Chapter 344
Chapter 344:
My assistant knocked softly and stepped inside. “Ms. Wolfe, Marcus just called from the airfield. Lord Blackwell’s private jet took off for the global Alpha summit in Frankfurt thirty minutes ago. He also requested that your Blackstone Warrior detail be doubled until he returns p>
“Thank you,” I murmured, waving her away.
The door clicked shut. I looked out at a flock of birds flying freely between the skyscrapers, and a sudden, suffocating emptiness settled in my chest. Kain was an ocean away, yet his control over my environment was absolute. He had locked down my world to protect me from the phantom retaliation of the Rogues his family had just created.
Then, a heavy, intoxicating wave of ancient cedar brushed against my consciousness.
Through the fragile, incomplete mate-bond tethering my wolfless soul to his, Kain’s dark, gravelly voice vibrated directly in my mind.
Wait for me.
Po𝘱𝗎𝘭𝘢𝗋 ѕ𝗍𝗈𝘳ie𝘀 𝗼n.со𝗺
Only three words—but they carried the crushing weight of a Lycan’s possessive command. I closed my eyes, my fingers trembling slightly against the edge of my desk. I was the core of this entire conflict, the protected Queen, yet I had never felt more isolated. I realized then, with a profound and chilling clarity, that I hadn’t just married a man who loved me. I had bound myself to a massive, cold, and entirely unchallengeable power.
Carmella POV
The heavy leather folder hit the marble table with a resounding thud, rattling my porcelain teacup.
“Pick one,” Eleanor Hawthorne demanded. Her scent—a cloying, suffocating heavy rose—pressed against me, thick with absolute Beta authority.
I stared at the glossy profiles of single Alphas spilling from the folder. “I am not a piece of property to be traded for your social climbing, Eleanor p>
My mother’s eyes narrowed into cold slits. “You are a wolfless woman whose value depreciates every single day. If you do not select a suitable match by the end of the month, Charles and I will cut off your trust fund and freeze every asset attached to the Hawthorne name. You will learn exactly what happens to a wolfless stray in this world p>
A cold spike of panic pierced my chest, quickly swallowed by a surge of reckless, desperate fury.
“I don’t need your money, and I don’t need your pathetic candidates,” I snapped, the lie tumbling from my lips before I could stop it. “I already have a partner. A mate. Someone older and far more powerful than anyone in this pathetic folder p>
Eleanor let out a sharp, mocking scoff. “A powerful mate? For a broken Omega? Prove it. Bring this imaginary savior to the family dinner this Friday night. If he doesn’t walk through my doors, I am calling the lawyers on Monday to officially disown you p>
She stood up, her heels clicking sharply against the floor as she walked out of the upscale Manhattan café, leaving me entirely trapped in my own bluff.
My hands trembled as I opened my purse. I dug past my lipstick and keys until my fingers brushed a thick, cream-colored card. The gold-embossed Capitol seal caught the café’s lighting. Grant Blackwell.
I was out of options. Taking a shaky breath, I dialed his private number.
He answered on the second ring. “Carmella p>