A Mafia Werewolf Romance

The contract stayed unsigned on the table.Dante Moretti stood,buttoned his jacket,and walked out of the presidential suite of Club Obsidian.Twelve men rose up with him and followed him out The general manager was waiting outside the gold doors,already bowing.”Mr.Moretti.The car will be at the entrance in two minutes,” Dante walked past him without looking at him. Behind him, the men in the suite gasped, the first relief of the twelve merchants who had not been destroyed tonight. One of them shouted behind him. "Mr. Moretti, please, give me a night, and I'll have the new numbers on your desk tomorrow morning." "These terms don't count anymore." Dante didn't slow down. "Bury them." The hallway stretched long and red,the carpet swallowing every sound.It was sealed for the evening,one floor below the rooftop,one floor above the world,and at the far end of it stood a gril. She should not have been there. Dante’s steps did not slow,but his eyes found her the way a wolf finds movement in still woods. Black hair, thick as a river, falling to her waist. A face white as first frost, and eyes that turned up at the corners, for sharp. The dress hung off her shoulders like a borrowed thing,hemmed by hands that hand never been paid for the work. Then the air shifted. Snow.The first snow of winter,sharp and clean,cutting through the cigar smoke.And underneath it,jasmine,faint as a secret. The wolf inside his chest work. It did not rise slowly.It surged, ancient and hungry, and for the first time in ten years, Dante Moretti did not know why hes own body had stopped obeying him. He stopped walking. The girl saw him stop,and every drop of color left her face .A man materialized beside her. Stout,sweating,one hand already closing on her shoulder. He pushed her forward half a step and smiled the of a man offering up something he did not own. “Mr.Moretti. Marcus Voss.We spoke through my assistant.The Eclipse project .And this,this is my daughter,Sera.” “You daughter.” Dante’s gaze moved to the hand on her shoulder.Marcus Voss removed it as if it had been burned. “She asked to come tonight.”The smile stretched wider.”Wanted to see the famous Silver Fang in person.” Great honor,Mr.Moretti.For the whole Voss family.” That was a lie.Sera felt it the way she felt everything about this night, through her skin,too fast, too much. In the car , two hours ago , her father had laid out the terms the way he laid out invoices, “One week , Sera. You smile . You behave . You keep him company for one week, and the Voss name gets the Eclipse contract.” He had not called her Sera in three years, Now she stood in a hallway with her heart in her throat while twelve businessmen watched from the suite doorway . Nobody spoke. Somewhere behind her,a man coughed into his fist ,and another one smiled, and the smile said what none of them would say out loud , that this was why girls came to meetings, that was how contracts got signed. Her father’s hand found her back and pushed， The carpet caught her heel , she stumbled . hands flying out , and landed against a wall of black suit and heat . Her palms flattened on his chest . The impact went through her arms into her teeth , and his hand closed around her wrist , holding her up ,fingers wrapping to the bone . For one long second she could not breathe . Leather. Somke . Clod . And underneath it all , something she had no name for , wild and low, like standing at the of a forest at night an knowing something was standing in it , looking back . “Easy.” His voice came from above her head , unhurried , as if she had not just crashed into him .She lifted her face ,Dark eyes . Not angry . Interested . The way a hunter is interested in a deer that wandered into his line of fire on its own . “You name .” Her father answered first , tripping over the words . “Sera , like I said , she’s my girl , a good girl ,quiet , she won’t be any trouble at all , and I thought , if you had any use for-“ “Voss . Sera voss . Like the moon before dawn .” She had not meant to speak over him . The words simply came out , the way they did in the school hall every September , new classroom , new faces , old dress . it was the only thing about herself she had ever been allowed to keep . The cornet of his mouth moved , “Sera.” Not a questing . He said it the way a man tests the weight if a name before deciding whether to keep it . Behind her , her father let out a breath that was almost a laugh . Then the man turned , and he did not let go of her wrist . The crowd of businessmen parted like water . sera was pulled along , half-running to match his strip , through the gold doors , down the marble steps ,into the cold . The night hit her face . The smell of the bay , salt and gasoline . The doorman let go of a taxi door and stepped back without a sound . A black car waited at the curb , long as a hearse . A man in a dark coat stood bu the open rear door , and when he saw the girl , and the hand around her wrist ,something flickered across his face an went still . Her father’s voice came from the steps . bright with triumph . “Have a good evening ,Mr.Moretti .” He raised a hand to her like a man waving off a shipment.” And you, Sera . Be good.” Be good. He released he wrist . She stood at the open door and understood ,all at once and with perfect clarity , that this was the moment her life split in two . Inside the car :leather and darkness and the smell of him ,already familiar . behind her : the contract ,the Voss name ,the man on the steps who had raised her like a ledger and was finally closing the accout . She had no choice . That was the worst part . She had never had a choice , and she could see it now , it now , laid out like her father’s invoices,every line item already signed , Her foot lifted . Set down on the running board . And stopped . That was all the hesitation he allowed . His hand closed on her arm ,and he pulled . She went in ,and the door shut behind her , sealing out the street ,the club ,her father’s voice ,the whole world she had been standing in five second ago . The lock clicked . It sounded like a shotgun being c****d . Then his voice came through the dark , low and close ,like thunder that had not yet decided to strike . ‘Once you step into this car , there’s no turning back , little wolf .”