Collared by the Mafia Boss

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Run! Get out of there right now! When the hell did I ever tie a devil like the Grim Reaper to your bed?! Cole's scream through the phone almost shattered my eardrum.

My fingertips went numb. The silver dog leash slipped from my grip and clattered against the floor.

The man I thought was a paid gift from my brotherthe man I had shoved a collar onto and toyed with all nightstepped barefoot out of the bathroom. He wasn't some tame male model. He was the mobster who ruled the city's underground.

The most cold-blooded, lethal billionaire heir out there. Silas.

"Done with your call? Looking for a refund?" He lunged, his hand clamping around my ankle. He dragged me right back to the center of the mattress.

His rough fingertips bit into my bones like iron clamps. He didn't even spare me a glance, his grip tightening on pure instinct.

"Take a wild guess. How do you think you're going to die today?"

Chapter 1

Wind howled through the receiver. Cole's voice cracked into a frantic shriek.

The gravity of what I had done finally slammed into me.

Water rushed steadily in the bathroom down the hall. Even an idiot could hear the sheer panic in my brother's tone. I was dead.

Silas's threat from last night echoed in my ears.

"Take a wild guess. How do you think you're going to die?"

I had thought it was just dark foreplay. I had laughed as I buckled the leash around his neck.

"By having too much fun."

I traced the tense line of his jaw and patted his cheek. "I want a pretty, obedient little puppy, and you're it."

A sick, dark gleam flashed in his narrow eyes. His lips curled into a faint smirk. "My hearing isn't the best. I can't really make out soft, little whimpers for mercy."

I didn't care. A pretty puppy belonged beneath me. I admit, I acted on pure impulse.

Then, my vision blurred for the first time. I tried to crawl away, begging him to stop.

Silas's hand clamped around my ankle, dragging me right back. His voice was lazy, thick with gravel. He dragged out the last word.

"I told you. I can't hear you."

I passed out four times. I slept like a corpse.

By the time I woke up, the sun was sinking fast. Silas was in the shower.

I dialed my brother's number. My top was shredded to pieces, my dress ruined. I grabbed his shirt, his jacketeverything he had left outand bolted into the street like I was running for my life.

Once I made it home, I stumbled up the stairs, collapsed into my bed, and pulled the covers over my head. I opened my phone.

I frantically scoured the internet for everything I could find on Silas. The articles made my blood run cold. And there was one more thing. He was notoriously vengeful.

Cole had been rock climbing nearby. He rushed back, his hair a chaotic mess. When he saw the red marks covering my skin, he assumed I'd been beaten.

He started swearing a blue streak in panic. "Fuck! That animal!"

"Silas, you sick, twisted bastard! Look what you did to my sister"

Once he finally calmed down, he sat on the edge of the bed and glared at me. "Penelope, are you out of your damn mind?!"

I mumbled under my breath. "I thought you arranged it."

He choked. He took a heavy breath to steady himself. "Pen, I love you, but I only have one fucking life"

I kept my voice low. "I thought you were finally moving up in the world."

The Silas I saw at the galathe man everyone else avoided like the plaguesomehow defeated by my brother. And my brother serving him up as my present.

He was about to explode. "Do you not realize your brother is just dumb, new money?!" He raised his hand, wanting to smack me hard on the forehead. But seeing my bruised skin, he dropped his arm.

"Hey he definitely used protection, right?" He looked at me, desperate for a yes.

I clamped my mouth shut.

The word ground out from between his teeth. "Bitch. Animal. Bastard."

"Silas! That damn son of a bitch! I'll fucking kill him!"

Watching his absolute fury, I didn't dare tell him the truth. Silas hadn't willingly submitted. I was the one who pushed him down when his skin was burning up. I had thought someone spiked his drink.

Now, looking back, he might have just been running a massive fever.

Cole scrambled to leave to get me Plan B.

I sneezed hard. "Cole, grab some cold medicine too."

He nodded, pointing a stern finger at me. "Stay in the house. Do not go outside."

I hummed an obedient yes.

That night, my muscles ached so much I couldn't sleep.

Paige texted me, eager to spill some gossip.

"Today was the family conglomerate's annual closed-door meeting, and the guy hosting it showed up late."

I let out a yawn.

"Do you have any idea how wild he went? His neck and collarbones were covered in bite marks and hickeys. And he was still wearing a collar."

