Chapter 254
Chapter 254:
“You can’t just buy my past, Dallas. My family has their pride, however pathetic it is. If the Alpha King swoops in and purchases them out from under themselves, they’ll hate me for it. They’ll burn those journals before they let me have them.” I stood, pacing the plush rug. “I need to do this myself. I need to go there, sign the papers, and retrieve my mother’s legacy—as Adella Everett. Not as the King’s property p>
A low growl resonated in his chest. He rose in an instant, closing the distance between us until I was enveloped in his heat.
“You are not going to a failing Pack territory alone,” he snarled, his eyes flashing gold with the presence of his Lycan. “It’s dangerous. Unstable p>
“Then I’ll be careful p>
“I will come with you p>
“No! You’ll frighten everyone to death p>
“Then Vance will take a team of Warriors p>
𝗧𝘩𝗲 𝗆𝘰𝗌𝘵 p𝗼𝗉𝘂𝗹a𝗿 ո𝗈𝘃e𝘭s 𝗼𝘯
“Dallas, please.” I pressed my hands flat against his chest, feeling the thunderous beat of his heart beneath my palms. “I just escaped one cage. Don’t put me in another, even if it’s gilded. I need to prove to myself that I can handle this. I need to be more than a wolfless girl hiding behind a Lycan p>
He stared down at me, his jaw working. The conflict in his eyes was a storm—his instinct to lock me away warring with his desire to give me what I needed.
“I’ll take the human train,” I whispered, softening my tone. “It’s neutral ground. I’ll go, sign the papers, collect the journals, and be back by dinner. Trust me p>
For a long, agonizing moment, he didn’t move. Then he let out a harsh breath and pressed his forehead against mine.
“Fine,” he said, though there was no real bite behind it. “But if you are not back by sunset, I will burn Mistwood Hollow to the ground to find you p>
“Deal.” I kissed him quickly, tasting his reluctance, then pulled away. “I need to pack p>
I hurried into the bedroom, my heart racing with equal parts fear and liberation. I grabbed my overnight bag. As I reached for my jewelry box, I hesitated.
The simple tungsten carbide band on my finger—the one I had bought him for eighty dollars, engraved with Fortune on the inside—felt suddenly heavy. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t worth a fortune. But it was ours. A secret promise written in metal, a symbol of everything we had built from the ashes of my past.
In Mistwood Hollow, surrounded by desperate men like Silas and scavengers like the Stone-River Pack, this ring would paint a target on my back. They wouldn’t see the love—they would see a bargaining chip.
With a pang of guilt, I slid the ring from my finger and placed it carefully into the velvet slot beside the matching band I had bought for him.
It’s just for a day, I told myself. Just until I get the journals.
I zipped up the bag, feeling a quiet, fragile sense of resolve settle over me. I was doing this. On my own.
Dallas
I watched the bedroom door click shut. The moment Adella was out of sight, the mask of reluctant acceptance fell from my face, replaced by cold, calculated resolve.
She believed she was going alone. She believed I would allow my Mate, my Queen, to walk into a den of desperate wolves without a shield at her back.