Chapter 127

Chapter 127:

I had agreed to her plan. The King in me recognized it as a masterstroke. Adella inside Hyde Manor could secure the ledgers that would dismantle Marcus Hyde’s corrupt regime without a single shot fired. But the Lycan in me — Ragnar — was screaming, tearing at the walls of my mind, demanding I rip the doors off that sedan and drag her back to our den.

“Alpha.” Duncan’s voice crackled over the encrypted comms.

“Report,” I growled, not taking my eyes off the green dot.

“The surveillance feed from the Hyde perimeter is active. We have eyes on the gates. But there’s a complication. Elder Augusta’s convoy was just spotted moving through the financial district. She’s heading your way p>

My blood turned to ice.

Augusta Marshall. An Elder of the Blackwood Pack and the matriarch of my bloodline. She was a woman who drank tradition like fine wine and spat out anyone who failed to meet her standards.

If Augusta found me here — hovering in the shadows while Adella executed a covert operation — she would demand answers. Worse, she already viewed Adella as an unworthy interloper. This would be the perfect excuse to have her declared a rogue agent and permanently removed from my life.

“Divert her,” I snarled into the comms. “Tell her I’m at the Tower p>

“She’s tracking your personal vehicle signature, Alpha. She’s two blocks away p>

I cursed and crushed the comms button.

By evening, the rain had turned the city into a blurred watercolor of grey and neon. The Maybach sat idling in a side street adjacent to Hyde territory, shrouded in darkness. Ragnar paced in the cage of my mind, his claws scraping against my ribs. She is near. She is unsafe.

I𝘯s𝗍a𝗻𝘁 а𝗰сe𝘴s 𝗈𝗇

Then I saw her.

Adella stepped out of a small, dimly lit apothecary, clutching a white paper bag tightly against her chest. She looked small in the rain, her coat soaked, her hair plastered to her cheeks. But her scent — even through the downpour and the filtered air of the car — hit me like a physical blow. Moonflowers and rain, sweet and agonizing.

My hand reached for the door handle. I needed to get to her. I needed to take her away from this place.

But before I could move, a shadow detached itself from the building.

Braydon.

He grabbed her arm and jerked her around.

A growl tore from my throat, so deep and feral it shook the frame of the car. “Kill him!” Ragnar roared, slamming against my mental barriers. “Tear his throat out! He touches what is ours p>

My vision bled red. I shoved the door open, ready to shift, ready to slaughter every Hyde within a five-mile radius.

“Dallas, stop!” Duncan’s voice cracked like a whip in my mind. “Look at the intersection — Augusta is here p>

I froze, my hand crushing the door frame hard enough that the metal groaned.

Down the street, the distinctive black sedan of the Marshall Elders turned the corner. Its headlights swept across the wet pavement, searching.