Chapter 52
Chapter 52:
I stared at the privacy partition separating us from the driver, my hands tightly clasped in my lap. Kain’s vow to my grandmother still echoed in my ears. In my world, there are no rules, only Adelina. It was a beautiful, terrifying declaration. And I didn’t believe a word of it.
“You don’t have to perform when it’s just the two of us,” I said quietly, breaking the heavy silence.
Kain shifted beside me, his massive frame taking up too much space. “Perform p>
“What you said to Maeve,” I clarified, forcing myself to meet his storm-gray eyes. “It was a brilliant lie, Kain. It secures her trust and solidifies your control over my Pack. But I know what this is. I was Jase’s stepping stone for years. I know my place p>
The temperature in the car seemed to plummet. Kain’s jaw tightened, a dangerous muscle ticking near his ear.
“I am a wolfless Omega,” I pushed forward, ignoring the warning rumble vibrating in his chest. My insecurities, honed by years of abuse, demanded I protect myself from hoping for more. “A Lycan King doesn’t respect a wolfless Omega. He manages her like an asset. A political transaction for my White Wolf bloodline p>
For a fraction of a second, his eyes bled into pitch-black. The sheer frustration rolling off him was so intense it made my skin prickle. He leaned in, his voice a low, lethal rasp. “You are infuriating, Adelina p>
He didn’t defend himself. He didn’t deny it. He simply pulled back, the impenetrable mask of the Lycan King slamming back into place. “Tomorrow morning, we deal with the traitors in your Pack. Try to remember you are my Queen, not a ledger entry p>
The rest of the ride passed in a suffocating, unresolved silence.
Hours later, the tension still gnawed at my chest as I lay in the Master Den at Blackstone Tower, staring at the white ceiling. The small blue Tiffany box rested on the mattress beside me. I had bought it earlier, telling myself it was just a prop to make our upcoming Pack dinner look authentic — but deep down, it was a desperate attempt to find some balance, a silent thank you to the man who had terrified Jase Davenport into submission.
Gathering my courage, I grabbed the box and walked down the hall to Kain’s temporary quarters.
J𝗈𝘪n 𝗈𝘂r сo𝗆𝘮𝗎𝗻i𝘁𝘺 𝘰ո
The door was slightly ajar. Golden light spilled into the corridor. I pushed it open and froze.
Kain was standing over a massive obsidian desk, surrounded by blueprints stamped with Wolfe Hotel Expansion Phase 1. He was shirtless. His broad, heavily muscled back was a landscape of faded battle scars, but as he turned to face me, all the air left my lungs.
Right over his heart, inked in jagged, ancient script, were the letters A.W.
My heart plummeted into my stomach. Because I was wolfless, I felt no hum of magic, no mate-bond pull to that ink. My logic, poisoned by Jase’s betrayals, instantly filled the void.
A.W.
Another woman. A lost Fated Mate. It confirmed my deepest, darkest fear. I wasn’t special. I was just a convenient White Wolf replacement he could dress up in her initials.
“Adelina?” Kain asked, his brow furrowing as he noticed my pale face.