04

The first hesitant light of dawn slipped through River’s bedroom window, casting pale, uncertain shadows across the cluttered floor. Outside, the city was waking—neon signs flickered to life beneath a sky still heavy with rain clouds, but inside River’s apartment, the air was thick with a silence far heavier than the storm outside.

River lay rigid on the edge of his bed, muscles tense, eyes wide and unblinking as they stared at the folded envelope on his nightstand. The “Personal Guarantee” wasn’t just paper. It was a sentence. A verdict. A binding promise carved from cold ink and colder intent. His fingers itched to tear it up, to throw it away, but the weight of it pressed down on him like a stone anchored deep in his chest.

His sanctuary felt smaller than ever — walls closing in, shadows creeping from corners like silent witnesses. The faint scent of cedar and smoke still lingered in the air, a ghost of Leon’s presence that refused to leave, settling deep in River’s senses.

He forced himself to sit up, heart pounding unevenly beneath a shirt that suddenly felt too tight. The world around him felt unreal, warped by fear and disbelief. His phone buzzed loudly on the dresser, shattering the fragile quiet.

With hesitant fingers, River grabbed it.

No name. No familiar number.

Just a message:

“You have until midnight to decide.”

Four words that sliced through the fragile calm like a blade.

The digital clock on his bedside table ticked closer to noon, each second dragging him toward a deadline he wasn’t ready to meet. He pressed his forehead into his palm, the ache of uncertainty spreading through his skull.

At work, the weight of the bond followed him like a shadow. Each glance from coworkers felt charged, every whispered conversation seeming to pulse with undercurrents he couldn’t ignore. Leon’s influence wasn’t confined to his office; it was everywhere — a looming presence in every hallway, every conference room.

The contract was no longer a mere document. It had become a living force, tightening around River’s life, constricting with invisible but unyielding hands.

His colleagues’ smiles felt thin, their questions sharper, as if sensing the storm beneath his calm exterior. Even simple greetings twisted in his throat, each interaction a reminder of the cage closing around him.

That night, unable to breathe beneath the suffocating pressure, River found himself climbing the narrow stairs to the rooftop of his building. The sky hung heavy with the threat of rain, but the storm hadn’t yet broken. The city stretched beneath him — a sprawling maze of blurred lights and slick streets, indifferent and eternal.

The cold wind tore through his damp clothes, biting into his skin, but he welcomed the sting. It was a harsh reminder that he was alive, still fighting.

He pressed his palms against the cold metal railing, head bowed as the weight of the world settled on his shoulders.

“What do you want from me?” His voice was barely a whisper, lost in the hum of the city below.

No answer came but the wind — a biting, indifferent kiss that whispered of promises and threats too deep to ignore.

Back inside, River’s phone buzzed again.

“There is no freedom without sacrifice.”

Those words crashed over him like icy waves, pulling at his resolve.

His hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms, trying to anchor himself against the rising tide of heat flooding through his body. The bond wasn’t just legal. It was biological, primal — a knot tightening deep in his Omega nature, a pull he could neither deny nor fully resist.

The scent of Leon’s pheromones haunted the corners of his apartment, lingering in the air, wrapping around his senses like a velvet trap. His throat tightened, muscles taut as instinct warred with will.

He wasn’t just facing a marriage contract.

He was facing a cage — gilded, yes, but a cage nonetheless.

And Leon Vance held the key.

River swallowed hard, the fight inside him far from over, but the truth undeniable: some chains were invisible — and impossible to break alone.

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