Chapter Five – You Belong to Me Now

Alec Virelli made his first call at 5:02 AM.

While Serena still slept in his bed, curled in his sheets, Alec stood by the window in nothing but dark slacks, his jaw clenched, voice cold as steel.

"I want a full background check on the name Dimitri Vale. Every connection. Every dollar. Every death he's ever touched."

The man on the other end of the phone paused. "That name rings a lot of federal alarms, Alec."

"I don't care," he growled. "He's after her. I want to know what kind of monster thinks he can steal what's mine."

---

By 9 AM, three private security teams had been hired.

By 10, his penthouse was locked down with facial recognition and new biometric systems.

And by 11… he'd ordered a gun to be delivered to his drawer.

Because Alec Virelli wasn't the kind of man who waited for problems to knock.

He kicked the door open first.

---

Meanwhile…

Serena stood in front of the mirror in the walk-in closet, her fingers gently buttoning up a crisp white shirt—his shirt. Again.

She stared at herself.

Bare legs. Messy hair. A faint bruise on her neck from the night before. A mark from Alec.

Mine.

She could still hear his voice echo in her head.

But underneath the warmth of memory… there was fear.

Dimitri is coming.

And if Alec wasn't careful—he'd get pulled into a war he didn't understand.

Serena turned around when she heard footsteps.

Alec entered the room fully dressed: fitted black suit, blood-red tie, cufflinks still undone. His eyes landed on her immediately—taking her in like she was the only thing that existed.

"You're quiet this morning," he said.

"I'm thinking."

He walked up to her, took her hand, and silently began buttoning the cuff of her sleeve. The gesture was oddly… intimate. Domestic. Dangerous.

"You're safe here," he said firmly.

She looked up at him. "You don't understand what he's capable of."

"I understand enough." Alec met her eyes. "And I'm not afraid of him."

"You should be."

He leaned in close, his mouth brushing her ear. "He should be afraid of me."

---

Later That Afternoon – Club Nocturne

Alec stood in the back office of Nocturne, watching security footage from the past week. Serena sat silently on the couch behind him, arms wrapped around herself, watching his shoulders tense as he rewound the feed again and again.

Until finally—

"There," he growled.

He paused the screen.

Serena stood and moved beside him.

There, on the corner of the footage, barely visible—a man in a black coat, watching her enter the club that night.

It wasn't Alec watching her.

It was him.

Her stomach dropped.

"He found me," she whispered.

Alec stared at the screen with murder in his eyes. "Not anymore."

He turned to her, stepping close.

"You need to understand something, Serena," he said quietly.

"You're not alone in this. You walked into my life and flipped it upside down, and I didn't stop you. I let it happen. And now, you don't get to run."

"I'm not trying to run."

"Then stop looking at me like I'm temporary."

She blinked.

"I will burn his world down to protect you," Alec said, voice calm and terrifying. "I don't care who he is. I don't care what he thinks he owns. Because the second you touched me…"

He cupped her jaw, gently tilting her head back.

"…you belonged to me."

---

That Night

Serena couldn't sleep.

She lay awake in Alec's bed, staring at the ceiling while the storm outside lit up the sky in flashes.

Alec entered the room late—shirt half-unbuttoned, expression unreadable. His tie was gone. His knuckles bruised.

Her eyes widened. "What did you do?"

"I sent a message."

"Alec—"

He pulled his shirt off, tossing it aside, walking to the bed slowly.

"Three of his men were seen tailing you. They won't be anymore."

"You didn't—"

"I didn't kill them," he interrupted. "But I made sure they knew what it would cost to touch you again."

Serena sat up, her voice breaking. "You're getting involved in something you can't control."

"No." He climbed onto the bed, leaned over her, his voice deadly. "I am the thing people can't control."

He kissed her—not like before.

Not soft.

Not playful.

But like he was staking his claim.

Her fingers curled into his hair. She kissed him back with the same urgency, same need. Their bodies tangled again like they were desperate to forget the world.

She moaned his name against his lips. "Alec…"

"Say it again."

"Alec…"

His mouth moved to her neck, his hand sliding under the shirt she wore. "You're not leaving this bed tonight."

"I don't want to."

His voice dropped. "Good. Because I'd tie you down if you tried."

Her breath hitched.

And when he looked into her eyes, there was no teasing.

Only truth.

---

But Far Below… In the Shadows

A black car waited near Alec's building.

Inside, Dimitri watched the lights of the penthouse flicker off.

"She's there," he said coldly.

"Yes, sir."

"She thinks she's safe," Dimitri continued. "She thinks he'll protect her."

He leaned forward.

"Let them believe that."

A cruel smile touched his lips.

"Because when I take her back… I want her to watch me burn everything he built."