Chapter 5 - THE NORTH HILL ESTATEThe gates of the North Hill estate swung open automatically as Dante’s black armored Mercedes pulled up the winding, tree-lined driveway.
Molly pressed her face against the passenger window, staring out at the sprawling limestone mansion that looked more like a European castle than a home. Lights flickered warmly behind tall Gothic windows, and the silhouette of the estate gardens stretched out into the dark, misty night.
"Is this... where you live?" Molly asked, her voice laced with disbelief.
"It's where we live, for now," Dante corrected gently as the car glided to a halt under the grand portico. "At least until you're settled and decide what you actually want to do with your life."
Molly turned to look at him in the dim dashboard light. "Why are you doing this, Dante? I'm nobody. I was a waitress at a diner that smells like fried grease ten hours ago. I just... I carried a dog. People do that every day."
Dante turned off the ignition, the heavy silence of the night wrapping around them. He turned his head, his dark eyes searching hers with a depth that made her breath catch.
"Nobody who matters ever does it while forty wolves are watching, Molly," he said quietly. "You didn't calculate the risk. You didn't wonder if it would cost you your job, your rent, or your safety. You just acted. In my world, people calculate everything. They betray their brothers for a percentage, they sell their souls for a title. Loyalty like yours? That’s the rarest currency on earth. And I intend to protect it."
The car door opened from the outside as Viktor appeared, bowing slightly as he held the door for Molly.
As she stepped out onto the polished cobblestone courtyard, a low, familiar rumble echoed from the heavy double doors of the mansion. Heavy paws scrambled against the marble floor inside, and a second later, Caesar—wrapped in a soft plaid blanket, his massive head held high—pushed through the doors and trotted straight toward her, letting out a happy, booming bark.
May you like
Molly dropped to her knees, laughing through sudden tears as the giant mastiff rested his heavy head directly in her lap, licking the salt from her cheek.
Dante stood a few paces back, watching the two of them with a faint, rare smile touching the corners of his mouth.
