Chapter 138
Chapter 138:
I drew a shaky breath and wiped the blood from my lip. I couldn’t stay in this room another second. I needed the sanctuary of the Blackstone penthouse. I grabbed my sunglasses and a silk scarf to conceal the glaring red mark on my face, pushed myself off the floor, and headed for the elevator, praying the underground parking garage would be empty.
Adelina POV
The underground parking garage of The Wolfe Hotel was a cavern of concrete and shadows. My heels clicked against the pavement, echoing in the oppressive silence. I adjusted my silk scarf and oversized sunglasses, desperate to conceal the throbbing, hand-shaped welt Carolyn had left on my cheek. My dark grey Porsche Panamera sat beneath a flickering fluorescent light, its headlights flashing as I hit the unlock button.
Before I could reach the door handle, a figure stepped out from behind a concrete pillar.
The stench hit me first — stale cigar smoke failing to mask the sour, rotting scent of a Beta’s fear and resentment. Vincent Parrish.
“Adelina,” he said, his voice dripping with sickeningly false sympathy. “Your face — Carolyn always did have a temper p>
I didn’t flinch. I kept my hand firmly on my purse. “Get out of my way, Vincent p>
His mask slipped, his jaw tightening as his Inner Wolf whined with frustration. “You’re playing a dangerous game, little girl. Carolyn is unhinged, and you’ve just stripped her of everything. Do you really think a wolfless outcast can survive out here alone? Real predators will tear you apart before the week is out p>
“The game is over,” I said, my voice stripped of all emotion, cutting through the damp air. “And the Parrish family is nothing to me p>
I slid into the driver’s seat, slammed the heavy door shut, and locked it. I didn’t look back as I peeled out of the garage and merged into the neon-lit veins of the New York night. The final thread was cut. I was entirely on my own.
Kain POV
𝘑оі𝗇 𝘰𝗎𝘳 со𝘮𝗆𝘂n𝘪𝗍𝗒 𝘰𝗻
The grand ballroom of The Continental Alpha Council Charity Gala was suffocating. Crystal chandeliers poured light over a sea of the continent’s elite, the air thick with expensive perfumes and the heavy, territorial scents of dozens of Alphas posturing for dominance.
But I couldn’t focus on any of it.
Deep in my chest, the faint, fragile thread of my mate-bond was vibrating with a dull, throbbing ache — not physical pain, but an echo of emotional trauma, a sharp sting of humiliation and betrayal that didn’t belong to me. My Inner Wolf paced relentlessly, snarling at the invisible threat to our Luna.
“Keeping your beard on a short leash tonight?” a voice sneered over the rim of a champagne flute.
I turned. Jase Davenport stood there, reeking of metallic jealousy and blind ambition. He smirked, leaning in closer. “Or is Fletcher not enough to keep you warm p>
The ambient noise of the gala faded to a dull roar. I closed the distance between us in a fraction of a second, my sheer size dwarfing him. I leaned down and let the ancient, suffocating aura of my Lycan blood bleed into the space between us.