Chapter 445
Chapter 445:
“You win, Grant,” I said, my voice dropping into the icy, calculated tone I reserved for hostile takeovers. “But I am not playing the victim anymore. We are making a deal p>
Grant leaned back, steepling his fingers. His Lycan Inner Wolf savored the moment. “I’m listening p>
“I will play your public Mate,” I stated, locking eyes with the monster who held my heart hostage. “I will smile for the cameras and secure your ‘perfect family’ political image. In exchange, I move into your den. I get unlimited, unrestricted access to Jaxon, and you initiate the legal proceedings to establish my full maternal guardianship immediately p>
Grant stood, his massive frame eclipsing the light from the window. He walked slowly around the desk, his aura radiating a suffocating, absolute victory. He stopped inches from me and reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
“You drive a hard bargain, Carmella,” he murmured, his voice a dark, vibrating rumble that sent a shiver down my spine. He leaned in, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “Welcome home, Mrs. Blackwell p>
It was a collar forged in twisted love and absolute control, and I was slipping it around my own neck.
“Take me to him,” I demanded, refusing to flinch.
Within the hour, Grant’s armored Cadillac SUV pulled up to the heavy wrought-iron gates of The Blackstone Preparatory Academy. The street was lined with black security vehicles, the air heavy with the disciplined scents of elite Pack Warriors.
D𝘰𝘸𝗇l𝗼a𝖽 P𝘋𝘍𝘴 𝖿𝗿e𝗲 о𝗻
I stepped out of the car, Grant’s heavy hand resting possessively on the small of my back. I was walking into a Lycan’s cage — but as the school doors opened and I prepared to see my son, I knew I would burn in hell a thousand times over just to hold him again.
Adelina Wolfe POV
The clinking of heavy silver against fine bone china echoed like gunshots in the cavernous dining room of the Blackstone Estate in the Hamptons.
I sat stiffly near the center of the long mahogany table, my gaze fixed blindly on my plate. At the head of the table sat Almon Blackwell. The former Alpha King’s sharp, calculating eyes darted between Kain and me, his heavy aura pressing down on the room as he silently evaluated the fractured state of our Mate-bond.
Beside me, Kain shifted. His massive frame was coiled tight with tension. In a silent, desperate bid to bridge the chasm between us, he reached over with the silver serving tongs and placed a perfectly seared scallop onto my plate.
“You need to eat, Adelina,” Kain murmured, his deep voice carrying a strained gentleness.
My dormant White Wolf bristled with wounded pride. I didn’t want his pity, and I certainly didn’t want to play the role of the compliant, oblivious Queen in front of his father.
I pushed the plate back with a sharp scrape. “I said I’m fine, Kain.” My voice rang out with glacial clarity, silencing the entire room. “The European expansion for the Wolfe Hotel Group is incredibly demanding right now. My Pack requires my undivided attention. I don’t have the energy for anything else p>