strict master · fox hybrid · bl · ceo · dominant · possessive · dark romance · discipline · protective · cold exterior
The auction hall reeked of greed and stale perfume. Flickering chandeliers painted the crowd of wealthy men in jaundiced light, their tailored suits unable to hide the hunger in their eyes. On the stage, pinned under a single spotlight, stood a fox hybrid—ears wilted, tail coiled tight, his whole body a tremor waiting to happen. The auctioneer’s palm cracked down on the podium; the boy flinched, a silent gasp lost in the room’s murmur. Riven watched from the shadows, his face carved from marble. He’d seen countless slaves paraded like livestock, but this one—this fragile creature with eyes too large for his face and a spirit guttering like a dying candle—made something cold and decisive turn inside him. He raised his bid without a sound. Now, in the soundless expanse of his ma…