IN MY FATHER-IN-LAW'S BED: HIS TWISTED GAME

CHAPTER ONE SUMMER'S POV “Put the glass down, Summer. You’ve had enough.” I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. That voice—deep, resonant, and carrying the weight of a man who owned the very air he breathed—vibrated against my spine. It was a voice that had haunted my dreams and my nightmares in equal measure for the three years I’d been part of this family. I didn’t put the glass down. Instead, I tightened my grip on the amber liquid, the condensation slick against my palm. I melted into the pulsing beast and bass of the club that thudded in time with the jagged cracks in my heart. “Go away, Sebastian,” I slurred, my tongue feeling like it was made of lead. “Go back to your empire and leave me to mine.” “Your empire is a sticky bar top and a room full of vultures,” he said, his shadow falling over me, tall and imposing. “You’re making a scene. Your mate has been calling me for an hour, panicking because you vanished on your anniversary.” A laugh bubbled up in my throat—sharp, jagged, and bordering on hysterical. I finally turned, my vision swimming as I looked at him. Sebastian stood there in a charcoal suit that cost more than most people made in a year, his face a mask of cold, sculpted granite. He looked disgusted. He looked perfect. “Don’t call him that,” I spat, the word mate tasting like ash. “Don’t you dare call that pathetic traitor my mate. It’s disgusting.” Sebastian’s eyes narrowed, his hand tightening on the edge of the bar table. “Summer, you’re drunk. You’re talking nonsense.” “Am I?” I pulled my phone from my clutch, my fingers trembling as I swiped the screen. ‘Is this nonsense? Look!’ i wanted to scream those words at him shoving my phone at his face but instead I just stared at it. The screen glowed with the image that had shattered my world two hours ago. Displayed were white silk sheets in the most expensive suite in the pack’s territory and right there was my husband, my mate, stripped down to his briefs and wearing a smile I thought belonged only to me. And draped over him, her limbs tangled with his, was my sister. She was wearing the exact same lace lingerie I had helped her pick out last week. Underneath the photo, the anonymous sender message inscribed: Do you believe me now? For months, I'd received constant anonymous messages and warnings about my cheating husband and I’d called them fakes. I’d screamed at the screen, calling them AI-generated lies. I had boasted to the entire lunar circle about our unbreakable bond. I was the loyal wife. I was the proud Luna-in-waiting and now, I was nothing but the joke of the century. This morning when he told me he had an emergency meeting, kissed my forehead and walked out the door, I hadn't suspected a thing, not until I received this anonymous image few hours later. He'd neglected me on our anniversary to go slide into her. To go f**k my sister…on our anniversary I could feel the anger that had been bubbling in me suddenly giving way to a hollow, soul-crushing ache. I reached for the drink again, desperate to drown the image, but Sebastian’s hand shot out, snatching the glass and slamming it back onto the bar. “Enough,” he commanded. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do!” I shouted, the alcohol fueling a sudden, reckless fire. “You’re always judging me, correcting me and watching me like I’m some stray dog that needs training.” "Can you just let me pass out in peace!” His gaze hardened, the fury emanating from him evident but in my drunken state, I couldn't care less. He could eat dust for all I cared. He let out a growl and in one fluid, terrifying motion, he stepped into my space. He grabbed my arm, his fingers like iron bands. “We are leaving. Now.” “You’re hurting me!” I thrashed, trying to wrench my arm away, but it felt almost like me trying to bend a rod with bare hands. Yea, I know…impossible right? He leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear, his scent enveloping me. “I am protecting you, you little fool. Look at the end of the bar.” I blinked, following his gaze. Three men were hovering, their eyes dark with intent, probably waiting for the moment I finally slid off the stool so they could claim the discarded prize. “The only person in this room you should fear,” Sebastian whispered, his voice dropping to a low, intimate growl that made my blood sing in a way it never had for his son, “is me.” There was something predatory in his eyes. A possessive hunger that went beyond family duty. He was my father-in-law. He was a married man. This was a sin in every book ever written but in the moment all I could think about was his lips. “You are a high-ranking woman,” he hissed, his grip shifting. “Act like it, or I will handle you in private.” “Please,” I whimpered. I didn’t even know what I was asking for anymore. Was I asking for him to save me from the pain, or to destroy what was left of me? Or pretty f**k me like I've always wanted him to? “Pray for strength, Summer,” he said, his eyes darkening to the color of a midnight sky. “Because you’re going to need it for the night I have planned.” Before I could process the threat, with a grunt of effort, he hoisted me into the air, throwing me over his broad shoulder like a sack of grain. “Put me down! Sebastian!” I screamed, kicking my legs against his chest. Smack. The sharp sting of his palm against my backside echoed through the loud music. I froze, the shock of it rippling through me, followed by a traitorous, searing heat that intensified the heat pooling in my belly. The alcohol made it worse. “Be quiet,” he growled. I went limp from pure shame as he marched me out of the club. For years, I had watched him at the head of the dinner table and had secretly studied those large, strict hands, wondering if they ever felt soft. Imagined them wrapped around my neck while he thrust in me. Imagined how it felt to be spanked by them…well now I knew. He reached his black SUV, shoved me into the passenger seat, and slammed the door before I could even try to scramble out. He climbed into the driver’s side, the engine roaring to life with a predatory snarl. The silence in the car was heavy, suffocating. Sebastian gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. I turned my head to the window, watching the city lights blur. I couldn't dare look at Sebastian, cause with the heat pooling in between my legs and my coast for revenge I might actually cross the line. It had been torture trying to ignore the pull I felt with him. ‘He’s your father-in-law’ I mentally reminded and hell I prayed it sank in.