Chapter 408
The concrete walls of the safe house felt like a suffocating tomb. The air was thick with stale cigars and the sour, burnt-ash scent of my own furious Alpha pheromones.
“What do you mean, she saw through it?” I snarled into the burner phone, my grip tightening until the plastic creaked.
On the other end of the line, Nurse Anya’s voice trembled with raw fear. “Luna Adella exposed the double immediately. Beta Duncan canceled the Rejection ceremony and swore his loyalty to her. They are… they are stronger than ever, Alpha.”
A feral roar ripped from my throat. I hurled the phone against the bare concrete wall. It shattered into a dozen jagged pieces, the impact echoing sharply through the dim room.
In the corner, Suki flinched. She still wore the clothes meant to mimic Adella, her face a sickeningly perfect replica of the woman who was ruining everything.
“I did what you asked,” Suki whimpered, her eyes darting to the duffel bag of cash on the table. “I want my money. I want out of this game.”
In a blur of Alpha speed, I crossed the room and seized her wrist. Her bones ground together under my crushing grip.
“You failed,” I hissed, my inner wolf clawing at my sanity, demanding blood for this humiliation. “Take the money and disappear to South America. If I ever see you wearing that face again, I will peel it off your skull myself.”
Suki sobbed in pure terror. I released her, and she scrambled for the bag before fleeing out the door like a frightened rabbit.
I stood alone in the oppressive silence, breathing heavily. The body double had been a failure. But a mate-bond was only as strong as its foundation of trust. If I couldn’t sever their bond from the outside, I would rot it from within.
It was time for Plan B.
Adelia POV
The afternoon sun spilled across the floor of Room 2201, casting a warm golden glow over Dallas. He was finally in a deep, healing sleep, the steady rhythm of the heart monitor a soothing pulse in the quiet suite.
I sat in the armchair beside his bed, a book resting untouched in my lap, just listening to the soft sound of his breathing. My thumb brushed over the faint scar on my wrist, my heart swelling with the peace of knowing we had survived. The nightmare was over.
Then my cell phone vibrated in my pocket.
An unknown number flashed on the screen. Not wanting to wake my mate, I slipped out of the room and pulled the heavy door shut behind me. The hallway was empty, humming under the faint buzz of fluorescent lights. I pressed the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Did you really think it would be that easy, Adella?”
My blood turned to ice. Braydon Hyde’s sickeningly smooth voice slithered through the speaker. A surge of pure, primal anger flooded through me.
“Braydon,” I spat, keeping my voice low. “You’re a dead man walking. Dallas will tear you apart.”