Sebastian Vasiliev's POV

He watched her like he always did.

From the shadows.

From the rooftops.

From the sleek black car parked just far enough to not be noticed.

Valarie Ivanov moved like a storm, all sharp purpose and unshaken resolve. Even doing something as simple as having lunch with her brother, she exuded control. Fierce. Untouchable. Divine.

Sebastian had been watching for hours, as he often did. Not because he had to. Not because he had orders.

But because he couldn't help himself.

She had been in his head for too long.

But then, they came.

Mikhail's men.

Like insects crawling out of the rot.

Sebastian leaned forward slightly, gaze sharpening, lips curling in disgust.

There were too many of them.

His grip tightened on the gun resting on his thigh.

Still, he watched.

He had seen her fight before-a goddess of war in motion.

And today was no different.

Valarie moved like a blade, swift and unyielding, fast enough to make grown men hesitate. She dodged, she struck, she sent one of the bastards crumbling with a single, precise shot-perfect.

Sebastian had never seen anything as beautiful.

His obsession twisted tighter in his ribs, suffocating, possessive. His Valarie.

But then-

The man punched her.

Sebastian's world blurred.

For a split second, he didn't move.

Did he just-?

Another hit.

Another.

His vision darkened. His breathing slowed.

He had felt rage before. Controlled it. Used it.

But this-this was something else.

It was cold. It was consuming.

It was murder.

Sebastian exhaled.

He had planned to wait. To see how this unfolded.

But the moment that bastard dared to touch her, to knock her perfect face to the side like she was nothing-

Sebastian lost control.

His gun was in his hand before he even realized it.

One clean shot.

The man's head snapped back, a neat bullet hole in the center of his forehead.

The other men barely had time to react.

Sebastian moved through them like death itself, each shot precise, merciless.

They didn't get to scream.

They didn't get to fight back.

Because they didn't deserve to.

By the time he reached her, only one of Mikhail's men was still breathing.

Sebastian tilted his head, gaze slow and cold as he studied him.

Then, he looked at Valarie.

Her lip was bleeding. Her jaw was bruised.

Sebastian's grip on his gun tightened.

"Who gave you permission," he murmured, "to touch her?"

The man stammered, begging.

Sebastian put a bullet between his eyes.

And then, finally-**finally-**he turned to her.

His beautiful, fierce deity.

Her sharp eyes met his, unwavering, unshaken.

Sebastian exhaled, the tension in his body loosening only slightly.

She was safe.

For now.

And yet-it wasn't enough.

It would never be enough.

****** Damien Volkov's POV

The second the call came in, Damien was already moving.

His men barely had time to finish their report before he was in his car, tearing through the streets like a man possessed.

Because he was.

Luca.

His heartbeat was too slow, too calm-the kind of calm that came right before the storm.

His fingers flexed around the steering wheel, jaw clenched so tight it ached.

"Valarie and Luca are safe now, boss," his second-in-command reassured him through the earpiece.

Safe.

Safe.

But they hadn't been before.

Someone had tried.

Tried.

That single word echoed in his skull, rage curling in his throat.

Whoever it was-**whoever dared-**they were already dead.

But that wasn't enough.

Damien needed **their families, their allies, every single fucker who thought they could breathe the same air as Luca and Valarie-**his family , he needed them burning.

His car screeched to a halt at the location.

Damien stepped out, his long black coat flaring around him as he surveyed the aftermath.

Blood.

Bodies.

And then-

Luca.

His chest loosened, the coiled tension inside him unraveling just enough for him to breathe.

Luca stood near Valarie, hair disheveled, his knuckles red, but he was fine.

Damien exhaled slowly.

Then, he was there.

His hand wrapped around Luca's waist, pulling him in so fast the younger man barely had time to react before Damien's mouth was on his.

It wasn't just a kiss.

It was a claim.

A reminder.

A vow.

Luca let out a startled sound, but then he melted into him, gripping the front of Damien's shirt with a smirk against his lips.

"Took you long enough, scary man," he teased.

Damien hummed, brushing his thumb over Luca's cheek. His Luca. His.

If anyone so much as looked at him wrong, Damien would rip their fucking throat out.

"You enjoy making me lose my mind, don't you?" Damien murmured, voice low, possessive.

Luca grinned. "Maybe."

"You'd love to see me burn the world down for you."

Luca licked his lips. "Only if I get to watch."

Damien smirked darkly. "Brat."

The moment was interrupted by a presence.

A presence Damien had sensed the second he arrived.

His gaze shifted.

And there he was.

Sebastian Vasiliev.

Standing just a few feet away, watching.

His face was a mask of calm, but Damien knew better.

There was something in his eyes.

Something too still.

Something too focused.

On Valarie.

Ah.

So he had been the one.

The one to kill those bastards.

The one to save them.

Damien met his gaze, and the air thickened.

A silent war waged between them in that single glance.

A question.

A challenge.

A warning.

Sebastian didn't look away.

Neither did Damien.

This wasn't over.

Not by a long shot.

****** The moment Sebastian moved, Damien felt the shift in the air.

A predator stepping into another predator's territory.

Sebastian walked toward them, slow and deliberate, like a man who had no reason to fear.

Damien's grip on Luca's waist tightened instinctively.

"Are you okay?" Sebastian's voice was smooth, directed at Valarie.

She straightened, brushing dried blood from her jaw where she'd been punched. Her eyes stayed locked on him, calculating.

"Fine." Her tone was neutral, but Damien knew her well enough to hear the underlying suspicion.

Sebastian's gaze flickered to Luca, who was still in Damien's arms.

"That was reckless," Sebastian remarked, eyeing him up and down.

Luca shrugged. "Yeah, well. That's kinda my thing." Then, before Damien could stop him, Luca grinned and stuck out his hand.

"Thanks for saving our asses, man."

Sebastian hesitated only for a second before accepting the handshake.

"Anytime," he said smoothly.

Damien nearly laughed.

Anytime?

Like he was some guardian angel rather than a man with his own motives.

Valarie crossed her arms. "How convenient that you were here, Sebastian."

Damien smirked. Exactly.

Sebastian met her gaze, unreadable. "I was passing by."

Valarie scoffed. "Right."

Damien finally spoke, voice slow, dark. "And you just so happened to pass by when Mikhail's men attacked?"

Sebastian didn't blink. "Seems like fate, doesn't it?"

Bullshit.

Damien held his gaze, reading him.

Sebastian wasn't lying-not exactly.

But he wasn't telling the whole truth, either.

Luca, the little idiot, had no sense of danger. He clapped Sebastian on the shoulder like they were best friends. "Dude, you're like a sniper or something. Those guys dropped like flies."

Sebastian smiled faintly. "Something like that."

Damien's jaw flexed. He did not like this.

At all.

Sebastian Vasiliev was too composed, too calculated.

He had killed with ease.

And not just anyone-Mikhail's men.

Why?

Why the fuck was he here?

And, more importantly-what the fuck did he want with Valarie?

Damien's fingers twitched with the urge to pull a gun on him just to see how fast he could dodge.

Valarie was watching Sebastian like she was piecing together a puzzle.

Sebastian simply gave her a polite nod.

"If you ever need help again," he said smoothly, "you know where to find me."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Damien and Valarie exchanged a glance.

"That was weird, right?" Luca asked.

Damien exhaled slowly. "Very."

Valarie tilted her head, voice quiet. "He's watching me."

Damien's expression darkened.

Yeah.

That was the part that pissed him off