The Rossi villa felt colder after the ultimatum.
Adriana walked the marble halls wrapped in silk and silence, her steps soft but her mind roaring. Every glance from her father felt sharper. Every brush of Luca’s hand carried chains. And Isabella’s smile lingered at the edges of every room like the curl of smoke before fire.
Her heart, however, was not in the villa.
It was with the wolf.
And that night, when the clock struck midnight, she gave in.
---
He was waiting in the orchard, leaning against the stone wall as though he had every right to claim the Rossi grounds as his own. The moon silvered his hair, but his eyes glowed like embers.
“Adriana.” His voice was rough, dangerous, threaded with barely contained fury.
She stepped into the shadow of the roses, her pulse hammering. “Yo
