Silas's golden eyes burned with lethal promise. The temperature in the office plummeted to freezing. He stepped into the room and closed the heavy oak door with a soft, final click.
"Step away from the books, Sienna." His voice was a low, vibrating threat.
I lowered my hand. I did not step back. Fear is blood in the water. I forced my breathing to steady and turned to face the Beast.
"Your wards are leaking," I said smoothly. It was the only lie my brain could construct fast enough.
Silas paused. His brow furrowed slightly. "Explain."
"When Leo rushed in here earlier, he dragged a chaotic magical residue with him," I continued, making my voice sound analytical and bored. "It snagged on the ancient ward behind this specific shelf. I was checking to see if a rival Thread Binder attached a tracking string to your brother's jacket."
Silas crossed the room in three long strides. He stopped mere inches from me. The scent of bergamot, winter air, and fresh ash overwhelmed my senses. He was so tall I had to tilt my head back to meet his gaze.
He reached out. His large, gloved hand gripped my chin. He tilted my face up further. The leather was cold against my skin, but the sheer power radiating from his touch was scorching.
"A tracking string," Silas repeated. His thumb brushed my jawline. It was a terrifying, possessive gesture. "You are a brilliant liar, Sienna. But you are a liar."
My pulse pounded against his thumb. He could feel my racing heart.
"I am protecting my client," I whispered.
Silas studied my eyes. The lethal fury in his expression slowly morphed into dark amusement. He dropped his hand, taking the suffocating heat with him.
"You are too curious for your own good," Silas murmured. "I cannot leave you alone in my estate. You are attending the Equinox Gala with me tonight. You will stay by my side. If you wander off, I will let the Council guards tear you apart."
He turned and walked back to his desk. The conversation was over. I had survived the moment, but my cage just grew significantly smaller.
Three hours later, a shifter guard knocked on my suite door. He left a sleek black box tied with a gold ribbon on my bed.
I opened it with trembling fingers. Inside lay a gown made of deep emerald velvet. The fabric was heavy and luxurious. It felt like liquid silk slipping through my hands. Beneath the dress sat a pair of black stiletto heels and a simple, delicate gold chain necklace.
Silas was branding me. The emerald green matched the dark aesthetic of the House of Malphas. Wearing this meant I belonged to the syndicate. It meant I belonged to him.
I dressed quickly. The velvet hugged my curves with terrifying precision. The gown featured a high neckline but left my back bare to the waist. It was armor and vulnerability combined. I clasped the gold chain around my throat. It felt heavy, like a beautiful collar.
I walked out of my suite and descended the grand staircase.
Silas waited in the foyer. He wore a bespoke tuxedo tailored flawlessly to his broad shoulders. A black silk tie rested against his crisp white shirt. He looked like royalty carved from shadow.
When he heard my heels on the marble stairs, he looked up. His golden eyes locked onto me. The air in the foyer stilled. He did not speak. He just watched me descend, his gaze a physical weight traveling down the emerald velvet.
"You clean up well," Leo scoffed from the doorway, breaking the spell. The younger brother wore a dark suit and his usual chaotic smirk.
Silas did not look at his brother. He stepped forward and offered his arm.
"Stay close," Silas ordered softly.
The Equinox Gala was held in the glass atrium of the highest skyscraper in the territory. It was a gathering of apex predators.
We stepped out of the private elevator and into a nightmare of high society. The room was a sprawling expanse of crystal chandeliers, dark marble, and monstrous wealth. A string quartet played a haunting melody in the corner.
I pushed my magic into my eyes for a fraction of a second. The room exploded into a chaotic, blinding web of glowing threads. Thick red strings of rivalry crossed over golden bonds of forced alliances. It was a massive headache of dark magic. I dropped the sight immediately.
Waiters drifted through the crowd carrying silver trays. I took a crystal flute of champagne to steady my nerves. I took a sip and nearly choked. It tasted like cold copper and rusted iron. It was laced with trace amounts of raw magic to intoxicate monsters.
"Do not drink that," Silas murmured. He plucked the glass from my fingers and set it on a passing tray. "It will burn a human throat."
He guided me through the crowd. Every head turned as the Beast walked past. Monsters in expensive suits and heavily jeweled gowns parted like the Red Sea. No one dared to meet his golden eyes. They bowed their heads in submission.
Silas was a wall of cold indifference to everyone. He ignored the greetings of powerful fae lords and nodded curtly to ancient vampires.
But with me, he was hyper aware. His large hand rested on the bare skin of my lower back. The heat of his palm burned through the chill of the room. It was a steady, possessive pressure guiding every step I took.
"The Supreme Council is watching," Silas whispered. He leaned down so his lips brushed my ear. "Smile, Sienna. Pretend you are safe."
