Chapter 468
An hour later, the medical staff forced me into a wheelchair, navigating the lifeless gray walls and polished linoleum of the base’s hallway. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, aggravating the constant migraine pounding behind my eyes.
“Ghost.”
I stopped. Kade, my former comrade from the Dire Guard, blocked the corridor. His arms were crossed, his expression tight.
“I heard the rumors,” Kade said, his voice echoing in the empty hall. “You rejected your Fated Mate for Yara? That’s bullshit. Adella stood up to Braydon Hyde. She’s got more spine than half the Warriors in our Pack.”
“Adella is weak,” I lied smoothly, sticking to the script. “Yara gives me the strength a wolfless girl never could.”
Kade stepped closer, his nostrils flaring. He inhaled sharply, and I saw the exact moment the pieces clicked in his head. He caught the faint, metallic stench of silver rot beneath my storm scent. His gaze dropped to my hands — to the uncontrollable tremor Ragnar’s endless howling produced.
Kade’s eyes widened. He dropped to one knee, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper. “You’re sick. You’re playing the martyr, Ghost. Who’s the target?”
Panic flared in my chest. If the Pack found out — if she found out — the plan would crumble. I let my eyes bleed into glowing Lycan red, unleashing the crushing weight of my aura.
“Step aside, Kade,” I growled, lacing the words with an undeniable Alpha’s Command.
Kade gritted his teeth, his wolf forcing his body to comply. He stepped aside, but the knowing look in his eyes told me my secret was no longer just mine.
Adella POV
The S&D Design Restoration Wing at Marshall Tower was a masterpiece of modern architecture, but today it felt like a high-tech prison.
I walked through the revolving doors into the marble lobby. The footage was still playing on the massive screen mounted on the wall — the same images I had watched at Anson’s estate. Dallas in his wheelchair. Yara behind him. The crawl announcing their debut.
I didn’t stop. I had already seen it. I had already felt the knife twist. I kept walking.
I marched into Isabelle Thorne’s office. The minimalist space featured a massive glass wall overlooking the city and a sleek black glass desk where the Alpha King’s COO sat behind an encrypted laptop. I slapped my resignation letter onto the glass. “I’m done, Isabelle. I quit.”
Isabelle didn’t even blink. She calmly pushed the paper back toward me. “I cannot accept this, Ms. Everett. Clause 14 of your Pack employment contract clearly states that leaving before the restoration project is complete incurs a five-million-dollar penalty.”
The air vanished from my lungs. “Five million? I don’t have that kind of money!”
The Hydes had swallowed my parents’ estate, and I had walked away from the rejection settlement with nothing but my pride. I was completely broke.
“Those are the terms,” Isabelle said smoothly. “Alpha Marshall left specific instructions regarding your contract. You are to remain here, at all costs.”