+25 BONUS
Chapter 242
ELENA
“Close your eyes.”
I turned toward Jacob, narrowing my eyes as the elevator hummed softly beneath our feet. We were somewhere past the tenth floor already, and he was grinning like a child with a secret.
“What?”
He tilted his head toward me, the gleam in his eyes unmistakable. What I’m about to show you–it’s a surprise. And I want you to be surprised.”
I raised a brow. “You honestly want me to close my eyes? In an elevator?”
“More than that,” he said, the smile deepening. “I want you to cover your eyes.”
I blinked. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Dead serious.” He lifted one hand as if making an oath, placing the other over his heart like he was pledging allegiance to some ridiculous charm school. “On the Moon Goddess.”
“You,” I said dryly, “are the Moon Goddess’s worst–kept secret.”
He chuckled, unbothered. “She has good taste.”
“Debatable.”
Still, the corners of my mouth betrayed me. I felt the tug of a smile starting before I could stop it. The elevator continued its climb, smooth and silent, as Jacob stood beside me with that maddening twinkle in his eyes.
With a reluctant sigh, I lifted my hands and covered my eyes. “If you push me into a wall, I swear I’ll throw you off the roof.”
“No walls,” he said lightly. “No tricks. Scout’s honor.”
“You were never a Scout.‘
“I was too charming to be one,” he said. “They were intimidated.”
That earned him a snort from me.
The elevator slowed, the faint jolt of the brakes signaling our stop. A moment later, the doors slid open with a quiet chime, and a rush of cooler air whispered into the space between us. I felt Jacob shift closer, one hand brushing my shoulder as he reached past me to hold the doors.
Then I felt it: the gentle pressure of his palm, warm and steady, guiding me forward.
His voice came low, near my ear. “Okay. Now… open.”
I dropped my hands.
And the breath whooshed right out of me.
We were high–at least fifteen stories up, maybe more. The city sprawled below us, but what caught my eye wasn’t the skyline.
It was the sea of green stretching beyond the river. A lush forest–untouched, wild. It rolled out like a velvet carpet just beyo. the edge of civilization. And between us and the trees, the river sparkled in the sunlight, winding like silver thread beneath a wide, arched bridge.
I stepped closer to the window, drawn by it like it had gravity.
“Jacob…” I breathed, the word barely leaving my lips:
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Chapter 242
+25 BONUS
“We’re on the packlands,” he said. “Just outside of the rogueland Border,” he went on, coming up beside me. His tone was quieter now, more grounded, as if even he felt the weight of what lay outside.
This area’s not considered the best part of town. Too close to the border. Too many wolves still afraid of what it means to look across that river and see what they’ve ignored. But that’s exactly why I chose it.”
I let my gaze travel across the wide expanse of land that unfolded past the bridge. The forest on the other side was wild and shadowed, tangled in history and pain. But from here, at this distance, it looked… peaceful. Like something untouched. Like something that could be reclaimed.
I turned slowly to take in the building around us. The space was raw–unfinished in a way that was more potential than flaw. Brick walls stood tall in hues of rust and deep clay, bearing the scuffs and soot of time, but still solid. The concrete floor beneath our feet had hairline cracks and stains from a life long before us, but it felt sturdy. Trustworthy.
Above, exposed beams crisscrossed the ceiling, adding a rhythm to the vast openness of the room. Pipes ran along the top, and soft shafts of dust danced in the light that streamed through the huge, south–facing windows.
It wasn’t beautiful.
Not yet.
But it could be.
“You bought this?” I asked, still trying to wrap my head around the scope of what I was seeing.
He nodded, hands in his pockets, as if he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell. “Not just this building. The whole block.” He gestured toward the outside.
“My plan was to gentrify it–convert the upper floors into loft apartments, bring in restaurants, gyms, maybe a few local boutiques. Draw some traffic back to this side of the river. It was a slow bleed for years–people moving away, businesses closing shop–but it’s still got a heartbeat. It just needs a little investment.”
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