Chapter 5 Teeth Beneath the Silk

Aria hadn't slept. Not really. The sheets were untouched, the pillow still cold. She'd spent the night by the window, watching shadows crawl across the floor like they had a mind of their own.

Luca's words haunted her.

"Bring the lies you've been hiding."

He knew. Or suspected. And if he did... how long before he uncovered everything?

By morning, the city was already buzzing. The attempted break-in at Ashthorn Manor hadn't hit the tabloids-Luca's cleanup crew was too efficient-but whispers were swirling through the underworld. Someone had dared challenge the devil in his own den.

And walked away in a body bag.

Aria dressed slowly, deliberately. No gown tonight. No illusion. Black jeans, leather jacket, steel-tipped boots. Her hair tied back. Her knife strapped higher on her thigh. She wasn't going in as prey anymore.

She took the back entrance to the manor this time. No butler waiting, no chauffeur.

Just a heavy door creaking open on its own.

Inside, it was too quiet. No guards. No staff.

Just silence.

And him.

Luca sat at the head of the long dining table, a glass of red wine in one hand, the other resting on a silver revolver.

"You came," he said.

"You invited."

His gaze raked over her. "Dressed for war."

"I wasn't sure if we were going to talk or bleed."

"Maybe both."

She sat across from him. "Start talking."

He didn't.

Instead, he slid a folder across the table. Thick. Heavy. Familiar.

She didn't open it. "What's in it?"

"Your sister. The file you thought you stole five years ago."

Her blood turned to ice.

"I let you take it," he said casually. "Wanted to see what you'd do."

She clenched her fists. "You knew who I was from the beginning."

"I never forget a face," he said. "Especially one that crashed my father's funeral with a knife in her bag and poison on her lips."

Aria swallowed hard.

"So what now?" she asked. "You going to kill me?"

He leaned forward, fingers tapping the gun. "If I wanted you dead, Aria, you'd be dust. No. I want something else."

"Revenge?"

"Understanding."

She blinked. "Of what?"

"Why the hell I can't stop thinking about you."

Her breath caught.

"That night, when you pulled that blade on me at the gala? I should've snapped your wrist. Should've ended it. But I didn't. And I've been asking myself why ever since."

He stood, walked around the table, and stopped beside her chair. "You're not like them. You don't scare easy. And you don't flinch."

"I've flinched," she whispered.

"Not from me."

He touched her chin. Just lightly. Enough to tilt her face up.

"Let's stop lying to each other, Aria," he murmured. "You want answers. I want loyalty. Let's trade."

She should've pulled away.

Instead, she tilted her head into his touch. "And what do you want loyalty for?"

"I'm taking it all back," he said. "My father's empire. The wolves. The bloodlines. I'm burning what's left and building new."

"With you at the top."

"With someone beside me."

His voice was low. Dangerous.

Honest.

"You want me to rule beside you?"

"I want someone who knows how to survive hell and still walk like a queen."

She stood, heart pounding. "This isn't a fairy tale, Luca."

"No," he said. "It's a kingdom of teeth."

Their mouths met before either of them made the decision. It was a collision-of secrets, of fire, of all the things they'd tried to bury. His hands gripped her hips. Hers slid into his hair.

She bit his lip.

He laughed into her mouth.

It was raw. Hungry. Real.

But it ended too fast.

The sound of a phone vibrating cut through the heat.

Luca pulled away, jaw clenched. He answered.

"Talk."

Aria watched his face harden.

"Where?"

Pause.

"I'll handle it."

He ended the call.

"What happened?" she asked.

He looked at her. Something unreadable in his eyes.

"Your apartment. It's gone."

"What?"

"Explosion. Someone wanted to erase you."

Aria staggered back, breath catching.

"Why now?" she whispered.

Luca stepped closer. "Because someone's scared of what you're about to find out."

She looked up at him. "Then take me all the way in, Luca. No more locked doors."

He nodded once. "Then come with me. Tonight, I show you the truth. All of it."

She followed him through the manor, down into a hidden elevator she hadn't known existed. It descended into the earth, colder with every level.

When the doors opened, she saw it.

A chamber lined with iron cages, old weapons, ancient symbols on the walls. And a scent in the air-primal. Wild. Dangerous.

She froze. "What is this place?"

Luca turned to her.

And his eyes glowed gold.

Not reflection.

Not trick of light.

Real.

"This," he said, "is the part of me no one survives seeing."

The doors slammed shut behind her.