Chapter 4

The heavy oak doors at the end of the corridor creaked open.

The sound shattered the moment. The scent of lotus and rain was instantly overpowered by the smell of roasted meat and judgment.

"Jian?"

It was his father’s voice. Deep. Booming. A command that brooked no disobedience.

Jian flinched. The vulnerability vanished from his face as if it had been wiped away by a cloth. He straightened his spine. He buttoned his jacket. He smoothed his hair.

In the span of a second, the desperate boy who loved her was gone, replaced by the Golden Heir.

He looked at Mei one last time. His eyes were hard again, but deep in the pupil, she saw the plea.

"Wait for me," he whispered, so low only a werewolf could hear. "I'll fix this. I'll get the power, and I'll rewrite the rules. Just wait."

He turned on his heel. "Coming, Father!" he called out, his voice light and charming.

He walked away, stepping back into the light, back into the noise, back into the lie.

Mei stood alone in the shadowed corridor. The champagne spilled on the floor soaked into the hem of her cheap uniform. She touched her cheek where his breath still lingered.

She should leave. She should quit the job, walk out the back door, and never look back. He was a monster. He was a coward.

But her wolf was silent, settled, waiting.

Mei looked at the sliver of light coming from the banquet hall. She saw Jian laugh at something his father said.

She didn't move. She stood at the threshold of the darkness and the light, listening to the beat of her own heart, wondering if she was strong enough to wait for a monster to become a man.