Chapter 98
Chapter 98:
“Oh, Goddess,” Maeve sobbed, her chest heaving. “It is a transaction. You sold your life for this room.” She pulled her hand away from mine, her expression hardening into the stern, unyielding mask of a Pack Elder.
“I will not allow this,” Maeve declared, her voice shaking with absolute resolve. “I will not let my granddaughter wither in a fake bond. You will end this right now, Adelina. Say the words. Say them to his face p>
“Grandma, please p>
“Say it!” she demanded, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks. “Say: I, Adelina Wolfe, reject you, Kain Blackwell, as my mate p>
The air in the room vanished. I looked at Kain. All the color had drained from his face, and his ancient cedar scent spiked sharply with a note of pure, agonizing pain. If I said those words aloud, Pack law would recognize the Rejection. It would destroy our contract, my protection, and my grandmother’s care.
I was out of options. Panic clawing at my throat, I forced the mind-link open and threw my desperate plea directly into his mind.
𝖠𝘥𝗱𝗂𝖼𝗍𝗶𝘃𝗲 ո𝘰𝘃е𝘭ѕ о𝗇
Code Red. I need you. Play the part. Make her believe you love me.
Kain’s dark eyes snapped to mine. For a fraction of a second, something wild and dangerous flashed in his gaze. Then he moved.
He completely bypassed me, dropping to one knee directly in front of Maeve’s wheelchair. He took her frail, trembling hands in his massive ones, his touch surprisingly gentle.
“Elder Maeve,” Kain said, his voice a rich, soothing baritone that vibrated in the small room. “What you just heard were the ramblings of a woman driven mad by jealousy and fear. Carolyn Parrish knows nothing of my heart p>
He stood in one fluid motion and closed the distance between us. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against his rock-hard chest. The heat radiating from his body was intoxicating.
“She is the other half of my soul,” Kain declared, staring directly into my grandmother’s eyes. The raw intensity in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. “The only thing that quiets the beast inside me. Without her, my world is silent p>
Maeve blinked, her tears slowing, but her jaw remained set. “Words are cheap, Alpha Blackwell. Anyone can speak them p>
Kain’s jaw tightened. He slowly turned his head to look down at me. The fire burning in his pitch-black eyes was entirely unrecognizable — it wasn’t a performance. It looked like hunger. It looked like centuries of starvation.
“Forgive me,” he whispered, his breath ghosting over my lips.
Before I could process the words, his hand tangled in my hair, tilting my head back, and he crashed his lips against mine.
The moment our mouths collided, a violent, blinding spark of electricity exploded through my veins, stealing the very breath from my lungs.
Adelina POV
The electricity was blinding. It wasn’t a gentle, theatrical peck meant to appease an audience. It was a claiming.