Chapter 44

Chapter 44:

“Since that day,” Azalea said, looking up at me, her eyes pleading for understanding, “he has been obsessed with safety. He thinks if he controls every variable, if he builds his walls high enough, he won’t have to feel that loss again. He’s not just a tyrant, Adella. He’s haunted p>

I looked toward the door, thinking of the man standing alone in the living room. The coldness, the rigid rules, the suffocating protectiveness — it wasn’t arrogance. It was a desperate, clawing attempt to hold his world together.

He wasn’t just a monster keeping me in a cage. He was a man who had built the cage to keep death out.

“Maybe,” Azalea said softly, “you can be the one to make him realize he doesn’t have to be afraid anymore p>

I didn’t answer. The weight of her words settled on my chest. I had been so focused on fighting him, on protecting my own heart, that I hadn’t seen the shattered pieces of his.

I wasn’t just dealing with an Alpha King. I was dealing with a survivor still fighting a war that had ended six years ago. And for the first time, I didn’t want to run away. I wanted to find a way to make the storm inside him stop.

Adella

The silence in the penthouse was usually a cold, sterile thing, but tonight, at six o’clock, it felt like a sanctuary. After the emotional wringer of the afternoon — the confrontation at the university, the shouting match with Dallas, and Azalea’s heartbreaking revelation about the war — I needed the stillness.

I sat alone at the end of the massive ebony dining table. Mrs. Higgins, the Omega housekeeper, moved like a ghost, placing a plate of roasted chicken and vegetables before me. The clink of china was the only sound in the vast room. Dallas was supposed to be meeting with the Pack Elders tonight. For the first time in days, I could breathe without the heavy weight of his gaze on my skin.

𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘯

Or so I thought.

The soft chime of the private elevator shattered my peace.

Mrs. Higgins froze, her eyes widening as the doors slid open. Dallas Marshall stepped out, and instantly the air in the room grew heavier, charged with the scent of rain, ozone, and raw, leashed power. He wasn’t wearing his suit jacket; his white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled up to reveal forearms corded with muscle.

“Alpha,” Mrs. Higgins dipped her head low, her voice trembling slightly. “We weren’t expecting you. The Elders p>

“The Elders can wait,” Dallas said, his voice a low rumble that seemed to vibrate through the floorboards. He didn’t look at her. His storm-grey eyes were locked on me.

He walked to the head of the table, his movements fluid and predatory, like a wolf circling its territory. He pulled out the chair opposite mine and sat down, his presence instantly shrinking the massive room until it felt like a cage.

“You’re home,” I said, the words coming out more like an accusation than a greeting. My heart hammered against my ribs. “I thought you had business p>