanni saw it and she held onto it. "If I'm so important," she continued, her voice steadier now, "then stop treating me like I'm disposable." Russell went very still. "You're asking for respect," he said. I'm asking to be treated like a person," she replied.

A long pause then... "You'll get that," Russell said slowly, "when you prove you can survive this." The words landed like ice before she could respond then he reached for the velvet box again. Giovanni's body tensed but instead of opening it, he set it aside again.

"Not yet," he said, almost to himself. Her eyes widened slightly. That... wasn't what she expected. Russell stood running a hand through his hair as if trying to shake off something invisible. "The Council will be back in forty-eight hours," he said. "Until then, you don't leave this room. You don't speak to anyone unless I allow it. And you do exactly what Yvette tells you."

"And if I don't?" she challenged quietly. His gaze snapped back to hers. "Then you won't survive long enough to matter." The heat in her body surged again, sharper this time, making her gasp. She curled slightly, her fingers gripping the sheets. Russell noticed immediately.

"Still spiking," he observed.

"I hate this," she said, her voice breaking. "I hate what you're doing to me." Something flickered in his eyes again that same brief crack she'd seen before but it vanished just as quickly. "You'll hate it less when it works," he said. She shook her head weakly. "You don't even hear yourself."

Before he could respond, a knock sounded at the door. Three sharp knocks. Russell's expression darkened instantly. "What?" Declan's voice came through from the other side. "Alpha, we have a situation." Russell crossed the room in seconds, yanking the door open just enough to speak without exposing Giovanni.

"What kind of situation?"

"A breach," Declan said. "Not from outside. From within." Russell went still. "Explain." "One of the lower staff is missing," Declan continued. "And... there are signs someone accessed the west wing security system." Giovanni's breath caught. Russell's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Who?"

Declan hesitated. "...Xavier's personal guard was seen on the grounds earlier." A low, lethal growl rumbled from Russell's chest. "He's still here," Russell said. Giovanni's heart began to race for a completely different reason now.

Xavier hadn't left.

Russell turned back toward her slowly and his expression unreadable. "Looks like my brother isn't done playing games," he said. Giovanni swallowed hard. "What does that mean for me?" Russell walked back to the bed, stopping just close enough for his presence to press in around her. "It means," he said quietly, "that you just became even more valuable."