She painted a vivid picture. A man in a sharp black suit, standing tall as he walked through the heavy crowd. Slowly, deliberately pouring a drink. His grandfather was furious, demanding to know where the hell he had been the last two days.

Chapter 2

The man brushed it off, his voice flat. "Being someone's dog."

Paige's squeal through the phone nearly shattered my eardrum. "He looked like a gorgeous demon straight out of The Vampire Diaries. The collar was silver, gleaming under the lights. Completely unreal!"

"His grandfather was so furious he smashed a wine glass, cursing him out for acting like street trash. Once the meeting ended, a few of his uncles egged the old man on, and they had him dragged straight into the basement for a brutal private beating."

She sent me a picture.

A man kneeling on the floor, hands locked behind his back, his shirt soaked in blood. Old money families didn't hold back when it came to underground justice; they went for the kill.

I pinched the screen to zoom in on his jawline. My chest seized. Ice flooded my veins.

Silas.

Something suddenly clicked. I opened the friend requests I'd ignored earlier that evening.

[Silas: Did you take my suit jacket?]

[Image: A harsh angle of his collarbone, the silver collar locked tight against his skin.]

[Silas: The key to the collar is in the jacket pocket.]

[Silas: I have a meeting I can't show up like this.]

[Silas: Bring the key back, and I'll let the rest slide.]

[Silas: Do not let me catch you ??????????????????]

When I got tested as a kid, the doctor said being born premature left me with a mild cognitive delay. I always figured I was fineI could take care of myself, I could talk to people, my grades just sucked.

Now it finally made sense. Why they always called me an idiot behind my back.

I really was just dumb and hopelessly horny!

Cole only ever hired pretty guys to hang out with me before. A little hand-holding, tops. Why would he suddenly serve up an actual predator?

Two days ago, everything seemed completely normal. Cole said he was heading up to the mountains to rock climb. Worried I'd get bored, he hired someone to keep me company.

"Cost me a fortune to get this guy out of the house, Pen. I'll even give you a pass to cop a few feels."

I nodded eagerly.

Half an hour later, I was waiting by the campus gates when Silas walked up, carrying an aura of pure ice. The second our eyes met, I was a goner. He wore a casual blue trench coat that highlighted his tall, lean frame. He looked like a dark, gorgeous fallen angel stepping straight out of the night.

I stared at him. "You are so pretty. You must have cost a fortune, huh?"

Silas looked down at me like I was a joke, the corner of his mouth ticking up. "Hmm?"

It was early spring. Animal mating season. And clearly, my hormones were fully kicking in.

I rose up on my toes and planted my lips right against his.

Silas's detached, untouchable expression instantly shattered. He looked so tough, but his lips were impossibly soft. My kiss was completely clumsy. A few accidental teeth scrapes later, he lost his patience.

He ripped away his restrained facade, his hand roughly clamping the back of my head as he flipped the dynamic and took control. He kissed me hard, relentless and heavy like crashing rain.

It took a long moment before his sanity snapped back into place. He shoved me back a step, his dark eyes drilling into mine. His tone was deadly serious. "Do you know what you're doing right now?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm kissing you."

He let out a heavy breath. "And who am I?"

I nodded. "Silas."

My memory was terrible. Out of that entire massive gala, his was the only name that stuck in my head.

He froze for a split second. The pad of his thumb brushed against my cheek, tracing my skin with a slow, deliberate friction. "What else do you know? Besides my name."

I dug through my brain. Total blank.

Like he found the whole thing ridiculous, the faint smirk vanished. His gaze dropped, turning dark. "Are you this easy with everyone?"

Before I could even open my mouth, his driver pulled the car around to the curb. "Boss, you're picking her up here? Should we head straight to City Hall for the marriage license?"

Marriage license. I stared up at his lethal, gorgeous face. Cole really went all out for me!

I scrambled to pull out my ID card. "Let's go get registered! Then you'll be my legally official puppy!"

Then it hit me. It was Saturday.

"Are they even open for marriages on a Saturday?" I asked.

The driver shot me a loaded look in the rearview mirror. He said yes. His eyes scanned my childish outfit from head to toe. Then, his gaze shifted to Silas.

Chapter 3

"Boss, are you sure this is Colton"

Silas cut him off. His knuckles brushed against my wrist as his gaze dropped. "Let's go, Penelope."

