Claimed By The Mafia Rogue King (Snow and Cupid) novel Chapter 208

Chapter 208

Snowflakes

The car glided to a silent stop before the towering Frost estate, the lar deg har gliming off its frost–laced windows.

I stepped out onto the crisp gravel, the chill air sing my cheeks as I toned to Pa Mabille with a small, grateful bow.

“Thank you,” I murmured sincerely,

He inclined his head, expression stoic as ever, but the engine remained idling He didn’t pull away. His steady gaze lingered on me through the windshield, patient, watchfel

Cupid’s low voice echoed in my memory. His private instructions to the driver before we parted must have been he should stick around.

Clearly, Pa Nashville had been tasked with chaperoning me all day, a silent shadow ensuring my safety. The realization sent a complicated warmth through me. Protective, possesive. and just a little suffocating.

I turned from him and approached the grand front door. The grounds were quiet. No guards patrolling, no staff in sight as usual,

I tested the handle first, then keyed in the familiar code. The lock disengaged with a soft, welcoming chime, and the heavy door swung inward.

Stepping inside, I drew in a slow, deep breath.

Home.

A small, involuntary smile curved my lips as the tension in my shoulders eased, if only slightly.

I moved through the sunlit living room, heels muffled on the plush rugs, down the wide hallway, and into my bedroom.

Everything was pristine, the bed perfectly made, surfaces dust–free. But my gaze snagged immediately on the dress stand in the corner.

A new gown hung there, midnight–blue silk cascading in elegant folds. Nearly identical to the one Viviana had shredded in her fit of rage.

My stomach twisted. Goosebumps prickled across my arms, raising the fine hairs on my skin.

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Chapter 208

435 Free Couss

One of my brothers must have replaced it. Kashi most likely, with his quiet acts of care. Still, seeing it waiting there like a ghost of the original sent an uneasy shiver down my spine.

I forced myself to turn away, only to freeze again. On the vanity lay my HOWL identification card. The one Viviana had snapped in half with vicious glee,

Now it gleamed whole and new, the lamination crisp, my title bold and proud.

Profiler.

Joy flared bright and hot in my chest. I reached for it, fingers tracing the letters, a fierce grin spreading across my face… until cold reality doused it.

The grin faded, I should have been at the first floor of H.O.W.Light now, buried in the Lins case, doing what I was born to do. Instead, I’d been publicly discredited and removed.

A soft, weary sigh slipped from my lips as I crossed to the bed and sank onto the edge, the mattress yielding beneath me,

Something was profoundly wrong. The pieces didn’t fit, and the harder I looked, the clearer the manipulation became.

My phone felt heavy as I unlocked it. Notifications cascaded down the screen.

Dove’s worried texts stacked one atop another, my brothers checking in, asking where I was. The most recent was from Quince, sent two hours ago.

Check your mail.

Frowning, I opened the attachment. A compressed case file. The complete Lins dossier. My pulse quickened.

I hurried from the bedroom, down the hall to the study, and sent the pages to the printer. The machine whirred to life, spitting out warm sheets that I gathered eagerly, stapling as I scanned.

Mr. Lins Krates, early sixties, found alone in his home, stabbed multiple times in the abdomen. I flipped to the crime–scene photos, and dread slithered cold and heavy into the

room.

I’d known about the multiple stab wounds, but seeing the pattern, the precise clustering, the angles, the frenzied yet deliberate placement struck me like a physical blow. Too familiar. Bone–deep familiar.

Hands trembling. I flipped back to the images, then slowly lifted the hem of my own dress, exposing the faded scars low on my stomach.

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08-37 tue, red 19

Chapter 208

The placement the fury… it mirrored mine als exactly, Adipure Abrand. A psychopath marking ownership on their victim

Goosebumps erupted violently across my skin just as my phone buzzed duply, I jumped. heart slamming against my ribs.

Quince,

I answered instantly,

“Quince, listen. The person who killed Mr. Lins a

“She’s been found,” he cut in, voice oddly flat.

I went still.

“What?”

“The case is nearly closed, Snow. The director’s pushing hard to wrap it. Mr. Lins housekeeper walked into H.O.W.L. this morning and confessed, said she killed him, framed Marlik’s rogue. She’ll be charged, and…”

spot the

“That makes no sense,” I interrupted, voice sharp with disbelief. “Didn’t Mr Gerald lies? A real killer is still out there, Quince. I swear it. This isn’t some domestic dispute. Tell Mr Gerald to think like the actual criminal…”

“The case closes tonight,” he said quietly. “It’s almost Christmas. Everyone wants it over. Be safe.”

The line went dead.

I stood frozen, phone still pressed to my ear, mind reeling. The director, an alpha werewolf, rushing a case closed for Christmas?

Werewolves didn’t cling to human holidays like that. Unless someone was pulling his strings. Threatening him.

Nausea surged. The puzzle wasn’t scattered. It was being deliberately shattered.

“When did you arrive?”

The deep voice jolted me back to the present. I whirled around, files clutched to my chest, heart leaping into my throat.

Roc leaned against the study doorway, arms crossed over his broad chest, dark eyes fixed on me with unreadable intensity.

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Chapter 208

Tension crackled in the air between us.

I swallowed hard, pulse racing.

Now what? Would he demand I leave? Chase me out of the only home I had left? Or was something even worse waiting in those shadowed eyes?

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