?Chapter 87:

This cycle was bing monotonous—Ryder’s anger, which he alwayspensated for with his grand gestures. It made me wonder how long I was going to remain trapped in this toxic, twisted web, forever bound to Ryder and his dynamics.

I clenched my teeth, the pain and reality hitting me hard like a cold breeze on a windy day. My mother’s words echoed in my mind: “Jasmine, marry Jason, it’s the only way.”

Safest option. Maybe she was right. Maybe I should’ve settled for a life with Jason instead of… this.

With Jason, at least I would know my ce. Jason wasn’t two-faced like this piece of shit. My mom could always put him in his ce. In my pack, I had Ruby and Mom to cry on. Seraphina was no doubt a good listener, but I still missed the people who always had my back. Her loyalty, even though it was to me, was also to Ryder. He could even rece her with a new maid just to spite me.

This messy, twisted game with Ryder.

Ryder, who kissed me around my ears, his imposing tone forming a pool of passion in my stomach when he told me—no, growled—”You’re mine,” as if that alone could keep me captive.

But at what cost?

My heart seethed with resentment. He wasn’t even helping me; he was suffocating me. His dominance, his possessiveness—it all felt like prison bars closing in around me.

Without sparing Isabelle a nce, I stormed down the hallway, my heels clicking sharply against the marble floor. Ryder’s words still rang in my head: “You’re mine.” The audacity of that man.

Everything about him was a twisted irony. The man I’d fallen for, the man who imed me as his “little vixen,” had picked me as his second choice—his mistress, his breeder. Isabelle, with her tacky, B-movie fashion sense and wannabe biker vibe, was his first. His Luna. I didn’t know whether tough or cry.

My heart burned with anger, but my mind churned with anxiety about the future. Not just today or tomorrow, but the years toe. The tears blurred my vision, and I wiped one away as it trailed down my cheek.

I rounded the corner, my eyes locking onto my sanctuary—my room. A ce where I could hide from the sadness, from the grip Ryder seemed to have on my entire life.

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But who was I kidding? My escape was short-lived.

One moment I was walking, lost in my thoughts, and the next, that familiar scent—sandalwood and something distinctly him—invaded my senses. Ryder.

Panic surged through me. I thought about running, quickening my pace, but before I could react, his hands were on me, firm and unrelenting. With a rough jerk, he pinned me between his body and the cold wall, his Lycan strength making resistance useless.

“Running from me, Jasmine?” His breath was hot against my ear. I jerked my shoulders, trying to push him off.

“Let me go!” I whimpered, my voice weaker than I wanted it to be.

His fingers tilted my chin, forcing our eyes to meet. Ryder’s gaze zed with something dark and primal, his eyes a stormy blue, swirling with ck.

“You can’t escape me,” he growled, his voice low and rough. “You’re mine.”

That damn word again. Mine.

His towering frame loomed over me, his intense gaze pinning me in ce. My heart raced, but I wasn’t going to let him charm his way out of this. Not this time.

“What do you want from me?” I demanded, my voice steady despite the storm of emotions raging inside me.

“We need to talk,” Ryder said, his voice gravelly, amand hidden beneath the request.

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