Chapter 296
Chapter 296:
The silence that followed was absolute. The Elders exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from skepticism to grim acceptance. The gavel didn’t fall yet — the formal sentencing would come after recess — but the verdict was already written in the air. The Hydes were finished.
When the session was adjourned, walking out through those heavy double doors felt like surfacing from deep water. The corridor outside was vast, lined with white marble pillars stretching up into the shadows.
I leaned against one, my legs suddenly feeling like jelly. Dallas was there in an instant, his large hands cupping my face, his thumbs brushing away a tear I hadn’t realized had fallen.
“It’s done,” he murmured, his forehead resting against mine. “You did well, Adella p>
N𝘰𝗏el𝗌 𝗶n 𝘵𝘳𝗲𝗇d o𝗇
I nodded, but a knot of anxiety still twisted in my gut. “Where is he? Marcus? The guards didn’t take him out the back way p>
A dark, predatory smirk touched Dallas’s lips. It wasn’t a smile of happiness — it was the smile of a wolf who had just snapped the neck of its prey.
“Marcus didn’t wait for the recess,” Dallas said, his voice dangerously calm. “He knew the moment you started speaking that it was over. He tried to slip out through the service tunnels five minutes ago p>
My blood ran cold. “He escaped p>
“No.” Dallas took my hand, interlacing our fingers. “I knew he would run. A coward always runs when the light hits him.” He pulled me closer, his gaze intense. “Vance tagged him with a scent tracker before we even entered the building. He never made it past the perimeter. He’s in a holding cell now, waiting for the Council to strip him of his wolf p>
I stared at him, awe warring with lingering shock. He hadn’t just supported me — he had anticipated every move, closed every exit, and ensured that my nightmares had nowhere left to run.
“You caught him,” I breathed.
“I told you,” Dallas said, his gaze burning with a promise that went deeper than blood. “I don’t leave loose ends. You are safe, Adella. Truly safe p>
The weight on my chest — a burden I had carried for a decade — finally began to lift. The monster wasn’t under the bed anymore. He was in a cage, put there by the man standing before me.
“Take me away from here,” I whispered, tightening my grip on his hand.
“Gladly p>
We walked toward the exit, our footsteps echoing on the marble. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows across the parking lot. We were leaving the past behind in that stone tomb. But as I climbed into the passenger seat, I knew the road ahead wouldn’t be easy.
The jailer was gone. The scars of the prison remained.
The silence inside the black SUV was absolute, broken only by the low, rhythmic hum of the engine and the sound of tires crunching over gravel. Outside, the world was a blur of shadowed pines and deepening twilight, but inside, I felt like I was floating in a void.