Chapter 285

Chapter 285:

He kissed me again, softer this time — a seal on a promise that would outlast any war.

“Let’s go home,” he murmured.

“Yes,” I agreed. “Home p>

But as Dallas pulled back, his expression didn’t stay soft. A shadow passed over his face, his brows knitting together in a frown that had nothing to do with us.

“What is it?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat.

Dallas sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. “The calm before the storm, little wolf. Braydon is a nuisance, but he’s not the only one watching.” He sat on the edge of the bed, his demeanor shifting from lover to Alpha King. “My grandmother. Gigi p>

S𝘩𝘢𝗿е 𝘺𝗈u𝘳 𝘵𝘩ough𝘁𝘀 оn

I stiffened. Eleanor “Gigi” Marshall. The matriarch of the Blackwood bloodline. We had met enough times for me to know exactly what she was — a predator in pearls, a woman who measured worth in bloodlines and tradition. Every encounter had been a test, a silent dissection of my value. And somehow, through luck or stubbornness, I had survived them all. Her reputation was whispered about even in the lowest circles of the werewolf world. She was iron and old law wrapped in pearls.

“She knows?” I asked.

“She knows everything,” Dallas confirmed grimly. “She has spies everywhere, even at The Onyx Fang. She knows about the fight, the blood, and she knows you are wolfless. She also remembers every detail of every encounter — the torn dress, the muddy feet, the way you claimed you were ‘seeing someone.’ She’s been watching you from the start, Adella. Waiting to see what you would become p>

He took my hand again, his thumb rubbing over my knuckles, but his eyes were hard. “She thinks this is a game I’m playing. She feels played, Adella. She’ll try to get rid of you. She’ll use tradition, politics, and cruelty to make you feel small. She doesn’t play fair p>

Fear, cold and sharp, tried to coil in my stomach. A wolfless girl against the most powerful matriarch in the region? It was almost laughable.

But then I looked at Dallas. I looked at the man who had just promised me his everything. I remembered the feeling of his lips on mine, the undeniable pull of the bond. I wasn’t just Adella the charity case anymore. I was the Mate of the Alpha King. And Gigi had already seen me at my worst — bleeding, broken, fleeing into the night — and again at my most defiant, standing in her grand hall refusing to bow. She had tested me, and I was still standing.

I sat up straighter, ignoring the ache in my ribs, and pushed the fear down, letting a new feeling rise in its place. Pride.

“Let her try,” I said, my voice steady and cold.

Dallas looked at me, surprise flickering in his eyes.

“This is my home now,” I declared, tightening my grip on his hand until my knuckles turned white. “I am your Mate. I’m done running, and I’m done hiding. If she wants a war, Dallas, we’ll give her one p>