Lucien's POV The downpour outside was relentless, but even that couldn't mask the scent of her - soft, delicate, and slightly sweet, like night-blooming jasmine after a storm. I could hear Kael shouting in the distance, his voice hoarse and desperate, but it was nothing more than noise to me now. My focus was entirely on her. Riley. I watched from the shadows of the corridor as she sprinted down the stairs, her limp barely slowing her down, that stubborn determination etched into every fragile step she took. She was running toward me. Me - the man she should have feared. The cursed Alpha she didn't fully understand. And yet, she came. She always came. She blinked, confused, watching as I pulled the ring from my finger - the silver one I had worn for years, engraved with the sigil of the Duskgrave line. It was more than a ring. It was a legacy. A curse. A vow. And I slid it onto her finger. Her breath hitched. She stared down at the simple band, watching it slide past her knuckle and settle perfectly against her skin. A perfect fit. Just like her. Her mouth parted, but no words came. "Wearing this means you're mine," I said softly, voice low, rough with restrained emotion. "And that I'll protect you. Always." She looked up at me, trembling. I could see the war in her eyes - disbelief, wonder, fear, and something that looked dangerously close to hope. She wanted to believe me. She wanted to trust me. But she'd been broken too many times to fall so easily. Still, she didn't take the ring off. Didn't say no.That was enough. For now. I picked her up gently and carried her upstairs, ignoring the dull ache in my muscles, the way the rain had soaked me to the bone. She didn't protest. Her head rested against my shoulder, her fingers still curled around mine. Back in her room, I laid her down on the bed, adjusting the pillow behind her, smoothing her hair from her forehead. She looked so small in that moment, but not weak. Never weak. She was quiet as I pulled the blanket over her, but I saw how her fingers lingered on the ring - how her thumb kept brushing over the cool metal like it grounded her. I didn't say anything else. I didn't need to. I turned off the light and left the room, letting the darkness wrap around her like a second promise. Down the hall, I returned to my own chambers. Steam still clung to the frosted glass of the shower, the air thick with cedar and heat. I toweled off my hair slowly, every motion precise. Calm. But inside? Inside, I was a storm. The wolf beneath my skin paced restlessly, claws skimming bone, fangs bared in satisfaction. She'd accepted the ring. She was marked now - not by the mate bond, not yet. But by me. By choice. And that meant more. The mate bond was instinct. This... was will. I dropped the towel and walked to the window, pulling open the heavy curtains. Rain lashed against the glass, and down below, I saw him. Kael. Soaked. Broken. On his knees. His fists slammed into the mud as he screamed up at Riley's window, voice cracking with remorse. He looked like a beast trying to rip its own heart out - dramatic, pathetic, and utterly predictable. I watched him with detached interest, lighting a cigarette and leaning against the window frame. Smoke curled around my face as I exhaled slowly, watching the scene unfold like a play I'd seen too many times. Guilt. Repentance. Self-pity. A performance, all of it. My lips twisted into a faint smirk. If he thought Riley was the same naïve girl he used to manipulate, he was in for a brutal awakening. She belonged to me now. And I would destroy anyone who tried to take her from me - whether they wore the mask of a repentant brother, a jealous ex, or even a corrupted Alpha. I flicked ash into the tray and murmured to myself, "Kael Vale is far too idle... I should find him something to do." I reached for my phone. Tapped Duke's number. No answer. Strange. I frowned, hit redial. Still nothing. The third call went unanswered too. I glanced at the time-10:03 p.m. Duke wouldn't be asleep. Not now. Not with how I trained him. Interesting. I leaned back into the chair again, gaze slipping back to the storm outside. Kael was still kneeling. Still bleeding. Still calling out a name she couldn't even hear. And Riley... was upstairs, sleeping in my bed. Wearing my ring.