Chapter 626
Adella POV
The revelation from the armored SUV hung over us like a heavy storm cloud, but by the time the morning sun pierced the thick drapes of the master suite at the Marshall Estate, my lingering shock had crystallized into absolute resolve. I wasn’t going to let Dallas’s dark secrets — or his broken body — consume him.
I walked over to the massive bed where Dallas was resting and dropped a leather-bound folder onto his lap.
“The Swiss Redemption Plan,” I announced, crossing my arms over my maternity dress.
Dallas frowned, his storm-gray eyes scanning the documents. His jaw tightened instantly at the first page. “Dr. Alistair Vance’s nerve regeneration surgery. We already agreed to this, Adella.”
“Keep reading,” I instructed softly.
He flipped the page, and a low, warning growl vibrated in his chest. “A Pack Healer specializing in silver trauma to the Inner Wolf? Absolutely not. I don’t need anyone prying into Ragnar’s pain.”
“Ragnar is suffocating in the dark, Dallas. You both need to heal,” I countered, refusing to back down. “Now look at the third phase.”
Dallas’s eyes narrowed as he read the final parchment. “A private sanctuary in the Swiss Alps? Deep in neutral Pack territory?” He looked up, his Alpha instincts flaring with sharp paranoia. “No Dire Guard? Where is the defensive perimeter?”
“The perimeter is just us,” I said, stepping closer and resting my hands on his broad shoulders. “No Pack politics. No Elders. Just you, me, and our pup. You get to keep me all to yourself, completely untouched by the rest of the world.”
I felt the immediate shift in his aura. The scent of violent storms and cedar thickened, wrapping around me like a heavy blanket. Deep within his mind, Ragnar purred at the thought of absolute, isolated possession of his Mate. Dallas’s gaze dropped to my lips, his internal war crumbling under the weight of his Lycan possessiveness.
“Okay,” he murmured, his voice a low, surrendered rasp.
But as he pulled me down to sit on the edge of the mattress, the heavy reality of his crown returned. His expression darkened.
“Julian Malcolm is a defanged viper,” Dallas whispered, his thumb tracing my jawline. “But he isn’t the real threat. The true danger lies with the Elders who conspired with Dosha to send me to Siberia.” His eyes flashed with cold, lethal intent. “They are more dangerous than Rogues, because they know how to use the law to kill.”
A shiver ran down my spine. The shadows of his past were vast and terrifying, but I refused to let them ruin this fragile morning.
I reached into my nightstand drawer and pulled out a pair of non-prescription glasses I had bought weeks ago. I gently slid them onto his face.
Dallas blinked, bewildered. “What is this?”
“A disguise,” I smiled, adjusting the frames. “In Switzerland, you can be my mysterious, brooding bodyguard. No Alpha King. Just mine.”
A genuine, breathtaking smile broke through his hardened features. He grabbed my waist and pulled me flush against his chest, burying his face in my neck to inhale my Moonflower scent. For a fleeting moment, the war was entirely forgotten.
Then three sharp knocks echoed from the heavy oak door.