Leah's POV
The moon hung low that night, a fat, accusing bastard spilling its pale light through the blinds, painting jagged stripes across my desk. I glared at my phone as it buzzed, a TikTok push notification clawing its way onto the screen. Some grainy video of the Cosa family's latest shitshow - a surprise FDA inspection, a manager slugging a cop, all polished up with edits and trending under #MafiaPoison, racking up over 100 million reads. Publix had dumped the Cosa family like a bad habit, their stock plunging 23% in a day, tripping some Goldman Sachs clause that forced a scramble. Al Cosa himself had stroked out, kidney shot to hell, rotting in a guarded clinic bed. The whole mess stank of collapse, and I felt it in my gut like a fist.
I tossed the phone aside, its screen still glowing with chaos, and sank into my chair. The computer hummed alive as I clicked into Texas Hold'em, the virtual table flickering into view. Fiona sat on the other side - Al Cosa's ex-wife, though that divorce was just a paper shield from the FBI's sniffing. They still fucked and fought like nothing had changed. Her face was a ghost through the screen, hollowed out by 72 hours of nonstop play. Seth's AI had her bleeding cash - $470 million in USDT, gone in a digital slaughter. Her despair hit me like damp rot, even through the pixels, and I leaned closer, tasting her ruin.
The phone rang, shrill and insistent, cutting through the quiet. I snatched it up, thumb jabbing the answer button. "What's wrong, Johnny?" I said, voice flat.
"You're still alive," he spat, words dripping venom. "Why the fuck are you still alive?"
I smirked, leaning back. "Johnny, if you want to dive into that question, you and I need to have a longer conversation."
"I got a complaint letter," he said, low and tight.
"Too many rats mailing secrets these days," I shot back. "Lucky for you, I snagged one meant for your desk. Tax fraud's a shitty look, consigliere. You don't wanna get disbarred, do you?"
His breath hitched, then hardened. "They say Cosa train's outta steam. But you know what? When it stalls, it'll bury us all. You think you've got a parachute to...?"
"Your metaphors suck," I said, voice cutting like glass. "Train or plane, pick one."
"You're dying with us," he snarled.
I tilted my head, toying with him. "Fiona called you? She's not exactly winning these days."
"What do you want?" he barked, desperation cracking through.
"Clause 14-B," I said coolly. "Gambling debt contract. Ties Pier 16's property rights as collateral. Needs your nod to lock in."
"Even if they strip my license, I won't sign," he growled. "I'd never betray the Cosa family."
I clicked my mouse, firing off an email, then let my voice drop low and cruel. "Loyalty's just a mind-fuck, Johnny. Check your inbox. See how Tony and Tommy fucked your wife."
Silence swallowed the line, thick and heavy.
"You three grew up sharing pants," I pressed, twisting the knife. "Didn't know you'd share a woman too. Two dicks in a hole. She took it like a champ."
A roar tore through the speaker, raw and broken.
"The Cosa plane's down," I said, unrelenting. "I'm tossing you a chute. Sign the contract, turn yourself in, play the tainted witness. FBI's not in deep yet. Your wife? From her performance on the video, she's not the type to wait for you between 15 to 20 years."
"You can't kill them all!" he screamed, voice splintering. "No matter who you are, crawling outta that incinerator - you can't! People like the Cosas... They don't die!"
"Everyone dies, consigliere," I said, ice in my veins, and hung up.
The screen glowed with the video I'd sent - Johnny's wife, tangled up with Tony and Tommy, a filthy threesome laid bare. Heat flared through me, sudden and sharp, pooling low in my belly. Pregnancy hormones, I told myself, but it didn't stop my eyes from fluttering shut. Darren's hands ghosted over me in my mind, rough and claiming, dragging me back to nights I couldn't shake. My fingers slid up my thigh, trembling, brushing that sensitive spot - then Lucas's face slammed into me, his eyes wide with pain, blood pooling where I'd stabbed him.
The door creaked. I snapped the laptop shut, heart lurching. Liam stood there, glass of water in hand, staring. "What're you doing, boss?" he asked, voice soft but prying.
I touched my flushed cheek, forcing calm. "Just Solitaire. You check on Darren downstairs? He eat?"
Liam scratched his head, uneasy. "He didn't touch the food I left this morning. I'm scared to go down there. He's… turning into…"
"A beast," I finished, voice hard.
"Boss, I know it's not my place," he said, shifting, "but who is he and what the matter with him?"
I downed the water in one gulp, the cold biting my throat. "Don't go down there today. I'll take him to a doc later."
He turned to leave, then paused, glancing back. "You need a break, boss. Never seen you rest. People hallucinate without sleep - it fucks up your head."
I sighed, heavy. "I close my eyes, I see shit I don't wanna see. But you're right. I need it. Sit here, hold my hand 'til I'm out?"
He hesitated, then nodded. I crawled onto the bed, reaching out. His hand closed around mine, warm and steady, and something in me settled. I shut my eyes, letting the dark pull me under.
Sleep dragged me back to the university, that first day with Lucas. He stood there in a white shirt, muscles rippling under fabric, face carved perfect, eyes wild and sad. My pulse hammered, mate-bond sizzling through my blood, setting me ablaze. Then a touch grazed my arm, real and electric, sparking wildfire up my spine. I bit my lip, fighting to stay lost in it, refusing to open my eyes. The hand roamed - neck, chest, stomach - until it hit that spot, and I arched, a volcano erupting inside me.
Fingers slipped in, rough like Lucas that first night, when he didn't love me but couldn't resist the pull. My thighs clamped tight, body greedy, sucking him deeper. A weight pressed against me, solid and hot, and I broke. Lips found mine, gentle, restrained - everything I'd once begged Lucas to give me. His voice whispered, "Stop me if you want," but I was drowning, legs parting, swept into a river of lust and madness.
The sex was feral, unhinged, my claws itching under my skin. I kept my eyes shut, riding the hallucination, chasing that peak. Then it hit - control snapped, hands twisting into claws, shredding the air. A scream ripped me awake, shrill and terrified. I blinked, finding Liam huddled in the corner of the bed, eyes wide with horror.
"What… what was that?" he stammered, voice shaking.
I reached for him, but froze - my hands were bloody wolf claws, gleaming wet. His gaze locked on them, panic choking him. "What are you? A...wolf?!"
My breath caught, the room spinning. The dream had torn me open, and now the truth bled out, raw and ugly, with Liam staring like I'd gut him next.