Chapter 228

Chapter 228:

“He wasn’t just here, Adella. He was circling.” I stopped a few feet from her, close enough to catch the faint trace of vanilla and rain that haunted my dreams. “He was testing the perimeter. Watching the lobby. Waiting p>

My hands clenched into fists at my sides. The memory of Vance’s report made my blood boil. Braydon wasn’t acting like a rejected mate wallowing in self-pity — he was acting like a rogue scouting a target.

“He knows you are alone,” I said, the words tasting like ash. “He knows you have no Pack to defend you. And that makes him bold p>

Adella wrapped her arms around herself, a shiver running through her frame. “I didn’t see him p>

“That is why I am here.” I let the raw, jagged edge of my exhaustion bleed into my voice. “I can’t sleep when you’re not in my den, Adella. I can’t focus. Ragnar is tearing me apart from the inside because every instinct I have screams that you are vulnerable.” I took one last step, invading her space, towering over her. I needed her to understand. This wasn’t about ego.

“Moving here isn’t about control,” I whispered, looking down at her, willing her to see the truth in my eyes. “It’s about survival. Mine p>

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Adella looked up at me, her lips parted. The anger in her gaze had dissolved, replaced by shock and the slow dawn of understanding. She saw the dark circles under my eyes, the tension locked in my jaw. She saw the monster who was terrified of losing his only light.

For a long moment, the only sounds were the hum of the refrigerator and the frantic beating of our hearts.

“He was really out there?” she asked softly.

“Yes p>

She let out a shaky breath, her shoulders dropping. The fight went out of her, leaving her looking small and tired. “Okay p>

“Okay p>

“I believe you,” she said. She glanced around the barren apartment — the lonely beanbag, the cold, uninviting boxes — then looked back at me, a strange expression crossing her face. Something soft. Something that made my chest ache. “But we can’t eat here, Dallas. It’s freezing, and you don’t even have a table p>

I blinked, the sudden shift in her tone throwing me off balance. “I can order furniture. It will be here by morning p>

“Or,” she cut in, a faint, weary smile touching her lips, “we can go across the hall. To my place. Where there are actual chairs and it doesn’t smell like a hardware store p>

Relief crashed into me like a tidal wave. She is not running. She is inviting us in.

“Your den,” I murmured, testing the word.

“My apartment,” she corrected, though her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. She reached out and picked up the foil-covered dish Azalea had abandoned. “Come on, Alpha. Before the shepherd’s pie turns into a brick p>

She turned and walked back toward the door. I watched her go, the knot of anxiety in my chest loosening for the first time in days.

I followed her out of the cold fortress and into the warmth of the hallway, ready to walk into any storm if it meant staying by her side.

Adella