CLAIMED BY THE LAST WOLF KING

Lila's Pov

I wasn’t even supposed to work tonight.

That’s what keeps running through my head as I sit here now, wrists burning from the ropes and my knees pressed against the cold marble floor. If I’d just said no… if I’d just stayed home and let Mia take her damn shift back, maybe I wouldn’t be here. Maybe I wouldn’t feel like I’m about to throw up and pass out at the same time.

But Jamie’s cough was worse today. And stepmom was already screaming at me this morning about the rent being late.

So when Mia called, begging me to cover for her because she “had a date,” and promising I could keep all her tips for the night, I didn’t even think.

I just grabbed my coat and ran.

It was just another shift. That’s all. Wiping beer-sticky tables, smiling at drunk regulars, dodging grabby hands. That I can do in my sleep.

What I wasn’t ready for…

Was the alley.

God, why did I even go out there?

It was past one. The music inside was too loud and my head was splitting. Mia’s perfume still clung to the air in the bar like poison, and I thought… just a few minutes. Just step outside for a little air.

The back door of the kitchen led to a tiny square alley between two brick buildings. I’d never even really been out there before. But it was quiet, and the air was cooler, and for the first time all day I could actually breathe.

I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.

That’s when I heard it.

This strange, choked sound. Like someone gasping, but it didn’t sound… right.

I froze.

At first I thought maybe it was a drunk. Or a couple messing around behind the dumpster.

But then I heard a voice. Low. Dangerous.

“Should’ve paid up,” someone said.

And another voice, higher, desperate. “Please—”

Something about that tone…

I pressed myself closer to the wall and slid toward the corner of the alley, my sneakers barely making a sound on the cracked concrete. My chest already tight.

And then I saw them.

Four huge men dressed all in black. One of them had another man pinned against the wall, his feet not even touching the ground.

He was strangling him.

I swear my blood went cold.

The man being strangled was kicking weakly, his face red, eyes bulging. The one holding him didn’t even flinch. He just stared at him with this calm, terrifying look, his hand wrapped around the guy’s throat like he was nothing.

Then… there was this awful sound.

Like a stick snapping.

The man’s body went limp and the one holding him just let him fall to the ground like trash.

I slapped my hands over my mouth so I wouldn’t scream.

Oh God.

Oh God oh God oh God.

They just… killed him.

I tried to press myself even flatter against the wall. My hands were shaking so bad I couldn’t even feel my fingers. My knees were weak, my breath shallow and loud in my own ears.

They couldn’t see me. If they saw me—

The man who killed him stepped back, straightening his jacket. He looked almost bored. Like this was nothing.

And then his head turned slightly.

Like he felt something.

I stopped breathing.

He didn’t see me… yet. But I saw his face.

Sharp jawline. Dark hair. Eyes like black glass.

And I knew him.

I’d seen that face before. In magazines. On the news.

Leander Vekaris.

The billionaire who owned half this city. And the very bar I worked in.

I swear my stomach dropped to my shoes.

He’s the one who…

Oh God.

I told myself to stay still. Just a few more seconds and they’d leave. Then I could run and never look back.

But then—

Something tickled my ankle.

I glanced down.

A cockroach. Big. Brown. Crawling right onto my sneaker like it owned me.

And before I could stop myself—

I yelped.

It was quiet. Barely a sound. But in that alley it sounded like a scream.

All four of them froze.

And then his eyes met mine.

Leander.

That one look and I knew. I was dead.

I didn’t even think. I bolted.

I heard them shout behind me, heavy boots pounding against the concrete. My lungs burned as I ran, my shoes slipping on the slick ground. My heart was beating so loud it drowned out everything else.

I hit the street, weaving between parked cars, not even looking where I was going. Just running.

I thought I was fast. I thought maybe I’d make it.

I didn’t.

Something grabbed the back of my coat and yanked me off my feet. I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me. Before I could scream a hand clamped over my mouth and everything went black.

When I woke up, I was in some kind of huge room.

The lights were dim. My wrists were tied behind a chair and there was a man leaning against a desk in front of me, smoking a cigar.

Leander Vekaris.

I didn’t want to look at him but I couldn’t stop.

He looked even bigger up close. Even colder. The kind of man who didn’t need to raise his voice to scare the hell out of you.

He exhaled smoke, his eyes raking over me like I was just another problem to solve.

“You know,” he said finally, his voice low and smooth, “you really should’ve minded your own business.”

I swallowed hard. My throat felt raw.

“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered. My voice sounded so small. “I didn’t—”

His head tilted.

“You saw something you weren’t meant to see.”

My lip trembled.

“I won’t tell anyone. I swear. Please. I won’t say anything. You don’t even have to pay me. I’ll leave town. Please just”

He cut me off by slamming his hand on the desk.

I flinched so hard I nearly toppled over.

“Do you think begging works on me?” he hissed.

Tears spilled down my cheeks.

He picked up his gun from the desk. Slowly. Almost casually.

My heart stopped.

“Goodbye, little

love,” he murmured, pressing the barrel against my forehead.

I couldn’t even scream. I just squeezed my eyes shut and prayed.

And then…

The gun clattered to the floor.

When I opened my eyes, he was still staring at me.

But something in those grey eyes had changed, if I thought he wanted me dead earlier, right now I was so sure he would kill me even in hell.

“No fucking way.” I heard him mutter.