Chapter 41
Chapter 41:
“Is that what you are now?” Chelsi continued, leaning in, her voice dropping to a venomous hiss. “Did you spread your legs for the Alpha King just to get a ride to school? Because let’s be honest — without a wolf, what else are you good for? You’re just a warm body for him to use until he gets bored p>
Something inside me snapped. Deep within, something stirred — a flicker of heat, a whisper of power I had never felt before. It vanished as quickly as it came, but for a moment I wasn’t just Adella the wolfless. I was something more. The shame I had felt under Dallas’s gaze last night transmuted into cold, hard anger. I wasn’t just a vessel, and I wasn’t going to let this spoiled Alpha’s daughter treat me like one.
I stopped trying to leave. I looked her dead in the eye.
“My Mate is concerned with running an empire, Chelsi,” I said, my voice steady and icy. “Which is more than I can say for your father. I hear Alpha Parrish is still scrambling to address that massive breach in your southern border. Maybe if he spent less time buying you designer bags and more time training his warriors, the Rogue problem wouldn’t be embarrassing him in front of the Council p>
The color drained from Chelsi’s face, replaced instantly by a flush of humiliated rage. The gasps from the surrounding students only fueled her fury. I had struck a nerve.
“You bitch!” Chelsi shrieked. Her hand flew up, aimed at my face.
ոo𝘷е𝘭𝗌 𝘪𝗇 𝗍𝗋е𝘯𝘥 on
I flinched, bracing for the sting.
It never came.
A hand shot out from behind me, catching Chelsi’s wrist in a vice-like grip just inches from my cheek.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice said, low and dangerous.
Azalea stepped up beside me. She didn’t look like the bubbly girl who ate popcorn on my couch. Her eyes flashed with a predatory light, her posture radiating the undeniable authority of her bloodline. She twisted Chelsi’s wrist slightly, forcing the other girl to whimper and drop to her knees.
“Adella is under the protection of the Alpha King,” Azalea announced, her voice ringing out across the quad. “She is under my father’s protection p>
Chelsi struggled, but she was no match for the daughter of a Lycan. Azalea leaned down, her lips brushing Chelsi’s ear, though her whisper was loud enough for me — and the wolves with enhanced hearing nearby — to catch.
“Touch her, and the Parrish Pack’s trade treaty with the Northern Alliance is dust by noon. My father is watching p>
Azalea released her abruptly. Chelsi stumbled back, clutching her wrist, her eyes wide with terror. The mention of the treaty — her Pack’s economic lifeline — had shattered her bravado entirely. Without a word, she turned and fled, her minions scrambling after her.
“Come on,” Azalea said, looping her arm through mine as if nothing had happened. I could feel the tension still coiled in her muscles. “Let’s get you to class p>
“Thank you,” I breathed, my heart still hammering against my ribs.
“Don’t mention it,” she replied, though her smile was tight. “He’s my dad. He can be… difficult. But no one touches family p>