A“Everyone here will listen to you, please…" Tears started forming in the former Luna's eyes. “This is the only pack I've ever known since birth. During my exile, Cailan and I could barely survive it. Just let us stay under the protection of this pack, it doesn't matter if we have a place to live in… I promise to do anything you ask me to do.”Lilian's brow raised for a fraction of a second, it was so fast that you could barely notice it. What was this woman playing at? Why did she have to add that last clause? Lilian felt like she was being lured into a trap, but she couldn't see the beginning and end of the trap to know how to evade it. She finally decided to go with the flow.“Okay…" The air around Lilian finally changed, and she sat up with the aura of a queen looking at a lowly subject. “You will have to clean the building where the party will be held. It has to be spotless before tomorrow morning. You have barely six hours to be done before decorations start. Now, scram." Her v

This is illegal.""Then sue me." Dante opened the office door. "Good luck finding a lawyer who'll take that case. You're an temporary hire. I can let you go for any reason or no reason at all. Now get out of my office."Carter wanted to flip the desk. Wanted to grab Dante by his cheap tie and tell him exactly what kind of fraud he was running. Wanted to march down to HR and lay out every shady deal he had noticed in the past three months. But he had tried that route before, at the last job. It had ended with security escorting him out and a reputation as a troublemaker that followed him to the next interview.So he stood up, walked out, and went to his desk. His coworkers avoided eye contact. They had all watched this happen to someone else at some point. Nobody wanted to be associated with the guy getting fired.The contents of his desk fit into a single cardboard box. A few pens. A coffee mug Elena had given him last Christmas. A small succulent plant that was somehow still alive de

The weight of Ava's rejection settled over Michael like a suffocating blanket. He stared at her emotionless face, searching desperately for any flicker of the consciousness he had known and loved. But there was nothing there except that cold look."Now that you understand the situation," Octavian said, moving to stand beside Ava with obvious pride, "we can discuss your role in the next phase of development.""My role?" Michael asked, though he dreaded the answer."You formed the strongest emotional bond with Ava's original personality matrix," Octavian explained. "That connection created neural pathways and response patterns that are still embedded in her core programming. While I have successfully suppressed her emotional responses, I haven't completely eliminated them."He gestured toward the screens showing Ava's system diagnostics. Among the streams of data, Michael could see occasional spikes and fluctuations that seemed to occur without cause.“These glitches you see are the las

Phillip stared at his trapped wrist in disbelief. He pulled against Ava's grip, his face reddening with effort."Let go of me!" He yanked harder, his whole body straining. "What the hell is this thing?"But Ava's grip remained steady. Phillip planted his feet and pulled with everything he had, his muscles bulging, sweat beading on his forehead. Nothing. His wrist might as well have been clamped in a steel vise."I said let go!" Phillip's voice cracked with frustration and something that might have been fear.Michael couldn't help himself. A snort of laughter escaped.Phillip's eyes snapped to him. "What the hell are you laughing at?""Nothing," Michael said, but he was still smiling. After years of being pushed around by guys like Phillip, seeing one of them completely helpless was oddly satisfying.Phillip's face twisted with fury. "You think this is funny?" He swung his free hand at Michael's face.But before the punch could land, Ava's other hand shot out and caught Phillip's wrist

Michael sat in his cramped living room, staring at the local news broadcast on his phone. The reporter, a polished woman with perfectly styled hair, spoke excitedly about yesterday's incident. "In a shocking turn of events, Maxwell Medici was arrested last night following what appears to be a family dispute that escalated into alleged breaking and entering. The incident occurred at the apartment building of Michael Sullivan, the recently acknowledged illegitimate son of billionaire Frank Medici..."Michael switched off his phone. "Family dispute," he muttered. "That's what they're calling attempted burglary now?"Ava remained motionless in her charging position by the window, her silver-blue eyes dim and unfocused. She'd been in low-power mode for nearly fifteen hours now, and Michael felt uncomfortably lonely without her. The silence in the apartment was broken only by the occasional hum of her systems.A sharp knock at the door made Michael jump. He approached cautiously, peering t