Chapter 329
“You didn’t think?” I let out a harsh, humorless laugh. “You are the Alpha King. You know everything. But you left me there.”
“I stayed away because I was poison, Adella!” He spun around, his eyes flashing with the golden hue of Ragnar. “My world is filled with enemies, assassins, and politics. I wanted you to have a normal life. I thought if I kept my distance, my darkness wouldn’t touch you.”
“And how did that work out?” I challenged, stepping closer, fueled by grief. “You stayed away, and they died. Then you came into my life, and I was attacked by Katherine Parrish in your own home. Your protection feels a lot like danger, Dallas.”
He flinched as if I had struck him. The agony in his eyes was raw, stripping away the King and leaving only the man.
“You’re right,” he whispered, the fight draining out of him. “I failed. I tried to be noble — to stay in the shadows — but the moment I saw you at that Gala, the moment I smelled you…” He reached out, his hand hovering inches from my face, trembling. “I am selfish, Adella. I knew bringing you here would put a target on your back, but I did it anyway. Because the thought of you belonging to anyone else makes me want to burn the world down.”
“Then let me go,” I said, tears streaming down my face. “If you love me, let me go. Let me figure out who I am without this debt.”
His hand froze. The air around us grew heavy, charged with static. A low, vibrating growl started deep in his chest — a sound that was entirely Ragnar.
“I can’t,” he snarled, his voice dropping an octave, vibrating through my bones. “You are mine. That is the only truth that matters.”
I stared at him, unnerved by the raw intensity of it. It wasn’t romance — it was a primal, dangerous instinct. I took a step back, ready to flee, ready to lock myself behind the guest room door and never come out.
But before I could move, Dallas went rigid.
His eyes glazed over, the golden light dimming as he was pulled into a mind-link. I watched the blood drain from his face, his tan skin turning ashen. His hand dropped from the air and fell limp at his side.
The change was instant. The possessive lover vanished, replaced by a horrified King.
He blinked, severing the link, and looked at me — but he wasn’t seeing me. He was seeing a ghost.
“Dallas?” I whispered, fear replacing my anger. “What is it?”
He closed his eyes, looking suddenly old, defeated. He turned away from me, staring out at the city that seemed too dark, too vast.
“She’s going to shatter,” he whispered to the wind, his voice so faint I almost missed it.
A cold chill swept through me that had nothing to do with the night air. I didn’t know what he had just heard. But I knew, with a sickening certainty, that the storm wasn’t over.
It had only just begun.