1

LENA

I couldn't stop myself from reaching for him.

He stood there, as if he never left, his figure almost glowing in the dim light of my bedroom.

I could feel him in the air—cold, thick, and oppressive.

His presence wrapped around me, suffocating, yet undeniable.

Cassian stepped closer, the faint scent of smoke and something darker clinging to him.

His hand brushed against my cheek, and a shiver ran through my entire body.

His touch was gentle, almost tender, but the words that slipped from his lips were anything but kind.

"You belong to me," he whispered, his voice low, reverberating in my chest.

I didn't even flinch.

I didn’t fight it.

His hands slid to my neck, his thumb pressing lightly, making my breath catch.

The heat between us felt too real, too consuming.

His lips brushed against my ear, sending a pulse of desire through me.

"I’ve waited for this, Lena. You don’t know it yet, but you crave me."

I did.

I knew I did.

In the dark, when no one else was there, when I was completely alone with him, I wanted it.

I wanted him.

The fear was still there—simmering just beneath the surface, whispering in my mind—but it was fading.

It was harder and harder to separate what was real and what wasn’t.

Cassian’s hands moved down to my waist, pulling me against him.

The moment our bodies collided, my head swam.

His lips found mine, urgent, possessive.

I kissed him back, desperate to drown in him, to feel the connection between us even as it twisted me inside out.

He lifted me, pressing me against the wall.

The roughness of the surface scraped against my skin, but I couldn’t feel it.

All I could feel was him, his body, his touch.

The taste of him, sharp and dark, was all I could think about.

"Mine," he growled, breaking the kiss.

His breath was ragged, and I could hear his heartbeat pounding in his chest.

"You’ve always been mine."

I should have fought it.

I should have pushed him away.

But there was no part of me left that wanted to.

I needed him, even though every instinct screamed that I shouldn’t.

"Please," I whispered, my voice trembling. I didn’t even know what I was asking for.

Cassian’s eyes darkened, and he grinned.

"Yes, Lena. You’re mine. And you’ll never be free."

I wanted to scream, to fight, to make it stop.

But I couldn't.

My body betrayed me, every inch of me responding to him.

Every word he spoke felt like a thread pulling tighter, weaving us together, binding me to him.

2

CASSIAN

She wanted me.

I could see it in her eyes.

She wasn’t fighting anymore.

I’d broken her—completely.

She was mine in ways she couldn’t even understand, and the more she gave herself to me, the more I could feel her slipping away.

It was intoxicating, the power I had over her.

Every time she let me in, I grew stronger.

She clung to me like I was the only thing keeping her grounded, and maybe I was.

But she didn’t know what she was truly giving up.

When I kissed her, her breath hitched, and I could feel her pulse, the way her body responded to mine.

She was mine.

She just didn’t know how deep it ran, how much of her I owned now.

I pulled her closer, hearing her gasp when I pinned her against the wall.

Her hands gripped my shirt, like she was trying to keep herself from falling.

But she wouldn’t fall.

I wouldn’t let her.

"You’re mine, Lena," I repeated, my voice low, sending a shiver down her spine.

Her lips parted, and I saw the guilt in her eyes, the conflict.

It was there, just barely.

But she couldn’t fight me anymore.

Not when I was inside her head, not when she was drowning in me.

The confusion, the guilt—it didn’t matter.

She wanted me, just as much as I wanted her.

I could feel it, the way she leaned into me, the way her body trembled under my touch.

"I’m not real," she whispered, her voice shaking, breaking my focus for a split second.