Chapter 235

Chapter 235:

“Adella! Stop!” His voice was a ragged roar, closer than I expected.

I pumped my arms harder, my lungs burning. The black iron gates of Hyde Manor loomed ahead, standing like the teeth of a trap. I just needed to reach the pedestrian latch.

“Braydon, you can’t!” Katherine’s shrill scream cut through the night.

I risked a glance over my shoulder. Katherine had managed to catch up to him, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket with desperate, clawing fingers. She was sobbing, her makeup streaked, her perfect facade dissolving into panic.

“Let go of me!” Braydon bellowed, spinning around with a violence that made my stomach lurch.

“You can’t chase her!” Katherine shrieked, clinging to him. “Think of the Pack! Think of your reputation! If you run after a wolfless p>

“Shut up!” Braydon’s control snapped. The Alpha aura that usually commanded respect twisted into something ugly and erratic. “You lying bitch!” He didn’t merely push her away—he shoved her. Hard.

Katherine flew backward, her high heels giving way, and she crashed onto the gravel driveway with a sickening thud. She cried out and curled into herself, but Braydon didn’t even look down. His chest was heaving, his eyes wild and bloodshot, fixed solely on me.

I skidded to a halt at the pedestrian gate, my hand gripping the cold iron bars. The scene before me turned my blood to ice. I had seen Braydon angry before, seen him arrogant and cruel, but I had never seen him strike a woman.

R𝘦аd 𝘸і𝗍𝘩𝗼𝘂𝘵 i𝗇te𝗿𝗋𝘶p𝘵𝗂𝗈ո𝘴 оո

He took a step toward me, his hands raised in a placating gesture that looked grotesque after what he had just done.

“Adella, wait. She provoked me. You know I’m not p>

“Monster,” I breathed. The word fell from my lips, heavy with finality.

Braydon flinched as though I had shot him. “No. No, baby, listen to me p>

“Don’t come near me,” I said, my voice trembling not with fear, but with revulsion. “Stay away from me, Braydon. Forever p>

I didn’t wait for his response. I yanked the latch up, slipped through the narrow opening, and slammed the heavy gate shut behind me. The metallic clang echoed like a gunshot, sealing the tomb of my past life.

I turned and ran.

I didn’t stop until the imposing walls of Hyde Manor were far behind me, swallowed by the distance and replaced by the mundane grey concrete of a public road. My legs finally gave out near a small park, and I collapsed onto a wooden bench, gasping for air.

My dress was torn at the hem, my feet were muddy and bleeding, and I was shivering uncontrollably. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to hold the shattered pieces of my composure together.

A sleek, vintage Rolls Royce sat parked along the curb a few yards away, its hazard lights blinking rhythmically in the twilight. It looked entirely out of place—a relic of old money stranded in an ordinary world. Behind it, a modern black sedan pulled up silently.