Chapter 163
Chapter 163:
“Braydon, please!” Katherine Parrish scrambled to his side, grabbing his shoulder. Her usually immaculate hair was disheveled, her eyes rimmed with red. “We have to go. You’re making a scene. My father will p>
“Shut up, Katherine!” Braydon shoved her away with a violent jerk of his arm. She stumbled back and caught herself on a waiter’s tray. The clatter of silverware echoed through the silent room.
Humiliated, Katherine’s face twisted. She couldn’t lash out at the Alpha who had just rejected her in front of the room, so she turned her venom on the easiest target.
Me.
𝖶𝗲𝖾𝗸l𝗒 𝗋е𝗹е𝖺𝘴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘯 ѕ.𝘤о𝘮
“This is your fault,” she hissed, straightening her dress with trembling hands. “You wolfless little parasite. You just couldn’t stay in the gutter where you belong, could you? Dragging everyone down into your misery just because you’re a charity case p>
The insult was old, worn thin by years of use. It didn’t sting anymore. I looked at her — really looked at her — and saw only the terror hiding behind the rage.
“My past is my own, Katherine,” I said, my voice cutting through the tension like a blade. “At least my value isn’t evaporating by the second. How is the Parrish Pack’s stock portfolio doing this morning? I heard my Mate’s business acquisitions can be quite… aggressive p>
Katherine’s mouth snapped shut. The color drained from her face, leaving her ghostly pale. She knew exactly who was dismantling her family’s legacy piece by piece — and she knew I was the reason.
Lance let out a low chuckle, dry and humorless. “Well played, Ms. Everett.” He dabbed his mouth with a napkin, his predatory gaze shifting to Braydon. “So the rumors are true. The heir to the Hyde Pack is obsessed with the very girl he rejected. How… pathetic p>
The word hung in the air. Braydon flinched as if struck.
“It’s not obsession,” he stammered, his grip on my arm loosening as he realized the entire restaurant was watching him. “She… she grew up in my Pack. We have a duty to protect our own p>
“Protect?” I scoffed, wrenching my arm free. I stood and smoothed the fabric of my dress. “You didn’t protect me when I was homeless, Braydon. You didn’t protect me when your mother — my guardian — sold my parents’ land. Don’t pretend you have a conscience now p>
Braydon opened his mouth to argue, desperation clawing at his features — but then a sudden, sharp pressure bloomed in my mind. Not pain. A command, wrapped in the scent of rain and cedar.
Time’s up.
Dallas.
“My Mate is waiting,” I announced, my voice ringing clear across the room. I looked at Lance, then at Braydon. “And unlike you, he doesn’t like to share p>
I turned on my heel and walked away.
“Adella! Sit down!” Braydon roared, lacing his voice with Alpha command. The order rippled through the air — a wave of force designed to compel submission.
I didn’t even break my stride. Being wolfless had its disadvantages, but being immune to the commands of weak Alphas was a privilege I had come to cherish.
“I said stop!” Braydon lunged after me.