Chapter 53
Violet's POV:
The entrance to Silver Pine Bar was decorated with Christmas lights and a massive tree. Beside it stood a gleaming prize wheel for every patron.
"I heard they have limited edition prizes," Lily said, bouncing on her toes.
Sienna adjusted her purple dress. "Some of us are here for the entertainment." She waggled her eyebrows, and despite everything, I felt my mouth twitch.
The bouncer recognized me immediately. "Luna Violet, welcome. The wheel's waiting."
The hostess intercepted us, gesturing toward the prize wheel. "Ladies, you each get one spin."
Sienna went first, landing on "Limited Edition Lipstick Set." Jade got a luxury perfume set, and Lily squealed over a custom phone case decorated with wolves.
"Your turn, Luna," the hostess prompted.
I gave the wheel a half-hearted push and watched it spin. The pointer settled on "Male Leather Harness Set."
The hostess produced a black gift box decorated with silver SM-style patterns. "Congratulations."
Heat crawled up my neck. Wolf whistles erupted around us, followed by laughter.
"I don't need—" I started.
Sienna snatched the box and shoved it into my bag. "Maybe it's a sign from Moon Goddess, Vi."
"Sienna," I hissed, but the damage was done. The box felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
"Can we please go inside now?" I managed.
---
Sienna's friend Giselle appeared, wearing gold sequins. "I got us the best booth upstairs. VIP section. There are some seriously gorgeous men already there."
Before I could protest, Giselle was leading us up the staircase. She stopped before a door marked with a silver "8" and threw it open.
I froze.
Daemon, Evan, Felix, and Lucian occupied the booth, drinks in hand.
My body locked up. Ember exploded in my mind, and the mate bond yanked tight enough to hurt. Daemon's head snapped up, his blood-red eyes locking onto mine. He looked like he might stand, but Celeste's hand landed on his forearm.
She sat beside him, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched. When she saw me, her smile flickered. "Luna Violet! Merry Christmas! I didn't know you'd be here tonight."
The mate bond burned. Celeste's fingers slid away from Daemon's arm with deliberate slowness.
"Celeste. Merry Christmas," I forced out.
Sienna exploded behind me. "How come it's THEM? They're absolutely hideous! Giselle, your taste is terrible!"
Lucian shot to his feet. "We didn't invite you either, you harpy!"
Sienna stalked forward until she stood directly in front of him. "Say that again. I dare you."
The silence turned sharp. Everyone was looking at us—at me and Daemon specifically.
Giselle laughed nervously. "Uh, how about we play a game?"
"What kind of game?" Jade asked.
"Truth or Dare Spin. Whoever it lands on chooses truth or dare. If you refuse, you drink." She gestured to bottles of whiskey.
I wanted to leave, but Sienna's hand clamped around my wrist. "Stay. Don't let them think you're running away."
I let her guide me to a seat across from Daemon. He hadn't said a word, but his eyes tracked every movement.
"Everyone ready?" Giselle spun the disk.
The pointer settled on Evan.
Felix leaned forward with a grin. "Truth or dare, Doc?"
"Truth," Evan said calmly.
"Alright. Are you really still a virgin?"
Several people gasped. I felt my eyebrows climb.
"Yes," Evan said without shame. "I am."
Chaos erupted. Giselle shrieked, "Oh Moon Goddess, a thirty-year-old virgin Alpha doctor? That's like finding a unicorn!"
Evan waited until the noise died. "I'm waiting for my true mate."
His eyes flickered toward me briefly. When I glanced at Daemon, he was staring at Evan with a dark expression.
The disk spun again and settled on Lucian.
"I choose his dare for him!" Sienna announced, producing a makeup case. "I'm going to give him a full face."
Lucian's face went through several color changes. "Come on, that's not fair!"
"Rules are rules. Sit down."
Sienna painted Lucian with dramatic purple shadow, aggressive blush, and arterial red lipstick. Felix filmed everything, laughing. "Dude, you look like a drag queen who lost her wig!"
Despite everything, I felt a small smile emerge. Then I made the mistake of glancing at Daemon.
He was watching me with an intensity that made my breath catch.
I looked away first.
"Next," Giselle announced.
The disk spun and stopped directly in front of me. The booth went silent.
Evan spoke first. "Truth or dare, Luna Violet?"
"Truth," I said steadily.
Evan's expression flickered. "Besides Alpha Daemon, are you interested in any other man?"
The mate bond exploded. Daemon's fury slammed into me so hard I nearly flinched. The whiskey glass in his hand creaked under pressure.
I thought of Dylan's kindness. Zane's grateful tears. The strangers who'd shown me more decency than my own mate.
"I—" My voice came out rough. Through the bond I felt Onyx rising, furious and territorial. "I'd like to switch to Dare instead."
My refusal was an answer. Daemon's face went dark with fury and betrayal. Beside him, Celeste's lips curved in a brief, smug smile.
"Alright," Evan said slowly. "Your dare is to kiss any man in this room—except Alpha Daemon."
The booth erupted in chaos, but all I could focus on was the sudden understanding that this was Evan testing something, and I was caught in whatever power play existed between him and Daemon. Had they already started fracturing over her?
