When Vernon's Car reached the city's biggest shopping mall, Vernon didn't park in the underground lot like a normal person. He pulled right up to the main entrance, killed the engine, and got out. Before Ira could even unbuckle, he opened her door and lifted her into his arms — bridal style, one hand under her knees, the other supporting her back.
Her head fell against his shoulder. She could feel the heat of his body through the thin black shirt he'd dressed her in, the steady thump of his heart.
People stared. Shoppers froze mid-step. Security guards looked away the second they recognized his face.
Vernon didn't care.
He walked straight through the automatic doors with her cradled against him. His long dark hair brushed her cheek. Up close, his features were devastating — sharp jaw clenched tight, high cheekbones shadowed with exhaustion, straight nose, and those eyes… dark, intense, storm-cloud eyes that never left her face. The faint scar on his left brow stood out under the mall lights. His lips were pressed into a thin line, like he was holding back everything he wanted to say.
Ira's heart hammered. She was shocked — completely, stupidly shocked. This was the same man who had pinned her, cuffed her, terrified her. And now he was carrying her through a crowded mall like she was something precious he was afraid of dropping.
He took her straight to a quiet, high-end women's store on the second floor. The staff recognized him instantly and cleared the entire section without being asked.
Vernon knelt there in front of her, one knee on the polished marble floor of the fitting lounge, his long dark coat pooling around him like spilled ink.
The female manager — a sharp-dressed woman in her late thirties with a name tag reading "Elena" — stood frozen a few steps away, eyes wide. The two younger staff girls behind her looked like they'd seen a ghost.
No one had ever seen Vernon Krossvale on his knees for anyone.
Elena's hands trembled as she clutched a measuring tape. One of the girls actually took a half-step back.
Ira's own breath caught. She stared down at him — this lethal man, the one who had terrified half the city, now kneeling like a sinner at an altar, his bandaged hand resting on his thigh, fresh blood still seeping through the gauze.
"Are you feeling okay now?" Vernon asked quietly. His voice was low, rough, but gentle in a way that didn't belong to him.
Ira swallowed, throat dry. She gave a small, shaky nod.
Vernon didn't stand up. He stayed exactly where he was and looked toward the manager.
"Show her some nice clothes," he said, calm and flat. "Soft ones. Comfortable. Whatever she wants."
Elena gulped so loudly the sound echoed in the quiet boutique. Her face went pale. She forced a terrified smile and bowed her head slightly, voice shaking.
"Y-Yes, Mr. Krossvale. Right away, sir."
She moved like her life depended on it — which, in this city, it probably did.
She darted between the racks, pulling out the softest hoodies, the loosest sweatpants, cotton shirts, everything in muted colors that wouldn't irritate skin.
She brought them over one by one, holding each piece up for Ira to see, hands trembling so badly the hangers clicked together.
"Th-this one is very soft, miss… bamboo fabric… or this set? It's cashmere blend, very gentle on the skin…" Her voice cracked. She kept glancing at Vernon like she expected him to snap if she chose wrong.
The two staff girls stood behind her, eyes darting between Vernon and Ira, faces drained of color. One of them looked seconds away from fainting.
Ira sat there, stunned silent. She watched the grown woman — clearly the manager of a luxury store — practically bowing while showing her clothes, voice shaking, eyes wide with fear. All because Vernon was kneeling in front of her like she was the only person who mattered.
Her gaze slid to Vernon.
He had moved to the edge of the couch beside her, sitting quietly now, knees parted , head slightly lowered. His long hair fell forward, hiding part of his sharp face..
He looked exhausted. And still, the entire store was treating him like a loaded gun.
Everyone fears him so much, Ira thought, a strange, heavy feeling settling in her chest. They're terrified of him… yet he's sitting here like this for me.
She didn't understand it.
She didn't understand him at all.
_
_
_
In the evening.
Kai's penthouse overlooked the city like a blade poised over a throat. Floor-to-ceiling glass reflected the monster boys sprawled across black leather sofas. Lucas was cracking his knuckles, Damon spinning a knife between his fingers, Leon and Victor arguing in low voices, Ren leaning against the wall with restless energy. Only Vernon was missing.
Kai stood at the window, back to them, voice ice-cold.
"The girl from the Obsidian Lotus. Black mini-dress. She vanished the same night Vernon vanished . Find her. Alive or dead."
Lucas grinned, golden tooth flashing. "You think our killer machine finally snapped and kept one for himself?"
