Chapter 40
Chapter 40:
“Dallas,” I said, my voice sounding too loud in the quiet room. I gripped my napkin beneath the table. “About tomorrow — do you need me to prepare anything for the Alpha Summit meetings p>
He paused. His hand stopped moving on the screen. For a moment, I thought he would look at me. I hoped he would yell, scream — anything to acknowledge my existence.
He didn’t.
He simply swiped to the next page on his tablet, lifted his wine glass, and took a sip.
“No p>
He didn’t even raise his eyes.
The rejection was absolute — not a rejection of the bond, but of me. Of my voice, my presence, my importance. I was nothing more than a piece of furniture in his house.
𝗝оi𝗇 t𝘩𝘦 𝖼о𝗺𝗆𝘂𝘯𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝖺𝘁
I looked at Azalea, who offered me a sympathetic, helpless grimace. I forced a bite of food into my mouth, but it turned to ash on my tongue.
I had won the battle for my body. But as I stared at the cold, unyielding profile of the Alpha King, I understood that I had started a war I had no idea how to fight. And the most terrifying part, as I looked at the emptiness in his eyes, was that I was no longer sure I wanted to win.
Adella POV
The morning sun glinted off the hood of the Aston Martin, blinding and sharp, but it offered no warmth. Driving this car felt like wearing a target on my back. It was a beast of a machine — sleek, silver, and screaming of wealth and power, specifically Dallas Marshall’s power. I gripped the leather steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.
After the suffocating silence of last night’s dinner, the university campus should have felt like an escape. Instead, as I pulled into the lot near the Arts building, I felt the weight of a hundred stares pressing against the tinted glass.
“Just ignore them,” I whispered to myself, killing the engine.
But ignoring them was impossible.
As I stepped out, the crisp morning air was instantly tainted by the scent of artificial perfume and hostility. Chelsi Parrish was waiting for me on the brick path, flanked by her usual entourage of high-born she-wolves. Her arms were crossed, her lips curled in a sneer that didn’t quite reach her cold, calculating eyes.
“Well, look at this,” Chelsi drawled, her voice carrying easily over the chatter of passing students. She stepped into my path, blocking me. “The wolfless parasite arrives in a chariot fit for a King. Tell me, Adella — how does it feel to drive a car worth more than your entire existence p>
I tightened my grip on my bag strap and tried to step around her. “Move, Chelsi. I have class p>
She sidestepped, mirroring my movement. “I’m talking to you, breeder p>
The word hit me like a physical blow, echoing the very fear that had driven me to swallow that pill last night. My stomach churned.