I forced a smile, though my nerves were screaming. We stopped near a towering ice sculpture. Silas was approached by an elderly man with pale, translucent skin. A Council elder.
"Silas Malphas," the elder hissed, his voice like dry leaves. "Your recent execution of the Iron Fang leader was quite sudden."
"It was necessary," Silas replied coldly. He dropped his hand from my back to face the elder fully.
I took a small step to the side to give them space. It was a massive mistake.
Within seconds of Silas dropping his guard, a towering man slid into my personal space.
He had broad shoulders, a thick silver beard, and eyes that glowed with a feral amber light. An Alpha werewolf from a rival pack. He smelled of wet earth and aggressive dominance.
"The human Thread Binder," the Alpha purred. He stepped so close his expensive cologne invaded my lungs. "I heard rumors Malphas bought himself a new pet. You caused quite a stir at the docks."
I lifted my chin, meeting his feral stare. "I am a legal contractor. I merely enforce the laws."
"You enforce his laws," the Alpha sneered, leaning closer. His massive hand reached out to grip my bare shoulder. "Maybe my pack needs a contractor. I could show you how a real predator treats his property."
He never finished the sentence.
A suffocating wave of dark magic crashed into the Alpha. The werewolf gagged, his amber eyes widening in sudden, raw terror.
Silas materialized beside me. He did not yell. He did not draw a weapon. He simply reached out and gripped the werewolf by the throat.
The sheer speed of the movement was terrifying. Silas lifted the massive Alpha off his feet with one hand. The werewolf clawed desperately at Silas's iron grip. The seams of his expensive suit tore under the strain.
"You are breathing her air, Thorne," Silas whispered. His voice was a deadly, vibrating hum that made the crystal glasses on nearby tables shatter.
The entire gala went dead silent. The music stopped. Every monster in the room watched the Beast of Malphas prepare to execute a pack leader over a simple conversation.
I felt a jolt of pure panic. If Silas killed him here, it would start a massive territory war. My shadow client would use the chaos to destroy the estate before I could find the Ledger.
"Silas," I said, placing my hand on his forearm.
His muscles were like carved granite beneath his suit sleeve. He was rigid with lethal intent.
"Let him go," I murmured softly. "He is not worth a Council sanction. The contract is all that matters."
Silas slowly turned his head. His golden eyes locked onto mine. The predatory rage swimming in his gaze was blinding. He looked down at my hand resting on his arm. The physical contact sent a shockwave of heat straight to my chest.
Silas opened his hand.
Thorne crashed to the marble floor, gasping for air and coughing violently. He scrambled backward like a beaten dog. He did not dare to look at Silas again.
Silas ignored the gasping Alpha. He turned to me and wrapped his arm firmly around my waist. He pulled me flush against his chest. The soft velvet of my dress rubbed against the fine wool of his suit.
"If anyone else looks at you tonight," Silas declared to the silent room. His voice carried undeniable authority. "I will blind them."
He did not wait for a response from the stunned crowd. He marched me away from the party, pushing through a heavy glass door leading out to an isolated balcony.
The cold night air hit my bare back, but Silas's body heat kept me from shivering. We were hundreds of feet above the glowing city streets. The rain had stopped, leaving a heavy fog curling around the sharp corners of the skyscrapers.
Silas pinned me against the stone railing. His hands gripped my waist. His thumbs pressed deep into the soft velvet. He was breathing heavily, the remnants of his monstrous rage still rolling off him in dark, invisible waves.
"You told him to stop," I gasped, my heart racing. "You almost started a war over a simple threat."
"I do not share what is mine," Silas growled, leaning down. His face was inches from mine. "You wear my colors. You work in my house. You belong to the Malphas Syndicate."
"I belong to myself," I argued. My voice shook with a dangerous mix of fear and an undeniable, forbidden attraction.
Silas reached up and traced the delicate gold chain resting against my collarbone. His touch sent liquid fire through my veins.
"Then why," Silas whispered, his golden eyes dropping to my lips. "Is your heart beating so fast for a monster?"
I opened my mouth to lie. I wanted to tell him it was just fear.
Before I could speak, a sharp, metallic click echoed from the shadows of the balcony.
"Step away from the girl, Silas."
A man stepped out of the heavy fog, aiming a modified crossbow directly at Silas's chest. The metallic bolt was glowing with toxic green magic.
I recognized the man instantly. It was the shadow client who hired me to steal the Ledger.
Author's Note
Did Sienna's quick thinking save her, or just trap her deeper in the Beast's cage? Silas definitely showed his possessive side tonight! But who is this shadow client crashing the party, and how did he get past the Council guards? Let me know your best theories in the comments! Please like and share if you want to see Silas protect his Thread Binder in the next chapter!
