Chapter 54

Chapter 54:

I stepped out, the crisp morning air doing little to cool the heat beneath my skin. The automatic doors slid open, and I was assaulted by the smell of antiseptic and artificial fragrance. I ignored the startled looks from the few humans in the aisles, my presence too large, too predatory for the sterile environment.

I walked straight to the aisle I needed. My hand hovered over the boxes, my reflection caught in the plastic divider — eyes swirling with gold, jaw tight with predatory intent. I grabbed three boxes of condoms.

I hated that it had come to this — that I had to mark her like territory to keep her safe. But in my world, possession was protection. If Braydon Hyde saw her as unequivocally mine, he might finally let her go. This wasn’t about control. It was about survival.

Adella thought she could keep me at arm’s length with her pills and her contracts. She thought she could deny the pull between us. But tonight, before she stepped foot in The Plaza, I would remind her exactly who she belonged to. I would cover her in my scent so thoroughly that Braydon Hyde would choke on it from across the room.

I tossed the boxes onto the counter. The cashier — a teenage boy — went pale and fumbled with the scanner, avoiding my gaze.

The hunt is on, little wolf, Ragnar purred in my mind, satisfied at last.

I paid in cash and walked out, the plastic bag crinkling in my grip. She wanted a war? She was about to get one. But the first battle would be fought in our bedroom.

𝘛𝗁𝗲 𝗯𝘦s𝘵 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗇g 𝖾𝗑pе𝗿𝘪eոс𝗲 𝘰𝗇 𝗀a𝘭ոо𝗏𝗲𝗅ѕ.𝘤о𝗺

Night had fallen over the city, turning the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse into vast, obsidian mirrors. But inside, the darkness felt heavier, thicker — coiling around the furniture like smoke, suffocating and charged with static.

I sat on the plush velvet sofa, my art history notes spread across my lap, but I hadn’t read a single sentence in the last hour. My eyes kept drifting to the man standing by the bar cart.

Dallas had returned an hour ago, bringing a storm in with him. He hadn’t said a word. He had simply shed his jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and poured himself a glass of amber liquid that he had yet to drink. He stood with his back to me, staring out at the city lights — yet I could feel his attention fixed on me like a hand pressed against my spine. A predator tracking the heartbeat of its prey.

The silence stretched until it snapped.

“You’re vibrating, Adella.” Dallas’s voice was low, a rough baritone that scraped against my nerves. He turned slowly, the crystal glass catching the dim light. “Are you rehearsing your lines for tomorrow? Or are you just terrified p>

I closed my notebook, my fingers trembling slightly. “I’m studying p>

“You’ve been staring at the same page for forty minutes.” He took a slow sip of his whiskey, his eyes never leaving mine. They swirled with flecks of gold — Ragnar was close to the surface. “You’re thinking about him. About walking into that room and facing Braydon Hyde p>