Chapter 53

Chapter 53:

“And that is exactly why I can’t let you,” she countered, finally lifting her gaze. Her eyes were haunted yet resolute. “If you destroy them, I learn nothing. I gain nothing. I remain the weak, wolfless girl who needs the Alpha King to fight her battles. I need to be Adella Everett tonight. Not your possession p>

Possession. The word tasted like bile. She saw my protection as a cage. She saw our bond as a shackle.

Ragnar roared, demanding I flip the table, pin her to the floor, and force her to submit to our claim. The urge to lock her in this tower and throw away the key was so potent it blurred my vision with gold.

“Fine,” I said, the word cutting through the air like a whip.

I stood up abruptly, my chair scraping harsh against the marble floor. I didn’t look at her again — I couldn’t. If I stayed one second longer, I would shatter the fragile truce we had built. I grabbed my jacket and stormed out, leaving her alone with her cold eggs and her foolish pride.

The interior of my armored SUV was a sanctuary of silence and leather, but it did nothing to quell the fire in my blood. As the city blurred past the tinted windows, I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.

She wanted to handle the Hydes herself? Fine. But I would set the board.

𝘋𝗶ѕ𝗰𝘰𝗏𝖾𝘳 𝗁id𝘥е𝗻 𝘨𝖾𝗆ѕ o𝘯

Duncan, I projected through the mind-link, my mental voice icy.

Alpha, my Beta responded instantly, his tone alert.

I need an engagement gift for the Hyde-Parrish union. Something… memorable.

What did you have in mind?

A cruel smirk touched my lips. Donate one million dollars to the St. Jude’s Shelter for Rogue Orphans. Do it in Katherine Parrish’s name. Make sure the press release goes out an hour before the party starts.

Duncan hesitated for a fraction of a second, sensing the viciousness of the move. The Hydes were purists — they despised Rogues. To have their future daughter-in-law publicly associated with a charity for Rogue orphans would be a humiliation that tainted the entire evening before it even began.

Consider it done.

Vance, I called upon my Gamma next.

Here, Alpha.

I want a full sensory feed of The Plaza’s ballroom tonight. Every camera, every microphone. If a waiter sneezes near her, I want to know about it.

Understood. I’ll have the link set up on your tablet.

I severed the connection. The strategic maneuvering cooled my temper slightly, but the ache in my chest — the physical pain of the strained bond — remained. Adella wanted to walk into that party as herself? She could try. But every wolf in that room needed to know she was untouchable.

If she wouldn’t let me stand by her side, I would make sure she carried my presence in a way she couldn’t hide.

I pulled the SUV to the curb, tires crunching against the asphalt. I stared out the window at the mundane, brightly lit storefront of a human pharmacy. It was beneath a King to enter such a place, but desperation made men do strange things.