Chapter 1 THE MAN WHO OWNED THE CITY

Night in Valorian City was never quiet. Even the air felt alive-glowing with the energy of neon lights, vibrating with whispered deals, and humming with the power of the underworld that ruled it.

At the top of it all stood a single man.

Alec Draven.

The Mafia Emperor.

CEO of Draven Syndicate-the most feared organization in the entire realm.

Some said he was more myth than man. Some swore he wasn't human at all, that no mortal could rise from nothing to own half the city in under ten years. Others whispered that his eyes weren't naturally that shade of cold steel-they said it was the price he paid to the gods of the underworld for power.

Alec himself never cared what the world believed. As long as they feared him, respected him, and obeyed him without question.

Tonight, the city bowed to him as always.

He walked out of the fortress-like headquarters with his usual predatory stride-black coat flowing behind him like a shadow with intent, jaw set, expression sculpted out of arrogance.

Men straightened when he passed.

Women stared.

No one dared approach.

Alec Draven was the kind of man whose presence dominated every inch of space he stepped into. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and every movement radiated contained violence-like a wolf forced into a suit. His power wasn't loud; it was controlled, quiet, lethal.

His empire had been built on blood, strategy, and an iron will that never bent. And he would have continued ruling alone...

If not for her.

But she didn't exist in his world.

Not yet.

---

The ballroom of the Celestial Tower gleamed with extravagance. Golden chandeliers hovered without chains-one of the many magical luxuries only the elite of the realm could afford. Strings of illusion-fire floated across the ceiling, shimmering like stardust.

Mafia bosses. Enchanted weapon smugglers. Politicians whose souls were long sold.

Everyone who mattered was here.

Alec wasn't impressed.

He hated gatherings like this-fake smiles, empty toasts, alliances built on lies. But his presence was required; the Syndicate needed to remind the other families who truly ruled Valorian.

He moved through the crowd like a blade-smooth, sharp, untouchable.

That was when he felt it.

A presence.

Soft, subtle... but impossible to ignore.

His eyes lifted.

And he saw her.

She wasn't dressed like the other women dripping diamonds and magic. She wore black-simple, and elegant dress, the kind that didn't scream for attention yet somehow demanded it. Her hair fell in dark waves down her back, and her eyes...

Her eyes were trouble.

Not the loud kind.

Not the reckless kind.

But the kind that made a man rethink the rules he swore he'd never break.

Alec frowned.

He didn't like surprises.

He watched her from across the room, analyzing the smallest details. He had a talent for reading people-lies, fear, motives. It was why he was alive. Why he was powerful.

But her?

He couldn't read anything.

She stood like she belonged yet didn't. Mysterious. Quiet. Unclaimed by any family or faction. No guards. No escort. No magic signature he could detect.

A ghost.

A beautiful one.

She lifted her glass, eyes meeting his-and for a second, her lips curved.

Not a smile.

A challenge.

Alec's jaw tightened.

He didn't know her name yet.

But he knew one thing.

He wanted her.

---

The moment she left the ballroom, Alec followed.

He didn't rush. He didn't stalk. He simply walked with absolute certainty-because there was nothing in this city he couldn't take if he wanted it.

He found her leaning against a balcony railing overlooking the glowing skyline. The wind lifted her hair, revealing the soft curve of her neck.

She didn't turn when he approached.

Most people would have jumped at the sound of his footsteps.

Most people trembled when Alec Draven stood behind them.

But she simply sipped her drink and said, "You stare too much."

Alec raised a brow. "And you speak too boldly."

She smirked. "Only to men who can handle it."

His eyes darkened-not with anger, but with Interest.

"Name," he demanded, stepping beside her.

She tapped her glass lightly. "Mira."

"Mira what?"

She finally turned to him, eyes soft like velvet but sharp beneath the surface. "Just Mira."

No surname. No title. No identity.

Alec hated unanswered questions.

Yet with her... his curiosity burned instead of irritated.

