Chapter 124
Chapter 124:
“I am home,” I snapped, the image of Dallas’s penthouse — and his intense, protective gaze — flashing through my mind. “My place is with the Blackwood Pack. With my Mate p>
Braydon’s face darkened instantly. He reached into his jacket pocket and slid a manila folder across the pristine white tablecloth.
“Your ‘Mate’ is a volatile beast who stole you,” he spat. “But that’s not why you’re coming back. You’re coming back because of this p>
I opened the folder. The first page was a medical report from the Hyde Pack Healer. Luna Victoria Hyde. Diagnosis: Severed Bond Syndrome. Critical Condition.
“She’s dying, Adella,” Braydon said, his voice dropping to a whisper that almost sounded like genuine pain. “Her wolf is fading because her daughter — the girl she raised — abandoned her. She calls for you in her sleep p>
𝖸ou𝗋 n𝘦𝘅𝘵 𝖿a𝘃о𝘳𝗂𝘵𝘦 𝗿е𝘢𝘥 iѕ оո 𝗀а𝗅𝗇𝘰𝘃е𝗅ѕ.𝘤о𝘮
Guilt, sharp and agonizing, pierced my chest. I closed my eyes, and against my will, an image rose: Victoria, years ago, sitting by my bedside when I was sick. She had pressed cool cloths to my forehead and murmured words I couldn’t quite hear. By morning she was always gone, and we never spoke of it after.
That woman — the ghost of her — was the one Braydon was using as bait.
“She isn’t my mother,” I whispered, the old wound throbbing. “She never claimed me p>
“I raised you!” Braydon slammed his hand on the table. “For ten years, Adella. You’ve been part of this family since you were fourteen. Does that mean nothing to you p>
“What do you want?” I asked, defeated.
“One week,” he said. “Come back to Hyde Manor. Nurse your guardian back to health. Show the Pack that we are still a family p>
“I have conditions,” I said, my voice trembling. “I stay in the guest wing. You don’t touch me. And I tell Dallas everything p>
Braydon shrugged, pouring himself a second glass of wine. “Deal. One week, Adella. Don’t make me wait p>
Adella’s POV
The elevator ride to the penthouse felt like an ascent to the gallows. When the doors slid open, the air that hit me wasn’t the cool, conditioned breeze of the luxury apartment. It was heavy, charged with static electricity, smelling of ozone, rain, and furious cedar.
Dallas was waiting.
He stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, his silhouette cut sharp against the city lights. He hadn’t turned on a single lamp. The darkness seemed to coil around him, a living extension of his Lycan nature.
“You reek of him,” Dallas said. His voice was low, a rumble of thunder that vibrated in my chest. He didn’t turn around.
I stepped into the room, my hands trembling as I clutched my purse. “Dallas, please. Let me explain p>
“Explain why you smell like stagnant water and decay?” He turned then, his movement blurring with supernatural speed. In a heartbeat he was in front of me, nostrils flaring, eyes flashing a dangerous, glowing amber. “You went to see Braydon p>
“I had to fix the treaty,” I whispered, fighting the urge to submit to the sheer power radiating from him. “He was going to destroy Elara. He was going to sue her into oblivion p>