The driver's eyebrow twitched, but he swallowed whatever he was going to say and quietly put the car in drive.

Silas stayed silent the entire ride. His phone kept vibrating with incoming calls, but he just instantly hit decline every single time.

I got bored and started playing with his hand. "You're so hot. Do you have a fever?"

Up front, the driver choked on his own spit.

Silas quietly pulled his hand back, pressing a finger to his lips to signal me to be quiet.

Cole had said he paid a fortune for this guy. I needed to get my money's worth.

I grabbed his large hand again, lacing my fingers through his. "Are you nervous?" I asked out of nowhere. "Why are your palms sweating?"

This time, Silas was the one who coughed. He clearly wasn't used to smiling, because the smirk he forced looked completely stiff. He looked away. "I'm hot."

The early spring air still carried a chill. But he was a man. His body temperature was just always higher than everyone else's, like a walking furnace.

I let it drop and ended up falling asleep against his shoulder halfway there. Through the haze, I heard fragmented murmurs.

Arranged marriage. Ridiculous. Lunatic. Private punishment.

I didn't understand any of it. When I finally woke up, I was groggy, just blindly following directions to sign the registry. All I knew about marriage was that it was some kind of contract. Vows, responsibilities, shackles, cagesI had zero clue what any of that actually meant.

My memory was terrible. Things just never stuck.

But after hiding in my room for the last few days frantically searching the internet, it finally clicked. Marriage was a trap. A literal grave.

And getting a marriage license with someone like Silas? That was a one-way ticket to hell.

Cole's business went under. Every day, furious partners and investors showed up at our house, screaming and causing a scene.

I sat on my bedroom floor, tearing at my messy hair as I listened to Cole screaming at our parents downstairs. "Why the fuck isn't there a test to become a parent?!"

Cole roared until his voice cracked. "You both completely failed! Why did you even have kids?!"

I could practically see his lip trembling with rage. "Last time you wanted to hand her over to Milton! The time before that, it was Vernon! Every time a crisis hits, your first instinct is to pawn off your own fucking daughter!"

Donald always had a vicious temper. He snapped right back. "You think just because you hide her away, we wouldn't find out who touched her?!"

He screamed about how furious he was when he first found out. He'd hired someone to investigate, pulled the security footage, and realized the man who walked out of the room after me was Silas.

An unlimited black card. Latching onto him meant completely crossing class lines.

And right on cue, the massive project Cole just signed completely fell apart. The client was a subsidiary controlled by Silas's conglomerate. Silas was forcing me out of hiding.

"Since she's already been slept with, we might as well sell her for a good price! You treat an idiot like she's some kind of treasure"

"Donald, you old bastard!"

A heavy thud shook the floorboards, followed by the crash of shattering glass and flying fists.

I curled up tighter, wrapping my arms around my knees. My mind kept flashing back to Silas and those dark, cunning eyes.

That night, he had resisted when I tried to put the collar on him. I thought he was just pocketing the money without doing his job, so I slapped him.

A flush of red instantly crept across his pale skin. A low, inexplicable groan vibrated thick in the back of his throat.

Pinned beneath me, his lips curled into a wicked smirk. "Do you know what it means to put a collar on a wolf?"

I shook my head.

"It means," he murmured, "if you don't keep taming it, it's going to turn feral and bite its master right back."

Seeing my blank expression, he raised his hand. His warm palm cupped my cheek, his thumb grazing my skin.

His voice dropped, rough and thick with heat. "Kid, there's no going back from this. Think carefully."

I leaned down and kissed him. Pulling back just an inch, I asked, "Think about what?"

The man beneath me arched his hips, his long arms sliding around my waist. In one fluid motion, he flipped me flat onto my back, his heavy frame caging me in. "Taming."

Then, he guided my hand, his fingers completely engulfing mine, letting me snap the silver collar shut around his neck.

Chapter 4

"There's also reinforcement training, constant soothing, and even suppression, until the wildness is completely stripped away. Until" He pressed the end of the leash into my palm, his dark eyes heavy with meaning. "you can effortlessly hold this leash."

Cole had trained unsocialized large rescue dogs before. It was the exact same process Silas was describing.

I asked, "You mean, like taming a large breed dog?"

Cole had always said it was too dangerous and never let me tag along. I could only watch from a distance.

