The billionaire’s rogue:bound by blood

The red gala

The Thorne Estate was a masterpiece of glass, steel, and arrogance. Tonight, it glowed like a diamond under the moonlight, its long driveway choked with black sedans and European supercars. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of expensive champagne, roasted lilies, and the kind of perfume that cost more than a teacher’s yearly salary.

Jaxson Thorne stood at the top of the grand marble staircase, his heart a heavy drum in his chest. He was dressed in a custom-tailored, midnight-blue tuxedo. To the four hundred guests below, he was the crown jewel of the Thorne empire—the "Golden Boy" returning to his throne.

But beneath the silk sleeves, Jax’s forearms were wrapped in industrial-grade athletic tape to dampen the tremors of the Rogue Fever. His hands were tucked into his pockets, his fingers curled into tight fists to hide the Bevel claws that were itching to taste air.

"Stay focused, Jax," Kaleb’s voice whispered in his ear through a microscopic comm-piece. Kaleb was stationed in the basement security hub, having bypassed the mansion’s mainframe. "The room is crawling with them. I’ve counted twelve Silverton 'security' detail in the ballroom. And the Miller family... Jax, Sarah’s father brought his entire Inner Circle. They aren't here for the charity auction."

"I know," Jax rasped, his gaze scanning the crowd. "I can smell the ozone from the Hunters' stun-batons. And the cold... the Vampires are lowering the room temperature just by being here."

Suddenly, his breath hitched. The Blood-Bond flared, a white-hot spark behind his ribs.

At the entrance of the ballroom, Maya Silverton appeared. She wasn't in tactical gear tonight. She wore a floor-length, silver-sequined dress that clung to her like a second skin. To anyone else, she looked like a debutante. To Jax, she looked like a storm given human form. Her eyes instantly found his, and for a second, the roar of the party faded into a dull hum.

You shouldn't be here, he thought, the message screaming through their bond.

Maya’s expression didn't change, but her voice echoed back in his mind, sharp and desperate: My father knows there's a Zenith in this house, Jax. He’s planted silver-gas canisters in the ventilation. If you shift, you’re dead before you hit the floor.

Jax began to descend the stairs, every step a battle for control. He was halfway down when Julian Thorne, his foster father, intercepted him. Julian looked radiant, his arm draped around a senator’s shoulder.

"Ah, the man of the hour!" Julian boomed, his hand clapping onto Jax’s shoulder. He leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper that tasted like venom. "Smile, you ungrateful animal. The cameras are on. If you ruin this night with one of your 'episodes,' I’ll have you back in that cage at the research facility by morning."

Jax forced a smile, his teeth aching. "Of course, Father."

As Julian moved away, Sarah Miller glided toward Jax. She looked like a gothic queen in a dress of crimson silk. She leaned into him, her cold lips brushing his cheek.

"The Hunters are moving into position, Jax," she murmured. "My father is losing his patience. Give us the word, and we’ll drain every Silverton in this room. All you have to do is choose us."

"I’m not a weapon for your family, Sarah," Jax hissed.

"Then you’re a corpse," she replied, her eyes flashing blood-red for a split second.

The music suddenly cut out. The heavy crystal chandeliers flickered and died, plunging the ballroom into a terrifying, velvet darkness.

"Don't move!" Marcus Silverton’s voice roared over the emergency speakers. "This is a sanctioned security sweep! Everyone stay where you are!"

Jax, the gas! Kaleb shouted in his ear. He’s triggered the vents!

A hiss of metallic, white vapor began to pour from the ceiling. To the humans, it was just a strange fog. To Jax, it was liquid fire. As the silver-infused gas touched his skin, he let out a guttural scream of agony. His "Golden Boy" mask didn't just c***k—it shattered.

The transformation hit him like a freight train. His tuxedo jacket shredded as his shoulder muscles doubled in size. His spine lengthened with a series of sickening cracks. The Bevel claws erupted from his fingertips, glowing with a fierce, amber light that cut through the darkness.

"There he is!" Marcus shouted. "The Zenith! Fire!"

Red laser sights peppered Jax’s chest. The Hunters opened fire with high-pressure tranquilizers tipped with silver.

Jax didn't run away. He ran at them.

He was a blur of midnight blue and golden fur. He intercepted the first Hunter, his beveled claws slicing through the man’s tactical vest like it was paper. He wasn't killing—not yet—but he was a force of nature.

"Kill it!" Marcus screamed, leveling a heavy-caliber silver rifle at Jax’s head.

Maya moved.

She didn't draw her weapon on Jax. She spun and kicked the rifle out of her father’s hands.

"Maya! What are you doing?" Marcus roared, backhanding his daughter across the face.

The sight of Maya hitting the floor triggered something in Jax that was beyond "Rogue." It was the Zenith Alpha waking up.

Jax let out a howl that shattered the glass walls of the ballroom. The sound was so powerful it dropped the Hunters to their knees, blood leaking from their ears. He lunged toward Marcus, his jaws inches from the man’s throat.

But the Vampires were faster.

Sarah’s father and his circle blurred into the center of the room, their speed matching Jax’s. They didn't attack the Hunters; they attacked Jax. They wanted to subdue the prize.

"He belongs to the Clan!" Sarah’s father hissed, his claws raking across Jax’s flank.

The ballroom became a three-way war zone. Guests screamed and trampled each other to reach the exits while the three predators tore into each other in the center of the room. Jax fought with a desperate, animalistic grace, his Bevel claws deflecting the silver blades of the Hunters while his brute strength tossed the Vampires aside.

He felt a sharp pain in his back—a silver bolt. His vision began to swim. The gas was paralyzing him.

"Jax!" Maya was at his side, her hands glowing with the same amber light as his eyes. As she touched him, the Blood-Bond acted as a filter. The silver poisoning in his veins began to recede, flowing into her. She was taking his pain.

"Maya... you’ll die," Jax gasped, his form flickering between wolf and man.

"Then we die together," she whispered, pulling a concealed explosive from her belt. "Kaleb! Now!"

In the basement, Kaleb hit the 'Override' command. The mansion’s gas-suppression system reversed, sucking the silver vapor out and replacing it with a blinding, white fire-suppressant foam.

In the confusion of the white-out, Jax scooped Maya into his arms. He didn't care about the cameras, the scouts, or Julian’s threats. He leapt through the shattered glass wall, soaring fifty feet into the dark woods of the Blackwood Ridge.

Behind them, the Thorne Mansion erupted in a series of secondary explosions. The "Golden Boy’s" life was gone. The secret was out.

Jax landed hard in the dirt, his body finally shifting back to human, though his claws remained. He looked down at Maya, who was coughing, her silver dress stained with his blood.

"They won't stop," Maya whispered, looking at the burning mansion on the hill. "My father... the Vampires... they’ll hunt us to the ends of the earth."

Jax stood up, his blue eyes now permanently flecked with gold. He looked at Kaleb, who had emerged from the treeline with a bag of tech and a determined look on his face.

"Let them hunt," Jax said, his voice echoing with the power of a King. "I’m done playing by their rules. This isn't Hollow Creek anymore. This is my territory."

On the hill, the silhouette of a massive, dark wolf appeared against the fire of the mansion—the first of the Rogues who had heard Jax’s howl. The Pack was forming.