Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

I found Adelia in the study, curled into the leather armchair with an iPad glowing in her hands. The screen displayed the red, jagged collapse of the market crash. She looked small and fragile against the dark leather—and the moment I stepped through the door, the scent of her distress hit me like a wall. Salt and wilted lilies.

She looked up, her eyes wide and glassy. “You did this,” she whispered, her voice barely holding. “The news is saying the Hyde family is ruined. They’re calling it a hostile takeover p>

I walked to the desk and loosened my tie. “It is a correction, Adelia. A necessary one p>

She stood, the iPad clattering into the chair. “You can’t do this for me, Dallas. You can’t destroy an entire economy just because of me.” She stepped back, shaking her head. “I’m a wolfless orphan. I’m a charity case. I’m not worth this p>

Not worth it.

Something inside me snapped. The leash I kept on Ragnar frayed completely.

I crossed the room in two strides, closing the distance between us before she could draw breath. I backed her against the bookshelves, my hands slamming onto the wood on either side of her head, caging her in.

“Don’t you ever say that,” I growled, my voice dropping into that dangerous, inhuman register that made lesser wolves cower.

Adelia gasped, her back pressing against the spines of the books. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird—and that sound called to every predatory instinct I possessed.

“You have no idea what you are,” I murmured, leaning down until my lips were inches from her ear. I inhaled slowly, filling my lungs with her scent—moonflower, rain, and the sweet, intoxicating pull of a Mate. “You are worth more than every Pack, every territory, and every Crown in this kingdom p>

𝗠𝗼𝗌𝘁 re𝖺𝖽 𝘵𝗁𝗂𝘴 we𝗲𝘬 o𝘯

Ragnar was screaming now. Claim her. Mark her. Bite.

My canines elongated, aching to sink into the soft curve of her neck—to leave a mark that would tell the entire world she belonged to the Lycan King. I could feel the heat radiating from her skin, the electric arc of the bond pulling between us. She didn’t push me away. She was trembling, her breath catching, her eyes searching mine with a look that was equal parts fear and something else—something dangerously close to hope.

It would be so easy.

But it was too soon. If I claimed her now, driven by anger and raw instinct, I would be nothing more than another monster controlling her life. Just like every Alpha who had come before me.

With a monumental effort of will, I pulled back. I straightened my suit jacket, masking the tremor in my hands.

“Pack a bag, Adelia,” I said, my voice rough but controlled.

She blinked, still dazed, still leaning against the bookshelf as if it were the only thing holding her upright. “What? Where are we going p>

I turned toward the door, needing distance before my composure shattered entirely. “Moonstone Creek,” I said, without looking back. “We’re going home p>

Adelia

The silence inside the Maybach was thick enough to choke on. Outside the tinted windows, the steel skeleton of the city was rapidly giving way to the dark, encroaching blur of forest—but my mind was still trapped in the penthouse study.