Chapter 178
Chapter 178:
A few weeks ago, a threat of that magnitude would have sent my wolfless Omega instincts into a spiral of panic. But standing in the garden of my ancestors, fortified by my grandmother’s blessing and the absolute destruction Kain had rained upon the Parrish empire, I felt nothing but cold, unyielding Alpha authority.
“Get in line,” I replied flatly.
I hung up before the lawyer could utter another syllable and immediately opened the mind-link to my Director of Operations. Harvey. Block the number that just called me. Permanently.
Done, Luna, Harvey’s loyal voice echoed back instantly.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket, a fierce, unfamiliar confidence settling deep into my bones. I was the Queen of this territory now.
But as I walked down the stone path, Maeve’s words echoed relentlessly through my mind. His Inner Wolf screams Mine!
R𝘰𝗆an𝖼𝘦 ո𝘰𝘷𝘦𝗅ѕ 𝗼𝘯
I stopped near a large laurel tree. Driven by a sudden, reckless impulse to test the boundaries of our so-called business arrangement, I reached out through the fragile, vibrating mate-bond connecting me to the Lycan King.
My grandmother says you have teeth, I mind-linked him.
I braced myself, fully expecting a dark, possessive quip or a tyrant’s arrogant smirk to bleed through the connection — the dangerous predator who had beaten Jase Davenport half to death.
Instead, the atmospheric pressure in my mind shifted into something breathtakingly soft. A thick, intoxicating wave of ancient cedar washed over my senses, carrying a deep, rumbling voice entirely stripped of its usual glacial armor.
Your grandmother is a wise woman, Kain replied, his tone laced with a genuine, tender concern that made my breath hitch. Get some rest, little wolf.
The link faded, leaving a warm, electric tingling at the base of my spine. I stood alone in the garden, my heart hammering a frantic, undeniable rhythm against my ribs. A genuine smile broke across my face. The rules of our game were shifting, and for the first time, I found myself wanting to play.
Adelina POV
The morning sun filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Blackstone penthouse, warming the cool black silk sheets. I lay perfectly still, the phantom heat of yesterday’s velvet roses and that breathtakingly soft mind-link still lingering in my chest.
Then a deep, vibrating warmth bloomed in my skull — not an Alpha’s Command, but a tentative, private mind-link.
Mrs. Higgins prepared breakfast. Eat something, little wolf. You need your strength.
My heart executed a frantic, traitorous flutter against my ribs. I squeezed my eyes shut. His Inner Wolf screams Mine! my grandmother Maeve had said. But Maeve was old, her mind clouded by the romanticized legends of true mates. She didn’t know about the Mating Contract.
Kain was just playing the part of the perfect, attentive husband to secure his Pack’s stability. I couldn’t let myself fall for a beautiful illusion. I severed the link and forced my walls back up to freezing temperatures.
An hour later, the chaotic, human chatter of Sadelle’s in SoHo was a welcome distraction.