Chapter 475
Chapter 475:
“He’s dangerous,” I gasped, my hands shaking uncontrollably in my lap. “I can’t explain it, Grant. My memories are still fragmented, but I have this absolute, animal instinct. He hurt me. Do not trust him p>
Grant stared at me in the dim light. Logic and Pack politics dictated that Arthur Sterling was merely a business rival. But Grant’s Lycan Inner Wolf didn’t care about logic — it chose to blindly trust the terror of its Mate.
“I won’t,” Grant vowed, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper.
His eyes went blank for a fraction of a second. Even without access to the Mind-Link, I knew exactly what he was doing. He was ordering his Gamma, Leo, to put Arthur Sterling under relentless surveillance.
I leaned back against the cold leather seat and stared out the bulletproof window. We were driving back to the Georgetown den, hurtling toward the New Year, bound together by a terrifying web of shared enemies and unspoken lies.
𝘛𝗵e 𝖻𝖾𝘴𝘵 𝗿e𝘃ie𝘸ѕ оn
Carmella Golden POV
The frantic, terrifying drive back from New York bled into the quiet, suffocating warmth of the Georgetown den.
It was ten minutes to midnight on New Year’s Eve. The living room was bathed in the golden glow of the fireplace, the windows still framed by twinkling Christmas lights. On the television, a muted broadcast showed the dense, cheering crowds in Times Square waiting for the ball to drop.
The air was thick — a heavy blend of burning birch wood, Grant’s undeniable, commanding scent of rosemary and rain, and the pure, innocent aroma of milk and grass drifting from the small boy on the floor.
“I’ll get the champagne,” Grant murmured, his large hand briefly squeezing my shoulder before he stepped away toward the mahogany wet bar in the corner.
I sat on the edge of the plush sofa, my hands still trembling slightly from the encounter with Arthur Sterling. On the Persian rug at my feet, Jaxon was quietly snapping pieces onto a half-finished Lego Millennium Falcon.
Suddenly, Jaxon stopped. He set the plastic bricks down and climbed onto the sofa beside me. His dark eyes — so much like his father’s, yet entirely devoid of malice — looked up at me with a profound, heartbreaking seriousness.
“Carmella?” Jaxon asked, his small voice barely rising above the crackle of the fire.
“Yes, sweetie?” I whispered, forcing a gentle smile.
He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “At the Pack gatherings — and at school — all the other pups have their Luna mothers with them. They hold their hands.” He swallowed hard, his wolfless body radiating a deep, instinctual longing. “I know my dad is strong. And Grandpa Almon and Uncle Kain are scary strong. But I don’t want just strong Alphas anymore p>
Tears instantly pricked the back of my eyes.
Jaxon reached out, his tiny fingers wrapping around my trembling hand. “Can you be my real mom? Not just for the cameras, or because my dad asked you to. Can you be my mom forever p>