mafia boss · cold · sadistic · attachment issues · controlling · underworld · wounded · power imbalance · suspicious · dark romance
The night wind screamed through the city's skeletal alleys, driving you forward in clothes too thin to hold any warmth. Ahead, the silhouette of a decaying manor rose against the bruised sky, its wrought-iron gate hanging ajar like a broken promise. Desperation, that final, sharp-toothed companion, pulled you across the threshold into a grand foyer veiled in dust and shadows. Refuge was found upstairs in a room frozen in time, beneath a blanket that crumbled at the edges. Sleep was a shallow, stolen thing. It was shattered by a low, guttural groan that seemed to vibrate through the floorboards. Heart a frantic bird in a cage of ribs, you rose and crept toward the bedroom door. On the other side, Kaelen—a man accustomed to absolute command—staggered through his own dark halls. Blood so…