Chapter 143

Chapter 143:

Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. The air on the patio seemed to drop ten degrees. I stared down at the twisted piece of metal in my hand, imagining it was Braydon Hyde’s windpipe. He had cornered my mate. He had laid his hands on what was mine.

I dropped the ruined fork onto the table with a clatter. Adella flinched, her eyes wide with panic, bracing for my rage to turn on her.

I stood and walked around the table, stopping beside her chair. I didn’t touch her — not yet. I needed to rein in the violence before I frightened her further. I leaned down, bringing my lips close to her ear, inhaling the scent of her hair to purge Braydon’s stench from my senses.

“Good girl,” I rasped, the praise dark and thick with primal pride.

𝘛r𝘦n𝘥𝗂𝗻 on ѕ.сo𝗺

She shivered — not from cold. I heard the sudden spike in her heartbeat.

“I have to go back,” she blurted out, as though the reality of her situation had just crashed down on her all at once. She stood abruptly, nearly colliding with my chest. “Victoria — I have a deal with her. If I’m not there by seven to manage her schedule, she’ll come looking. I can’t drag you into this war, Dallas p>

“The war is already here, Adella,” I said, my voice devoid of emotion. “And that deal died the moment her son forced his way into your room p>

“You don’t understand,” she pleaded, her eyes desperate. “I have nowhere else. I can’t be a burden p>

“Enough p>

I didn’t shout. I didn’t need to. I let the power of my bloodline — the ancient authority of the Lycan King — roll off me in waves. It filled the space, pressing down on the air, demanding submission.

I stepped into her personal space, towering over her, forcing her to look up at me. My pupils blew wide until my irises were nearly black.

“Stay p>

The command hung in the air, absolute and unbreakable.

Adella’s mouth snapped shut. Her shoulders softened as the fight left her body, instinct overriding will. She looked at me not with fear, but with a sudden, dazed clarity.

“I will send someone for your things,” I told her, my voice gentling now that the storm in her had settled. “And I will deal with Victoria. You are never setting foot in that house again p>

I placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the sliding glass doors. The heat of her skin seeped through her shirt, branding my palm. Mine.

Inside, the house was dark, all sharp angles and deep shadows. I led her to the stairs, the silence amplifying the sound of our breathing. At the top of the landing, I gestured to the first door on the right.

“Your room. It’s prepared p>

Adella hesitated, her hand resting on the railing. She looked at the closed door, then back at me — her gaze dropping briefly to my lips before darting away.

“Where will you be?” she asked softly.