Chapter 581
The shame I thought Adella had healed clawed its way back out of the dark, suffocating me. In my mind, Ragnar let out a silent, agonizing howl of pure humiliation. We were exposed. Broken. Stripped of our dignity and paraded as a defective joke before the Elders and every Pack in the country. I couldn’t protect my mate’s honor. I couldn’t even claim her in the eyes of our kind.
I stared at my trembling hands, waiting for the inevitable look of pity from Adella. I waited for her to realize how truly broken her Alpha was.
But when I forced myself to look at her, there was no pity.
Her beautiful eyes were ablaze with a cold, lethal fury. She didn’t look at me like I was a cripple. She looked at the screen like a Queen preparing to execute a traitor.
Adella snatched the tablet from my hands without offering a single word of empty comfort. Instead, she turned her burning gaze to the rearview mirror.
“Track her. I want to know who’s backing her. Now,” she ordered, her voice cutting through the heavy silence of the SUV with absolute authority.
Duncan swallowed hard, his eyes wide as he registered the shift in power. “Yes, Luna. But it’s bad. Marshall Enterprises stock is already plummeting in after-hours trading. The network is crashing.”
“Let it crash,” Adella said coldly, her grip tightening on the tablet. “Turn the car around, Duncan. We’re going back to the Estate.”
Adella POV
The armored SUV screeched to a halt beneath the grand portico of the Marshall Estate, the tires echoing off the marble like a war drum. The air was thick with tension — staff rushing, voices overlapping, the sharp smell of sweat and fear. Pack members darted through the lower offices with wide, panicked eyes.
Duncan killed the engine, his face grim. “Luna, the broadcast has hit three million views on RogueNet. The Elders are citing ancient wholeness clauses and demanding an emergency council.”
Dallas shoved open his door without a word, his presence heavy with shame. He limped toward the study, and the heavy oak door slammed behind him. The electronic lock beeped — sealed.
I turned to Duncan, keeping my voice steady and cold. “Delay the Elders. No official statements from PR. Trace Seraphina’s backers.”
“Yes, Luna.” He nodded, already speaking into his earpiece.
“Vance,” I called into the hallway, “override the study lock. Now.”
The Gamma appeared with a master keycard in hand. The door hissed open to darkness. Dallas was hunched in the shadows by the window, fists clenched, his back to me.
“Dosha has the Zurich files,” he rasped, his voice breaking. “She’ll rip the Pack from me. I’m done, Adella. A defective shell — that’s all I am.”
I crossed the room and cupped his face, forcing his storm-gray eyes to mine. Sparks ignited along our bond. “You are not a cripple. You are the father of my pup. The man who took a silver blade for me. A piece of paper doesn’t define you. The Moon Goddess does.”
His breath hitched. The tension in his jaw softened, just a fraction.
My burner phone buzzed — a self-deleting message from Bella Rose. I slid it into his hand. The enhanced photograph glowed on the screen: Seraphina handing a cash-stuffed envelope to Dr. Corbin in a dim Zurich restaurant.