Chapter 53
Chapter 53:
I forced my trembling legs to move, stepping forward to place the blue box on top of the blueprints. “For the act,” I said, my voice sounding hollow and distant. “Tomorrow p>
Kain opened the box. Inside lay a heavy platinum men’s wedding band. His eyes softened instantly, and a deep, rumbling purr vibrated in his chest — a sound of pure satisfaction from his Inner Wolf that I couldn’t smell but could feel resonating through the floorboards.
He slid the ring onto his left hand. “It’s perfect,” he murmured, looking at me with an intensity that made my chest ache. “Thank you p>
I swallowed the razor-sharp lump in my throat, my eyes darting back to the tattoo over his heart. I couldn’t stop the words from spilling out. “Who was she p>
Kain blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Who p>
“A.W.” I pointed a shaking finger at his chest. “The mate you lost p>
Absolute disbelief washed over his striking features. “Adelina, you can’t possibly think p>
“It’s fine,” I cut him off, stepping backward toward the door, the walls of the study suddenly closing in on me. “We agreed not to pry into each other’s private lives. I shouldn’t have asked p>
I didn’t wait for him to explain. I turned and fled down the corridor, the heavy oak door clicking shut behind me before he could utter another word.
Adelina POV
The image of the jagged A.W. tattooed over Kain’s heart had haunted me through the entire sleepless night. It was a brutal branding of my reality — I was nothing but a ghost’s stand-in.
𝗥е𝘢𝗱 𝗳𝗋𝘦𝘦 𝘯о𝘷𝗲ls 𝗈n
Now, sitting in my late father’s Alpha chair inside the Wolfe Manor study, that cold reality settled deep into my bones. The room still held the faint, pure scent of my father’s winter snow, but it was suffocated by the sour, acidic stench of fear and greed radiating from my mother, Carolyn, and my stepfather, Bryan.
Kain stood beside me, an immovable mountain of lethal grace. He slid a single document and a heavy, embossed check across the mahogany desk.
“A Bloodline Severance Contract,” he said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. “Ten million dollars. In exchange, you permanently forfeit all financial, Pack, and familial claims to Adelina p>
I braced myself, waiting for my mother to show a shred of hesitation. To look at me. To say I was worth more than a payout.
She didn’t even blink. Carolyn’s eyes locked onto the zeros on the check, her Inner Wolf practically salivating. She snatched the pen and signed. Bryan followed instantly, his hands trembling with eager avarice. They grabbed the check and scurried out of the study like rats fleeing a sinking ship, not once looking back at the daughter they had just sold.
The heavy oak door clicked shut. I stared at the empty space they left behind, my chest hollowing out.
“It’s done,” Kain said softly, though his jaw was tight. “My father, Almon, was monitoring the negotiation through our Pack mind-link. The firewall around you is absolute p>