Kai turned slowly. His eyes were flat. "I think someone is playing games. And Vernon never plays games unless I tell him to."
He tossed a tablet onto the table. Security footage froze on Ira's face.
" Wow she is pretty!"
" So damn hot too!"
The wolves exclaimed!
'She looks innocent enough to heal a wounded wolve's heart' Kai thought 'No wonder why Vernon has gone crazy!'
Kai said dreadfully ,
"Search Every exit, every safehouse, every rat hole in Draxton. I want her in my bed— alive or dead. Tonight."
The brothers moved like wolves scenting blood.
---
Two hours earlier, Vernon's black SUV cut through rain-slicked backstreets on the east side. Ira sat in the passenger seat wearing an oversized black hoodie and sweatpants he'd bought her. Her wrists still bore faint red lines from the cuffs. She kept her arms crossed tight, staring out at the blurred neon.
"You're going out of the city ," Vernon said, voice low and steady. "Tonight ."
Ira's face paled. "What? "
Vernon's bandaged hand flexed on the wheel.
"You're leaving the city tonight," Vernon said, voice low and steady. "Train leaves at dawn. One-way tickets. Your uncle and aunt meet us at the platform. You all disappear."
Ira's face paled. "What?"
Vernon's bandaged hand moved on the wheel. "You won't make it on your own. I'm taking you to the station. "
Ira panicked . "What are you saying ?"
Vernon said sharply,
"You will do as I say."
Ira flinched.
Vernon kept saying coldly.
" I paid off the factory manager who works for Kai. Your uncle's resignation was denied. They're stuck unless I move them now."
Ira's asked worriedly . "Why? Why are you doing this? "
Vernon didn't answer. The rain hammered the roof.
" Why are you doing all this? From the beginning! Why? Why? Why? I don't get it. Just tell me!! Don't I deserve an explanation!!"
Vernon kept driving, jaw tight. She asked again. And again. The rain hammered the roof.
He took a sharp left into an underground parking garage beneath an old cinema, killed the engine, and finally leaned at her.
As he leaned closer to Ira, her heart bounced hard.
"Because the moment I saw you in that forest, something in me broke," he said sharply, his hot breath brushing her face making her more flustered.
"And every time I try to fix it by pushing you away, I only make it worse."
Vernon's breathing started to get heavier. Ira felt very intense!
She didn't know what to do!
She couldn't understand why this man called monster by the city seemed to have a weird bond with her.
She tried to look shyly in his sharp eyes, devastatingly charming as always.
He made her heart slam faster, faster than she ever remembered!!!
He was close! So close!!!
And,,,
Suddenly , Ira's phone buzzed.
Vernon took the phone before Ira could.
He answered on speaker.
Aunt Meera's voice, shaking. "Ira? Is that you? I have been trying to reach you for so long! where have you been? A man just came to the house — said if we try to leave the city, they'll burn it down with us inside. Your Uncle is terrified. What is happening?"
Ira's face went white.
Vernon answered . "Mrs. Royvane. Listen carefully. Pack one bag each. In thirty minutes a black van will stop outside your back alley. Get in. No questions. I'm getting all of you out."
He hung up.
Ira stared at him, fear and confusion twisting together. "Don't be scared," Vernon said. "They'll be alright. I won't let anything happen to them."
He reached into the glovebox and handed her three train tickets — plain, ordinary, destination: northern border city, one-way. "Get in the train. You have to get out of Draxton. Anyway possible! "
Ira stared at the three plain train tickets in her lap, her fingers trembling.
"I don't want to go," she said softly.
Vernon's bandaged hand tightened on the steering wheel. He kept his eyes fixed on the rain-slicked road ahead.
"Do you want to die?" His voice came out cold, flat.
The words struck her like a slap. Tears flooded Ira's eyes and spilled over before she could stop them. Her voice cracked as she turned toward him.
"Why is this happening to me?"
Vernon glanced sideways. The sight of her tears hit him like a knife between the ribs. Something sharp and painful twisted deep in his chest. He looked away quickly, staring out through the rain-streaked window at the blurred city lights.
"Because this place is hell," he said quietly, voice low and heavy.
Ira didn't speak. She simply stared at his sharp profile — the clenched jaw, the long dark hair falling across his forehead, the devastatingly handsome face that always looked like it was carrying too much weight. Her heart hammered unevenly in the thick silence between them.
To be continued...