Third Person's POV "Thud-" The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground echoed through the old estate. Anna's eyes narrowed as she watched the monitors. Two figures drew closer, bodies entwined in a proximity that reeked of instinctual intimacy. Her expression hardened with venom. How could this be? Magnus had been caught off guard. The men she had sent ahead-nearly torn apart by his unleashed fury-had been carried out, battered and broken. His expression, a storm of predatory madness, had left no room for mercy. And yet... he hadn't killed Aysel. If only she had known, Anna thought bitterly. Letting Aysel approach, letting her close... was it to send them together? To bless their reunion? She laughed, a sound sharp enough to cut steel. "Guards!" she barked, the air around her thick with malice. No matter what, tonight, neither of them would leave her ancestral estate unscathed. Since they loved each other so fiercely, she'd see to it they became wretched together-underground, trapped, broken. But before she could act, the massive doors crashed open. Lightning forked across the night sky, illuminating the figures at the threshold: Jackson, flanked by Kian and a contingent of medics he had brought in the dead of night. Behind them, a squad of black-clad pack warriors, each a storm of lethal muscle, marched in. Injured lackeys and servants whimpered on the floor, the scent of blood thick in the air. Anna's face drained of color. Ever since Aysel had touched Magnus' palm, he had been locked in a trance of focus. His gaze was fixed unwaveringly on her blood-streaked but unbroken face, radiating an intensity that silenced all around them. Outside, the storm raged, but inside the estate, time seemed to thicken, viscous, as Aysel read the raw, unspoken message in his eyes. "Magnus... do you want to kiss me?" she asked, a teasing glint in her emerald eyes. Magnus answered with action. His massive hand pressed her slender waist downwards, while his other lifted the wet strands of her hair, guiding her toward him.The first kiss landed on her cheek, warm and deliberate. Her tears-salty and fresh-were swallowed by his heated lips. "You taste salty," he murmured, nose brushing against her chilled skin. "Of course," she whispered back, "tears are..." Her words were cut off, trapped beneath his lips. Their teeth collided clumsily in a mixture of urgency and desire, but Magnus, the wolf in human skin, did not relent. This was prey offered willingly-and he was an Alpha who never let go. The predator in him was insatiable. The kiss deepened, mapping every inch of her lips, teasing and claiming. Aysel's mind swirled; each breath stolen by him felt like electricity through her skull. She retreated instinctively, he advanced inexorably, leaving no escape from his dominance. Tears slid freely, now from a mix of raw need and helpless surrender. Her fingers brushed against the damp mark of his blood on his arm-her resistance faltered. Sensing her weakness, Magnus shifted, lips ghosting across her jaw and neck, each touch a blend of affection and conquest. Aysel wanted to pull back, to escape this overwhelming Alpha, but as soon as she found a moment to breathe, he surged forward, relentless. She cursed herself silently for ever inviting this moment. Outside, in the room, roses bloomed atop the corpses, the scent erasing the long night's pain. Yet in the heart of the house, nightmares were just beginning. Anna, seated on the floor, eyes wide in panic, realized all her machinations had been undone in an instant. Jackson and Kian's arrival only formalized what had already been accomplished: Magnus had retaken control of his estate. The two lackeys she had sent to test him had fallen prey to his calculated fury, deliberately allowed to bleed as a lesson. Aysel herself had been guided, her entrance no accident, through openings Anna's own subordinates had carelessly left unguarded. Foolish woman. In two decades, Anna had built her influence in the Shadowbane estate, yet Magnus had uprooted her schemes with the ease of a true Alpha. Anna's eyes fell in defeat. Kian glanced at the resigned woman, arching an eyebrow toward Jackson. "You rushed me out here... where's the master?""In the annex," Jackson replied. Kian picked up his medkit. "Alright, let's move. The old man's problem won't fix itself, and I need sleep." Jackson's gaze lingered for a moment on the monitor Anna had been watching, before he subtly blocked the screen and gave Kian a faint, knowing smile. "I think this side still needs my finishing touch. You go ahead." Kian frowned briefly, tousled hair falling into his eyes. "Fine, fine. Just get it done fast so I can sleep. Huh?" Jackson smiled faintly and watched him leave. Then, alone, he turned and quietly shut off the monitors.