Daemon still hadn't spoken. His silence felt dangerous, and when I looked at him, he was staring at Evan with an intensity that promised violence.
"No," I said clearly, reaching for the whiskey. "I choose to drink. And I'm done with this game."
The whiskey burned going down. I finished every drop, grabbed my bag, and stood. "Thank you for the invitation, Giselle, but I have an early morning."
I walked out with my head high. Behind me I heard chairs scraping as Sienna, Jade, and Lily followed.
---
"That was insane," Lily breathed once we'd claimed a booth near the stage. "What the hell was Evan thinking?"
"That was a targeted strike," Sienna snarled, signaling for drinks. "Vi was the collateral damage."
The waitress arrived with shots. "To terrible men," Sienna declared. "And to Vi, who's done playing their games."
We drank. Then we drank more. The warmth spread through my limbs, and soon I was laughing at Jade's impression of Lucian. The stage rotated performers, and the whole bar pulsed with energy.
I lost track of how many drinks I'd had. Everything took on a pleasant fuzziness. When Sienna started cheering for a muscular dancer with silver hair, I joined in.
"Vi!" Sienna's hand landed on my shoulder. "You should give him your gift!"
Before I could protest, she'd pressed the black box into my hands and was pushing me toward the stage.
The room tilted as I stood. "This is a terrible idea."
"It's a Christmas miracle! Go!"
I found myself at the stage edge. The dancer looked down at me with mercury-colored eyes and a wolfish grin.
I opened the box. The leather harness lay coiled inside. The dancer's grin widened.
"Merry Christmas?" I offered weakly.
He reached down, accepting the box. "Want to help me model it?"
The crowd roared. I was drunk enough, angry enough to think: why not?
I let him pull me onto the stage. Through the haze I thought I saw a familiar figure in black at the VIP railing, blood-red eyes burning with fury.
Then the music swelled, and the dancer was putting the harness on, and I was laughing because it was ridiculous. I helped buckle one strap, and the crowd went wild.
Sienna's arm came around my waist, guiding me through the crowd. "Bathroom," I mumbled.
The ladies' room materialized ahead. I splashed cold water on my face.
When we emerged, I was still unsteady on my feet, trying to locate Sienna in the crowd. Then I felt it—a hand slapping my ass, the contact deliberate and violating.
I whirled around. A man stood there grinning at me, his expression leering and self-satisfied. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."
Rage flooded through me. My hand was already rising when suddenly the man was gone.
He'd been literally ripped away from me and slammed against the nearest wall with brutal force. I blinked, trying to process what I was seeing, and my brain finally registered the familiar black shirt and broad shoulders.
Daemon.
His hand was around the man's throat, lifting him off the ground. His eyes had gone completely red—Onyx had taken full control.
"She's MINE," Daemon snarled, his voice inhuman.
People backed away. Someone screamed. The bartender shouted something about security, but nobody intervened.
"Daemon," I tried, but my voice came out slurred. "Stop."
He didn't hear. His fist slammed into the man's face. Blood sprayed. Another punch. Another. The sound of breaking bone.
I stumbled forward, but the movement made my stomach lurch. The room tilted.
I vomited.
The sound broke through Daemon's rage. He dropped the man and whirled toward me. His eyes were still red, his hands covered in blood.
"Violet," he said, voice almost normal.
Someone called for an ambulance. Sienna shouted my name from across the bar.
Daemon moved toward me, and I flinched. He froze, pain flickering across his face. Then he bent and lifted me over his shoulder.
The world inverted. I dangled upside-down as Daemon strode toward the exit. Through my sideways vision, I glimpsed Evan standing in the VIP corridor, watching us with an unreadable expression.
The cold night air hit when we emerged. Daemon deposited me in the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt, his blood-stained hands surprisingly gentle. "Stay," he ordered.
I leaned my head against the window, feeling the cool glass against my flushed skin. The world tilted and swayed, streetlights blurring into golden streaks as we drove. I closed my eyes, and darkness pulled me under.
---
I woke to pale winter sunlight streaming through unfamiliar windows.
My head throbbed viciously. I forced my eyes open, squinting against the light, and pushed myself up slowly. Modern minimalist design, nothing like the Manor's classical opulence.
Where the hell was I?
I stumbled to the window. Outside, a wide river stretched into the distance, the opposite shore lined with snow-covered bamboo forest.
Riverside Pines.
Ice flooded my veins. This was Frost Pack's most exclusive waterfront apartment, where units cost hundreds of millions. In my previous life, Daemon had installed Celeste here after claiming her while I remained at the Manor. I'd tried to come here once, desperate and humiliated, only to be stopped by security in the lobby.
Why had he brought me here now?
I turned from the window. The bedroom door stood open to a living area beyond. I walked out barefoot.
On the coffee table sat a brown paper bag, partially open. Several photographs had spilled out.
I moved closer, my headache forgotten. Then I saw what they showed, and my blood turned to ice.
My father. Marcus. Naked and unconscious on a hotel bed. Kayla in a bathrobe, positioned over him with a triumphant smile.
I sank onto the couch, photographs trembling in my hands.