Chapter 248

Chapter 248:

“Because he thought he could,” I growled, the sound resonating deep in my chest. I stepped closer, boxing her in against the railing, shielding her from the wind and the world beyond it. “He laid his hands on what is mine, little wolf. In my world, there are no warnings for such transgressions. There is only erasure p>

She looked up at me, her eyes searching my face. “That’s terrifying, Dallas. You destroyed his entire life in a single day p>

“He’s lucky I only destroyed his bank account and not his throat,” I said, my voice dropping to a lethal murmur. Ragnar paced in my mind, savoring the thought. “He is nothing now, Adella. He can’t hurt you anymore. He can’t even afford the cab fare to find you p>

I watched the conflict move across her face like weather. She was a gentle soul, a healer at heart, and I was a creature of violence and absolute control. She saw the monster. I let her see it. She needed to know exactly what was holding her safe.

Then her shoulders dropped. The tension bled out of her frame. Her hand reached out—trembling slightly—and pressed against the lapel of my jacket, directly over my heart.

“You did it for me,” she said. Not a question. A realization.

“I would burn this entire city to ash if it meant keeping you safe,” I vowed, covering her hand with mine. My skin was rough against her softness. “I am a shield, Adella. Sometimes a shield must be made of iron and spikes p>

She drew a shaky breath. Then she stepped into me, pressing her face against my chest and inhaling slowly—cedar, rain, and the metallic edge of power.

“Thank you,” she breathed against my shirt.

The words were soft, but they landed harder than any blow. She accepted it. She accepted the darkness because it was wrapped entirely around her.

𝘉e 𝘁𝘩e f𝗂r𝘴𝗍 t𝗼 r𝗲𝘢𝘥 oո ga𝗹ո𝘰𝘷𝗲𝘭𝗌.с𝗈𝗆

I pulled her close and buried my face in her neck, breathing in the Moonflower scent now laced with my own mark. Braydon Hyde was dust. The threat was gone. And she was here, in my arms, where she would remain.

What I didn’t know, as I held her beneath the stars, was that while I had crushed the wolf at the gate, I had left the door wide open to the serpents already inside my own home.

Adella

The morning sun felt different today—sharper, brighter, as though the world had shifted on its axis after last night on the rooftop. Dallas had shown me the monster beneath his skin, the one that broke bones and erased fortunes for me, and I had embraced it. But in the cold light of day, I needed to ground us. I needed to prove that we could be something other than violence and obsession.

So, I made lunch.

It was a simple gesture, almost laughable against the backdrop of his empire—a container of roast beef sandwiches and a thermos of coffee, packed into a brown paper bag. I stood before the towering glass monolith of Marshall Enterprises feeling small. The building pierced the sky like a black shard, radiating an aura of absolute power.

I smoothed down my skirt, clutched the paper bag to my chest like a shield, and pushed through the revolving doors.