Page 103 of Mason

A contract inked in blood, binding two powerhouses together in an unshakable truce.

But somewhere along the way, they fell in love.

Scar—the cold-blooded killer, the ruthless mastermind, the man feared by his enemies and revered by his allies—helovedher.

Not as a trophy. Not as a duty. But with a force that shook him to his core.

And Allegra? She didn’t just love him back—shechosehim.

Not out of obligation. Not because their fathers dictated it.

But because she saw through the beast to the man beneath.

But don’t mistake her for some delicate, coddled princess.

Allegra Marone is no fragile thing.

She proved it when she was taken.

Kidnapped.

Held captive by Altin Kadri—the Albanian who thought he could use her as leverage, who thought he could break her the way others before him had broken women weaker than her.

She was locked away alongside Lula, Kanyan’s girl—two women stolen from the men who would burn the world to bring them home.

But Allegra? She did not break.

She did not bow. Did not beg. Did not shame the legacy of her name.

She endured. She survived.

And when Scar found her—when he laid eyes on his wife after days of blood-soaked rage, after slaughtering his way through hell to bring her back?—

He knew she wasn’t just his wife.

She was his queen.

And that is why, when Allegra put her foot down and told Scar that the war room belonged here, beneath their home—he listened.

He wanted to believe he could keep the empire separate.

That their house could remain untouched by the violence.

But he isn’t a fool. Not after what happened. Not after nearly losing her.

So now?

This basement—layered with steel-reinforced walls, armed with a security system that makes government facilities look like a joke—this is his real throne.

His city office still stands, but it’s an afterthought.

A relic of a time when he thought he could be two men at once.

This is where he rules.

And tonight?

This is where we prepare for war.

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