Chapter 1 "Caged Butterfly"

Elana ran. Not toward anywhere, not toward freedom just away. Twenty years of confinement, of endless rules, of a life that was never hers, had burned her spirit to ash. Every step echoed with the pain of a lifetime; every breath was defiance against the cage that had trapped her.

The night was her only ally. Shadows swallowed her, the wind whipped her hair across her face, and the world beyond those four walls was vast, terrifying… utterly unknown. She didn’t care where she went. She didn’t care who saw her. All that mattered was the taste of air in her lungs, the pounding of her heart, the simple, desperate act of running.

Tears mixed with sweat as memories of cruelty, punishment, and silence surged through her. She could not take it anymore. Every scream she had swallowed, every fear she had buried, demanded release. And tonight, she would give it.

She didn’t notice the danger until gunfire shattered the silence, ripping through the night like thunder. Her legs faltered; she pressed herself into the cold earth, scrambling for cover. Somewhere in the darkness, a figure moved swift, lethal, unstoppable.

Lucas Romeo.

A name whispered in fear, a legend soaked in blood and power. And tonight, he would change everything.

Elana’s heart slammed against her ribs as she fled down the pitch-black road, each ragged breath scorching her lungs like liquid fire. Twenty years imprisoned had left her raw to the world beyond four walls; now she was drowning in a barren wasteland without a single light to guide her.

The gunshots ripped through the night like apocalyptic thunder, her blood turning to ice. She hurled herself behind a gnarled tree, her body convulsing as she peered around the trunk.

Through the darkness, a lone warrior tore through a swarm of armed men: Lucas Romeo, the infamous mafia lord whose very name made mothers tremble.

His movements were savage grace as he butchered his attackers one by one, muscles rippling beneath his torn shirt, until a bullet shredded through his flesh. Blood erupted from his stomach as he crashed down, his final victim collapsing beside him.

Something primal and electric seized Elana’s core. She bolted to his side and cradled his head, her fingers sliding through hot blood, her body pressed against his.

His eyes piercing steel that seemed to strip her bare locked onto hers with terrifying intensity. “Phone,” he commanded, voice a guttural growl that sent shivers down her spine as he gestured toward a sleek black car.

Elana scrambled for the device, blood-slicked fingers trembling across the screen as Lucas gasped out coordinates, his labored breathing making her own catch in her throat. His consciousness was fading when she returned, pressing her scarf against his wound with such force that his back arched in pain, their faces inches apart.

The ambulance’s screaming sirens shattered the night fifteen minutes later. As Lucas was loaded inside, he seized his man’s wrist with crushing strength, his murderous glance promising unspeakable torture if Elana wasn’t taken too. Hours later, when Lucas clawed his way back to consciousness in the sterile hospital room, those bewitching green eyes burned in his mind, awakening something feral within him.

“Where is she?” he snarled at his lieutenant, who went deathly pale. The man’s stuttered response “Dungeon, boss”unleashed a rage so explosive that Lucas ripped out his IV, blood spraying across white sheets.

“HOW DARE YOU TOUCH WHAT’S MINE!” he roared, voice promising exquisite, prolonged death.

“BRING HER TO ME IN TWENTY MINUTES OR I’LL CARVE OUT YOUR HEARTS WHILE YOU WATCH!”

After fifteen minutes, Elana was ushered into the hospital room. No one dared touch her; they already knew their boss would destroy them if they did.

Her heart pounded as she looked at the man she had saved. Bandaged, half-dressed, but still radiating danger like fire from hell. She wanted to leave, to run far, far away.

But when his storm-grey eyes landed on her, Elana froze.

“Please… let me go,” she whispered, voice trembling like a prayer. “I only saved your life…”

Lucas flicked his hand, dismissing everyone from the room. The silence turned suffocating as the door shut behind them, sealing her fate.

He rose from the hospital bed slowly, every step deliberate, predatory. Elana’s breath hitched as she backed away, palms pressed to the wall.

“Run if you want, butterfly,” his voice dark velvet, dangerous and hypnotic. “But you won’t escape me.”

Her body jolted as his arm slid around her waist, yanking her flush against him. His chest pressed into hers, the heat of his body swallowing her whole.

“Stop… don’t touch me…” she gasped, trying to push him off, palms against his hard chest.

His lips brushed her ear, sending shivers racing down her spine. “You made a mistake,” he growled, low and rough. “By saving me… you belong to me now.”

Tears burned in her eyes as she shook her head. “No… please. If they find me, they’ll kill me.”

Lucas’s laugh was deep, cruel, wicked. “No one will kill you. No one will even breathe near you. Because you are mine.” His hand slid lower, gripping her hips with possessiveness that made her knees weak. “You’re my sin… my obsession.”

Before she could slip away, his body caged her against the wall. One hand pressed firm against her spine, the other trailing down her curves, leaving fire in its wake.

“Don’t… don’t ruin me…” she whispered, trembling, fingers gripping his shoulders like a lifeline.

His smirk was a promise of damnation. His mouth grazed the hollow of her throat, teeth nipping delicate skin as he whispered, “I will ruin you, butterfly. Slowly. Completely. And when I do… you’ll beg me never to stop.”

The air between them grew scorching, alive with dangerous electricity. Every inch of her screamed to run, yet every nerve burned for the devil who had claimed her as his own.

Her soft front pressed against the wall of his broad chest, every shaky breath of hers swallowed by the thunder of his heartbeat. She tried to push him back, palms pressing against his wounds.

“You’re hurt… stay away,” Elana whispered, voice cracking, but laced with care he had never heard from anyone before.

For the first time, Lucas faltered. Something inside him twisted. She wasn’t like the other women who threw themselves at him for power, money, or fear. She was fragile. Untainted. His butterfly. His only weakness.

And that weakness… would belong only to him.

A deadly glint flickered in his eyes as he leaned down, breath scorching her ear. Mine. If anyone so much as looked at her, he would cut their hand off without hesitation.

“Stop crying, butterfly,” he whispered in a dangerously low tone, brushing away her tears with his thumb. “Or I’ll give you a real reason to cry. None will hurt you… not while I breathe. No one.”

Her sobs softened, falling into small hiccups as her green eyes searched his face—half in fear, half in confusion at the strange safety she felt even in his brutal hold.

Lucas pulled back only enough to shrug into a fresh black shirt, movements deliberate, predatory. He didn’t care that she was watching; he wanted her to see every scar, every line of muscle, every mark that proved he was forged from blood and war. The coat slid over his broad shoulders like armor, his presence filling the room even more.

Then, without warning, he reached for her again. Rough fingers tangled with her delicate hand, dragging her close until her body collided against his with dangerous force.

“You walk with me now,” he said darkly, grip unyielding as his lips brushed her temple in a possessive ghost of a kiss. “Even if you beg to run, even if you fight me… you’ll still be mine. Always mine.”

And before she could protest, he yanked her forward, forcing her to match his stride as the shadows of his world closed in around them.

To be continued...