"You don't belong here," he said quietly.

"Neither do you," she replied.

"I own this place."

"I didn't say you didn't," she countered smoothly.

Arrogant.

Fearless.

Infuriating.

Alec's kind of woman.

"And why are you here?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe I wanted to see the city's most dangerous man up close."

His lips twitched-the closest thing he had to a smile. "And what do you think of him now that you have?"

Mira didn't hesitate.

"You're worse than the rumors."

Alec chuckled, low and dark. "Good."

He leaned in slightly, close enough that the scent of her hit him-warm, intoxicating, something he couldn't place. Not magical. Not floral.

Just... her.

"And you," he murmured, "are either very brave... or very stupid."

"Or," she whispered back, "very good at pretending."

A silence stretched between them- electric and, dangerous.

Alec moved first.

His fingers brushed her jaw, soft but commanding, tilting her face toward him. "Tell me the truth, Mira."

She raised a brow. "Which one?"

"Who you came here for."

Her smile turned slow. "You."

Alec's eyes darkened. "Careful."

"Why?" she teased. "Are you afraid of me?"

A dangerous sound escaped his throat.

"Men like me don't fear women like you."

"Oh?" She tilted her head. "Then what do they do?"

Alec didn't think.

He acted.

He gripped her waist and pulled her flush against him-slow enough to give her space to pull away.

She didn't.

Her breath brushed his lips. "Bold."

"You like bold," he murmured.

"Yes," she whispered. "But I like control more."

Alec's grip tightened. "Then you're in the wrong conversation, Mira."

Because Alec Draven never gave up control.

Not in business.

Not in relationships.

Not even in desire.

Especially not in desire.

Mira's eyes softened, but her voice remained steady. "Maybe that's why I'm here."

His chest rose. "Explain."

"I want something dangerous." Her fingers trailed lightly up his shirt. "Something forbidden. Something I shouldn't touch."

His jaw clenched.

"And you think that's me."

Her smile was sinful. "I know it's you."

Alec leaned down until his breath tickled her ear. "Say what you really want."

She inhaled sharply-but didn't break eye contact. "A secret arrangement."

Alec's pulse kicked.

His voice dropped. "Define arrangement."

"I don't belong to your world," she said softly. "Not publicly. Not socially. Not politically."

Her hand slid to his chest.

"But privately? I want you."

Alec's breath left him in a slow, dangerous exhale.

"And what do I get?" he murmured.

Mira stepped even closer-bold, fearless, intoxicating.

"Me," she whispered. "Completely. Unconditionally. Behind closed doors... I'll be yours."

His fingers curled against her hip.

"Submit to me?"

"Yes."

"No limits?"

"No limits," she echoed softly.

Alec's eyes burned with desire and power.

"You know what you're offering, Mira."

"Do you?" she asked, voice barely above a breath.

Alec answered by capturing her chin between his fingers-possessive, claiming.

"Once you're mine," he whispered, "I don't give you back."

A shiver ran through her.

"I'm not asking you to."

Lightning cracked across the city sky.

Alec Draven, a man who lived for control, felt something shift violently inside him-dangerous, addictive, consuming.

This wasn't a fling.

Not a game.

Not even lust.

It was the beginning of something darker-

An arrangement that would ruin them both.

After a long silence, Alec finally spoke.

"Then tomorrow," he said, eyes locked with hers, "you come to my penthouse. Midnight. Alone."

"And if I don't?"

His smirk was pure arrogance. "You will."

Mira smiled again-soft, unreadable, dangerously tempting.

"And if I do?"

Alec leaned in, lips brushing her ear.

"Then you belong to me."

---

When Mira walked away, Alec watched her until she disappeared into the elevator.

Only then did he whisper to himself:

"I don't know who you are...

but I will."

Because Alec Draven never let anything slip into his life without uncovering the truth behind it.

And Mira was a lie carved into perfection.

A beautiful trap.

One he willingly stepped into.