Chapter 528
Julian wiped his mouth with a linen napkin, his eyes calculating. “I can keep the funds on standby, Adella. But my Elders are growing impatient. They won’t release my Pack’s trust until I Mark a high-ranking she-wolf.” He leaned forward, his gaze dropping to my empty ring finger. “I need a public courting period to make it legally binding. We announce our engagement this weekend—rings, press, the whole show.”
I stared at him. A fake engagement to an Alpha I felt absolutely nothing for. But as I weighed the options, the cold emptiness of the deal was exactly its appeal. Julian was safe—a business partner who would never shatter me the way Dallas had.
“Fine,” I agreed, my voice steady. “If Dallas refuses to negotiate after my press conference, I will wear your ring.”
Dallas
“They just left The Onyx Club, Dallas.” Duncan’s mind-link was sharp with panic. “Security flagged them in the lobby. Azalea told Dr. Vance about the rotting smell in your study. He knows it’s the silver toxin. They’re ambushing you right now.”
I had just unhooked from the purification machine. My body was a hollow, trembling shell. “Hide it,” I rasped.
N𝘦w 𝘤𝘩𝗮𝗽𝘁𝖾r𝘀 е𝗏er𝗒 𝗐𝗲еk о𝗻 𝘨𝖺𝗅𝘯o𝗏𝘦𝗹𝗌.с𝗼𝗺
Duncan moved like lightning, shoving the humming machine into the walk-in closet and kicking my sweat-soaked sheets under the mahogany bed. I fought through the dizzying drop in my blood pressure and dragged a heavy silk robe over my shoulders to conceal the thick bandages of the central venous catheter in my chest. I grabbed a bottle of Tom Ford cologne and sprayed it recklessly to mask the stench of blood and antiseptic, then snatched a glass of iced tea from the nightstand, gripping it like a lifeline.
The bedroom doors burst open.
Vance Decker strode in, followed closely by his new mate, Serena, and a very grim-looking Dr. Alistair Vance.
“Jesus, Dallas,” Dr. Vance muttered, his nose wrinkling. “Did you bathe in cologne? It smells like a chemical fire in here.”
“I was getting dressed, Alistair,” I drawled, forcing a bored, arrogant smirk. “To what do I owe this home invasion?”
“You’ve been dodging my calls,” the doctor pressed, stepping closer, his eyes scanning my pale face. “Four canceled checkups.”
“I’ve been busy,” I lied smoothly.
Vance Decker laughed and stepped forward to clap me hard on the arm. “Too busy for us, hermit?”
His heavy hand landed inches from my catheter port. A blinding, white-hot agony ripped through my chest. I locked my jaw so hard my teeth ground together, forcing myself not to flinch.
“Actually,” Serena chimed in, holding up her phone, “he might just be avoiding the internet. RogueNet is having a field day.”
My chest tightened. “What are you talking about?”
“Adella,” Serena said gently. “She’s at Le Bernardin right now—with Julian Thorne. They’re looking awfully cozy, Dallas. Rumor has it they’re discussing an engagement.”
Julian.
A feral, deafening roar erupted in my skull. Mine! Ragnar, my inner wolf, slammed against the cage of my ribs, his possessive fury instantly incinerating the physical agony of the silver. The thought of that opportunistic bastard touching my mate, claiming her—it was a death sentence.
I forced myself to stand, my legs shaking beneath the silk. “Get out,” I commanded, my presence leaking into the room in a dark, suffocating wave.
Vance blinked, stepping back. “Dallas—”
“I said get out. I’ll meet you downstairs in twenty minutes.”