Chapter 74
Chapter 74:
A moment later, his deep voice drifted out into the living room. He wasn’t using the silent Pack mind-link — he was speaking aloud, the sheer, undeniable dominance in his tone ringing clear.
“Fletcher,” Kain commanded.
I smiled to myself, imagining his Beta’s surprise at the sudden vacation.
“Cancel London,” Kain ordered, the absolute authority of the Alpha King leaving no room for debate. “Clear my schedule for the entire next week p>
𝖲𝗵𝘢r𝗲 𝘆𝗈𝗎r 𝘁𝘩о𝘂𝗴𝗁t𝘴 𝘰𝗻
There was a brief pause as Fletcher likely responded through the mind-link.
Then Kain spoke the words that made the blood freeze solid in my veins.
“She booked our Mating trip p>
The air vanished from my lungs.
Our Mating trip.
He didn’t mean him and Fletcher. He meant him and me.
I stared at the crack in the study door, my heart hammering a frantic, terrified rhythm against my ribs. The catastrophic weight of my misunderstanding crashed down on me, suffocating and absolute. I hadn’t just bought a thank-you gift for my fake husband and his secret lover. I had accidentally booked myself on a romantic, isolated getaway with the most lethal, possessive predator on the continent.
Adelina POV
By noon the next day, the catastrophic weight of Kain’s words — our Mating trip — still haunted me. I sat behind my father’s massive mahogany desk in my Alpha office at The Wolfe Hotel Group, staring blindly at a quarterly report. The faint, pure scent of winter snow and pine that lingered in the room offered little comfort. Kain had canceled his global itinerary for me. I was completely unprepared for the terrifying reality of what that meant.
Before I could spiral further, my cell phone buzzed.
Bryan Parrish.
I swiped the screen, my voice dropping to a cold, professional clip. “I’m busy, Bryan p>
“You will make time for your family, Adelina,” Bryan’s weasel-like voice crackled through the speaker. “We are hosting a private dinner at the estate tonight. You will attend. Alone p>
“I’m not stepping foot in that house,” I replied instantly.
“I thought you might say that,” Bryan sneered, the sour stench of his greed practically bleeding through the phone. “That is why I filed a medical transfer request this morning. Do you remember when your grandmother had that bad fever last year? She signed a Pack-sanctioned medical proxy, giving me full guardianship p>
My blood ran ice cold. “You manipulated a delirious Elder p>
“It is legally binding,” Bryan countered smoothly. “If you are not at the estate by seven o’clock tonight, alone, I will execute the transfer. Elder Maeve will be moved from the Silvermoon Pack’s exclusive care facility to The Forsaken Crag p>
The air vanished from my lungs. The Forsaken Crag was a notorious cross-Pack asylum — a miserable, abusive dumping ground where forgotten Elders were left to die in disgrace.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I breathed, my hands shaking.
“Try me,” he threatened. “Even the Lycan King’s expensive lawyers can’t stop a Pack-sanctioned medical transfer in a matter of hours. Seven o’clock, Adelina p>