Chapter 271
Chapter 271:
He snapped open a massive black umbrella and stepped seamlessly to my side. As he guided me toward the waiting town car, he pulled me surprisingly close. His hand rested firmly on the small of my back, and as I stumbled slightly over a puddle, his face dipped dangerously close to the sensitive skin of my neck — the exact spot a wolf would claim for a Marking.
I stiffened, but being wolfless, I had no Inner Wolf to warn me of any predatory intent. I simply assumed he was trying to shield my hair from the wind. His crisp, expensive aftershave washed over me, clinging to my clothes in the damp air.
“Thank you, Branden,” I murmured as he opened the car door.
“Just doing my job,” he replied with a flawless smile.
𝗡𝗲𝗐 𝘸𝖾𝘦𝗄𝗅𝘺 c𝘩𝘢𝘱𝗍𝖾𝗿𝘴 𝘰𝗇
As the car pulled away, I didn’t notice the subtle flash of a camera from the Rogue photographer hidden in the alley across the street. Nor did I see the triumphant, venomous smirk that spread across Branden’s face as he watched me leave.
Kain POV
The study in my penthouse den at Blackstone Tower was suffocatingly quiet, save for the low, violent growl vibrating in my chest.
On the mahogany desk, my tablet illuminated the darkened room. It was open to The Howl, the continent’s most notorious werewolf gossip blog. The headline screamed in bold letters, but it was the photograph beneath it that made my blood boil.
It was Adelina. And Branden Cole.
His hand was splayed across her lower back. His face was buried in the crook of her neck, looking for all the world as if he were about to sink his teeth into her flesh and claim what was mine.
MINE! My Inner Wolf roared, thrashing against my ribs. The sheer disrespect — the blatant invasion of my Fated Mate’s space — was a death sentence.
I snatched my phone and dialed her number. She answered on the second ring, the sound of rustling fabric in the background.
“Kain? I’m in the middle of my fitting p>
“Fire him. Now, Adelina. Or I will tear him apart myself,” I snarled, my voice a lethal, vibrating command that left no room for argument.
There was a stunned silence. “Excuse me? Fire who p>
“Cole. I saw the photos. He was practically marking you on the street p>
“Photos? Kain, what are you talking about? He was holding an umbrella!” Her voice spiked with defensive anger. “Are you having me followed? Is that what this collar is — a tracker for your insane jealousy p>
“He is a threat, Adelina! You are too blind to see it p>
“No, you are too controlling to see reason!” she shouted back. “I am not firing an innocent man because your ego can’t handle him handing me a cup of tea. I’ll see you at the Gala — if you can manage to act civilized p>
The line went dead.
A blinding red haze overtook me. I hurled the phone across the room and drove my fist into the solid obsidian wall. The stone splintered with a deafening crack, spiderweb fractures spreading outward from my knuckles.
I opened a secure Mind-Link to my Beta. Xavier. I want Branden Cole’s soul on a platter. Every secret, every debt, every weakness. Find out who holds his leash. I want him erased.