"You're too small," Cole had warned me. "You don't know how to use a weapon. A feral beast is too wild. It could snap your neck in one bite."

It suddenly hit me.

Silas was a wild wolf. And I had mistaken him for a puppy. I had humiliatingly forced a collar onto him.

That night, when I tried to crawl away and begged him to stop for the first time He leaned over, his massive frame pressing flush against my back, caging me in. Scorching breath fanned against my earlobe. His voice was low, magnetic, and completely lethal. "From now on, you better remember to hold tightly onto that leash. Keep soothing the beast, or you're going to get devoured"

My mind was a blur. He tossed me around, wrecking me. But that first round didn't last very long.

I tried to push him away, but he caught my fingers, his teeth grazing the base of my knuckle in a light bite.

I instinctively tensed my body.

Silas suddenly shuddered violently. A flash of pure panic cut through his dark eyes.

My hands were shaking as I reached up to unclip the leash. "I I don't want a puppy anymore."

His entire demeanor shifted. The warmth drained from his eyes, leaving pure ice. He pinned my wrists securely above my head. His teeth clamped down hard on the soft flesh of my arm.

I gasped in pain and bit down viciously on his shoulder in retaliation.

But Silas didn't show a hint of anger. A dark chuckle vibrated in his chest. "Mhm. I suppose this counts as a taming method too. But since you hooked me, if you ever dare to give up"

His long, defined fingers traced slowly down the length of the leash, trailing all the way down to my ankle. He locked his grip around it and yanked me flush against his body. "If I catch you, this collar is going on you."

"And" His other hand slid up to wrap around my throat, his thumb slowly stroking my pulse point in a menacing rhythm. "I'll lock you up in a cage, and you'll never get it off."

The memory made me shiver. He was absolutely terrifying. I wiped away a stray tear.

Cole walked in, carrying a bucket of fried chicken. His voice dropped over me. "What the hell are you crying for? Worst case scenario, I'll go back to selling hot dogs from a street cart. We won't starve to death."

He pointed a warning finger at me. "Penelope, I'm not blaming you. I know exactly what's going on in that little head of yours. Silas, that sick bastard, is just trying to force you out of hiding."

He sat down next to me and picked out a massive drumstick, handing it over. "So we're just going to stay right here. It's just a business deal. It's not like we haven't been dead broke before."

But Donald and Gloria refused to go back to living in poverty.

I stared at the dark bruises covering Cole's face and armsthe aftermath of Donald's beating. A heavy, suffocating ache swelled in my chest.

I ran into Silas. Completely by force.

Paige claimed she and Silas were distant relatives. That they weren't close at all.

My face burned with absolute rage. I cornered her. "Not close? Then why the hell is he at your college graduation?!"

She winked, nudging my arm. "My mom said he came to thank us for those boxes of limited-edition cigars our family gifted him at the last family gathering."

Wait. Did that even make sense?

Right as she said it, Silas strolled over, holding a massive bouquet of flowers.

My feet were cemented to the ground. I didn't dare lift my head. My nails dug so hard into my palms they almost drew blood.

My heart hammered against my ribs so violently it felt like one of us was going to die today.

"Hi, Uncle Silas," Paige greeted him politely.

Silas handed her the bouquet, completely acting like I didn't exist. He sounded exactly like a strict, old-school patriarch, grilling her about her GPA, her career plans, and her future goals.

I stood off to the side, cold sweat dripping down my spine.

Suddenly, Paige looped her arm through mine. "Uncle Silas, this is my best friend, Penelope."

I was so terrified I let out an involuntary hiccup. Paige knew I only hiccuped when I was scared out of my mind.

"Do you two know each other?" Paige asked.

"Never met her," Silas said flatly.

Chapter 5

He gave me a brief, completely flat glance. "Ms. Penelope."

His movements were polite and distant. He looked like a man meeting someone for the very first time.

I clung to a tiny, desperate shred of hope. Maybe his fever was so high that night he genuinely didn't remember my face?

I forced myself to stay calm and politely said hello.

He just gave a brief nod. "Mhm."

A moment later, Paige's classmates walked over to figure out where the graduation after-party was going to be. I hung out with her a lot, so most of them recognized me.

One of the rich frat boys had been making moves on me. He handed me a beautiful box of pastries, letting out a low chuckle. "Paige told me you loved these. I stood in line since dawn to finally grab a box."

