Chapter 255
Chapter 255:
She was brave. She was stubborn. And she was wrong.
I closed my eyes, and the connection to my Gamma snapped open in my mind like a steel trap.
Vance.
“Alpha King.” His voice responded instantly, sharp and alert.
She takes the 7:00 AM human train to Mistwood Hollow. I kept my inner voice flat and precise, even as Ragnar prowled the edges of my consciousness. You and a shadow team will be on it. She is not to know. Maintain a one-hundred-meter perimeter at all times.
𝘍і𝗻𝖽 ո𝗼𝘷𝖾𝘭 𝖯𝘋𝖥ѕ on
A brief pause. Then, “Understood. Rules of engagement p>
I turned to the window, staring out at the darkness that pressed against the glass.
If anyone touches her with ill intent, you have my authority to break the hand that does it. If they threaten her life, you have my authority to end theirs. No witnesses. No traces.
“It will be done, My King p>
I severed the link and studied my own reflection in the glass. Adella wanted her freedom. I would give her the illusion of it.
But no one touched what was mine and lived to tell the tale.
The rhythmic clack of the train wheels against the steel tracks was supposed to be soothing—a sound of progress, of moving forward. Instead, it felt like a countdown.
I sat pressed against the cold window, watching the landscape shift from the glittering steel skyline of Dallas’s territory to the desolate, grey stretches of the coast. The car was nearly empty, smelling faintly of stale coffee and industrial cleaner. It was a human train—neutral ground, or so I kept telling myself.
My phone buzzed in my lap, vibrating against my palm like an angry hornet. I glanced down, expecting Dallas checking in for the third time.
It wasn’t Dallas. It was a blocked number.
A knot of unease tightened in my stomach. Against my better judgment, I slid my thumb across the screen.
“Hello p>
“Adella, listen to me p>
The voice was breathless, frantic, and instantly recognizable.
Braydon Hyde.
My spine stiffened, and I nearly ended the call right then. “How did you get this number, Braydon? If you’re calling to beg again p>
“Shut up and listen!” he snapped, his tone stripped of its usual arrogant polish. “I know where you’re going. I have contacts in the Stone-River Pack. They talk. Silas Thorne isn’t just losing the manor, Adella. He’s in deep with a loan shark. A Rogue named Jarred Volkov p>
Volkov. The name landed heavy in the air, foreign and sharp.
“I don’t care about Silas’s debts,” I said, keeping my voice low. The only other passenger nearby was a man in a baseball cap dozing a few rows back. “I’m going to sign papers for the trust. That’s it p>