Chapter 149

Chapter 149:

Beside me, the temperature in the car seemed to drop ten degrees. Dallas hadn’t said a word, but his grip on the leather steering wheel had turned his knuckles bone-white. The scent of ozone and cedar — the smell of an approaching storm — flooded the cabin, thick and suffocating. His Lycan was close to the surface, enraged by the disrespect, but he let me handle it. He let me hold the power.

As he pulled up to the wrought-iron gates of Hyde Manor, he didn’t offer to wait. Instead, his black eyes burned into mine with a silent promise that needed no words.

“Twenty minutes,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “If you’re not out, I’m coming in p>

“I’ll be quick,” I promised, stepping out of the car.

I didn’t watch him drive away. I knew he wouldn’t. Somewhere in the shadows of the surrounding streets, a black Maybach would be idling — its engine a soft purr, its King watching.

Walking into the Grand Hall of Hyde Manor felt like stepping back into a nightmare I had already woken from. The air was stale, smelling of lemon polish and old secrets.

Braydon was waiting at the foot of the stairs.

He looked wrecked — hair disheveled, eyes bloodshot. But when his gaze raked over me, taking in the cream cashmere sweater and the dark jeans that clearly hadn’t come from a thrift store, his expression shifted from anger to a sneer.

“Look at you,” he spat, stepping closer. “Dressed up like a doll. You look… satisfied p>

Join the community at Fiom

I moved to step around him. He blocked my path without touching me, leaning in until his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper that made my skin crawl.

“Do you really think a Lycan King falls for a wolfless nobody p>

I froze.

“He doesn’t want you, Adella,” Braydon hissed, sensing the opening he’d made. “He’s just using you. You’re nothing but a breeder to him. A vessel to give him a powerful heir p>

Breeder.

The word struck like a physical blow, piercing through the armor of confidence Dallas had helped me build. Was that it? Was that why he was so possessive, so intense — not because of me, but because of some cold biological imperative?

“You’re pathetic,” I managed, though my voice lacked the steel it had held in the car. I pushed past him, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm of doubt.

I needed to leave. Now.

I went straight to Victoria’s room. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn, and the air smelled of sickness and expensive perfume. Victoria Hyde lay propped against a mountain of pillows, a handkerchief pressed to her lips as she coughed — a wet, rattling sound that seemed just slightly too theatrical.

“Adella,” she wheezed, her eyes watering. “Thank the Goddess. My wolf… the stress of Braydon’s heartbreak… it’s making me ill p>

I stood by the door, wary. “What do you need, Luna Victoria p>

“The apothecary on the edge of the territory,” she gasped. “They have a specific blend for the lungs. I need you to drive me. I don’t trust the servants to get the right one p>

It was a trap. Or a manipulation. But it was also a way out of the house without Braydon following me.

“Fine,” I said stiffly. “Let’s go p>

Katherine Parrish’s POV