Put food in front of me, and my brain completely stops working. He knew exactly how to bribe me. In my book, that made him a good guy.

"Thank you!"

I happily walked around the campus with him, playing the stupid carnival games set up on the field. I was oblivious to the lethal, piercing stare burning into my back from the shadows.

For two entire weeks after that, I didn't see Silas once.

It was like his fever had completely wiped his memory of the girl who collared him. I finally let out a massive breath of relief.

The guy with the pastries was Trent. He was incredibly attentive. I explicitly told Trent I didn't want a boyfriend.

He just brushed it off. "Me liking you is my business. Whether you accept it is your choice."

He even humored all my weird little quirks. Whenever he traveled the world, he'd snap photos of random manhole covers. I had this ridiculous, steadfast belief that scanning the random QR codes stuck to street grates was a secret ticket to a magical world.

One time, scanning a photo he sent actually triggered a surprise.

The "magical world" mailed me a parrot messenger. A heavy kraft paper envelope came with it, bearing a note:

Trigger the secret phrase, and the messenger will reveal your true love.

I sat there and earnestly asked the parrot where my true love was.

It squawked back:

"Your prince is out for delivery! Clue: He has your favorite animal in his left pocket!"

The very next second, the doorbell rang.

Trent stood there. Poking out of his left chest pocket was a curly-haired guinea pig, happily munching on a piece of Timothy hay.

I had never even told him what my favorite animal was.

Seeing me, he arched an eyebrow. "Wanna adopt the human too?"

I was just about to nod. Then, Cole came home.

Trent ghosted me for a whole day after that. But I wasn't in a rush. Cole always said if I was going to date anyone, they had to pass his background check first.

I crouched by the glass enclosure, listening to the guinea pig squeak as it chewed on hay.

Paige texted me an address. She was heading abroad for a while and wanted to get drinks for a farewell party.

"Guess what! I booked a standard room, but the manager said I was the lucky customer of the day and gave us a massive free upgrade to the VIP suite!"

I grabbed my bag and headed over.

Room 3011.

I walked down the hall and passed Room 3010. The door was cracked open.

I spotted Trent's face. Sitting squarely in his lap was a gorgeous, scantily clad woman. The room was packed with people.

Someone let out a loud whistle. "Damn, it's only been a minute! You already took down the idiot?!"

Trent looked incredibly smug. "Handling an idiot is child's play. Just use some cheap parlor tricks. Make her believe in a magical world. Have a little parrot squawk, 'Your true love is Trent!'"

The whole room erupted into mocking laughter. "What a moron."

Trent casually leaned in and kissed the woman on his lap. He kept talking. "The girls I usually mess with are way too calculating. They always want an equal trade. They want the money, the love, and they're always eyeing the wife slot on a marriage certificate."

Another trust fund kid exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "If you hadn't called dibs first, I would've hit that ages ago."

Trent arched an eyebrow. "Her brother keeps her on a tight leash. She's definitely still a clean virgin."

Chapter 6

"But after I'm done having my fun, whoever else wants a taste can get in line."

Multiple hands shot up in the air.

"Trent, man, she might be an idiot, but that face is absolutely gorgeous. She's definitely starring in my wet dreams tonight, hehe. Let's just feed her another magical fairy tale and all go at her at once. We can place bets on whose kid she gets pregnant with first"

"Holy shit, Colton, you are fucking disgusting."

The guy casually leaned back against the sofa. "Then go be a celibate saint yourself."

He scoffed, clearly not having it. "Screw that. If we're having fun, we're doing it together"

Standing by the door, a violent chill completely seized my spine. My stomach violently churned.

"Hey, whose shadow is that by the door"

The heavy scrape of a chair shoving back echoed from inside. I spun on my heel and sprinted frantically toward the elevators.

The metal doors were an inch from sliding completely shut.

Pure luck. A large, distinctively knuckled hand shot out, wedging between the metal panels and forcing them back open.

I scrambled inside. That same hand immediately slammed the close door button.

The elevator jerked upward. He had pressed the button for the penthouse floor.

I turned my head to thank him. "Thank"

The word choked in my throat. A different kind of terror wrecked my nerves.

Silas.

Looped around his pale, sculpted hand was a gleaming silver dog leash.

A faint smirk traced the corner of his mouth. His dark gaze swept over my face like a feather, carrying a lethal, suffocating weight.

"Long time no see