Chapter 173
Chapter 173:
I threw my head back, gazed up at the indifferent moon, and let out a roar that tore through my throat — a sound of pure, unadulterated agony that shattered the silence of the night. It was not a call for help.
It was a promise of death.
Dallas
The echo of my roar was still bouncing off the brick buildings when the shattered phone at my feet lit up. It buzzed against the concrete — a jarring, mechanical insect cutting through the silence of my devastation.
I dropped to my knees, ignoring the bite of the pavement through my suit trousers. My hand trembled as I reached for the device. The screen was a spiderweb of cracks that sliced into my thumb as I swiped to answer.
“Speak,” I rasped, my voice like gravel grinding together.
“King Marshall,” a voice distorted by a synthesizer crackled through the speaker. It was metallic, soulless. “You sound upset p>
“If you touch her p>
“Save the threats,” the voice cut in. “Listen p>
𝗧𝗵e 𝘣𝖾𝗌𝘁 rе𝗏i𝘦w𝘀 о𝗇.с𝘰m
There was a rustle, then a sound that stopped my heart cold. A muffled, terrified whimper. The sound of struggle against restraints.
Dallas!
It wasn’t a word — it was a muffled scream through a gag — but I knew it. I felt it vibrate through the mate bond like a physical blow.
Ragnar slammed against the walls of my mind, a chaotic storm of claws and teeth. Kill. Maim. Tear.
“Two hours,” the voice returned. “Fifty million. Unmarked bearer bonds and cash. Come alone. If I smell a single Warrior — if I sense a Mind-Link alert to your Pack — she bleeds out before you can shift p>
I closed my eyes and forced air into my burning lungs. I had to be ice. I had to be the monster Augusta feared, not the man who loved Adella.
“Done,” I said, my voice devoid of humanity. “Wait for the coordinates p>
The line went dead.
I didn’t smash the phone. I didn’t scream again. The rage that had consumed me seconds ago crystallized into a cold, sharp purpose. I stood, pocketed the broken device, and strode back to the Maybach.
As the heavy door sealed me inside, I started the engine. The kidnapper had forbidden a Pack-wide alert. He had said nothing about a private war council.
I merged onto the highway, hands white-knuckled on the leather steering wheel, and opened the encrypted Mind-Link channel reserved for the triumvirate of my power. “Vance. Duncan. Listen closely p>
My Gamma’s voice came instantly, laced with panic. “Alpha? I’m at the studio. Where are p>
“Vance, you failed me,” I cut him off, my mental voice carrying the full weight of my Lycan authority. “Find out how our security was breached. While you’re doing that, lock down every exit from this territory. Eyes only — no engagement. I want to know every vehicle that moves. And find everything there is to know about Jared Solder. The one exiled from Hyde Pack. The scent at the scene was his p>
Silence stretched for a heartbeat, heavy with Vance’s shame. “Understood, Alpha. I will not fail you again p>