Chapter 2

A sprawling loft with twelve-foot windows and wolf pelts thrown over black velvet couches. Chandeliers of fang and bone. Taxidermy wolves on every wall, some mid-growl, others with bloodied teeth frozen in place. The worst part? Each had a silver plaque under it, engraved with a name.

I counted thirty heads before I stopped.

“Are those…?” I whispered.

“My enemies,” he said simply, letting the leash drop.

I stood there, shaking, rubbing the fire-hot skin under the collar. “What kind of freak lives like this?”

“A rich one.”

I spun around. “Take this off me. Now.”

He ignored me, walking across the room and opening a long glass cabinet. Inside: whiskey, knives, and guns. And… music sheets?

He poured himself a drink, turned to face me, and said, “Sing.”

“What?”

“Sing, little siren.”

“I’m not a siren. I’m not even...”

“You froze three shifters with a single scream. Your voice didn’t just stop them. It commanded them.”

I stepped back, heart hammering. “I don’t know how I did that. I don’t know anything. I’m a freaking middle school music teacher, not a whatever the hell you think I am.”

His voice dropped an octave. “You’re mine now.”

“No. No, I’m not.”

But he was already moving.

Fast.

Like a blur.

The next thing I knew, my back hit something cold and smooth.

A piano.

No, the piano.

It stood in the center of the room like a shrine. Sleek black, silver keys, with claw marks carved across the wood. And at the base? Chains. Real ones.

My wrist was snapped into one before I could fight.

“Let me GO!” I screamed.

But he wasn’t listening.

He stepped behind me, his chest brushing my back. “Play.”

“I said no!”

He leaned down. His breath warmed the shell of my ear. “You’ll sing, Kessia. Or I’ll make you.”

His hand guided mine to the keys. “Clair de Lune. You know it.”

I wanted to slap him. Scratch him. Kick him where it would hurt most. But my hand moved. Automatically. Muscle memory.

The first notes rang out like bells underwater.

I don’t know why I played. Maybe because something inside me needed to. Maybe because I was terrified. Or maybe because his presence pushed every thought out of my head except the music.

But I played.

And then…

I sang.

Soft at first. Like a whisper brushing moonlight.

Then stronger. Clearer. Richer.

His breathing changed.

Behind me, I felt it.

His body stiffened. A low growl rumbled in his chest. The kind that made the piano vibrate. My voice kept going, curling like mist around the room, curling around him.

And then it happened.

He broke.

He dropped to his knees behind me with a ragged snarl.

I kept singing.

He pressed his forehead against my spine. His whole body trembled. A clawed hand gripped the side of the piano. Another snapped the chains at my wrist, but didn’t pull me away.

“Sing for me,” he growled. “Sing for me, little siren.”

But the word siren, it hit something in my brain.

And then it came back.

The memory.

A flash from years ago.

My baby brother screaming. Wolves outside the cabin. Me—humming.

And the wolves… stopping.

Staring.

Obeying.

Oh my God.

It was real. All of it. It had always been real.

I screamed, not a note this time, but a raw, human scream.

And Vexx...

He collapsed on top of me.

Trembling.

Sweating.

Breathing my name like a prayer.

I didn’t understand any of it.

But I knew one thing as his claws grazed my skin, and his wolf body shivered against mine.

I was not safe.

And neither was he.

He was still on top of me.

Heavy.

Too heavy.

His breathing was erratic, hot against the side of my neck, his chest rising and falling like he was holding back a war inside his body. I didn’t move. I couldn’t. Every part of me was locked in confusion, fear… and something I didn’t want to name yet.

“Get off me,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

But he didn’t move.

His claws retracted slowly, the tips dragging against the piano keys with a dull metallic ting. The music had stopped. Silence fell like a blanket soaked in tension.

Then he growled, low. Like a warning. Or a promise. It vibrated straight through my back.

“Vexx.” I hated how soft my voice came out. I hated how close we were. I hated the heat pooling in my gut when it should’ve been terror.

He lifted his head, golden eyes wild, wolfish, glowing. His lips were inches from mine.

“You’re not what I thought,” he rasped. “You're worse.”

“Excuse me?”

His nostrils flared. “Your voice, it doesn't just calm wolves. It binds them.”

I blinked, confused. “What does that even mean?”

He stood slowly, towering over me again. Muscles tense beneath his suit, every movement like a coiled animal trying to pretend it was human.

“It means you don’t just sing, Kessia. You command. You give orders… and we follow.” His eyes narrowed. “You made me kneel.”

I shook my head. “No. I didn’t do anything. I just sang.”

His hand shot out, gripping the piano edge next to me, making the whole instrument creak. “Try it again.”

“What?!”

“Do it.” His voice was harder now. Alpha-level hard. “Say something. Tell me to stop. Let’s see if I listen.”