Chapter 92
Chapter 92:
“He’s not a child who breaks his toys, Adella,” Dallas said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the table. “He’s a rabid dog backed into a corner, snapping at anything he can reach. He knows he can’t touch you physically while you are under my protection, so he attacks your future p>
He took a sip of his wine, his gaze locking onto mine. “But a rabid dog eventually bites itself p>
His confidence was a balm to my frayed nerves. For a moment, I allowed myself to believe that Braydon was exactly that — a pathetic, flailing creature. But the universe has a cruel sense of timing.
My phone buzzed against the white tablecloth, the sound harsh and intrusive.
I glanced at the screen. Victoria Hyde.
My blood ran cold. I reached to decline it, but Dallas’s hand covered mine gently. “Answer it p>
I slid the icon across. “Victoria, if this is about p>
“He’s dying, Adella!” Victoria’s voice was a shrill shriek, so loud I had to pull the phone from my ear. “He’s burning up — 104 degrees. The Healer can’t bring it down. He keeps calling for you p>
𝖱𝘦a𝖽 𝗳𝗿o𝗺 𝗒о𝗎𝗿 p𝘩𝘰𝘯𝗲 𝘰n
“Call an ambulance,” I said, my voice flat. “I’m not a doctor p>
“His wolf is dying, Adella!” she sobbed, the sound raw and terrifyingly genuine. “The bond, the rejection — it shattered something. His Inner Wolf is fading. If his wolf dies, Braydon becomes a husk. Do you want the death of a future Alpha on your conscience? Do you want that blood on your hands p>
The air left my lungs. In our world, the death of an Inner Wolf was a fate worse than execution — a spiritual amputation. I hated Braydon for what he had done to me, for the abuse and the humiliation, but the thought of being the cause of a wolf’s death was a heavy, dark stain I wasn’t sure I could scrub away. And if I didn’t go, would he retaliate against S&D Design next? He had already tried to poison my future there once.
I looked at Dallas, helpless, and handed him the phone.
He listened for a moment, his face an unreadable mask of stone. Then he ended the call and set the device down.
“Is it true?” I whispered.
“Likely,” Dallas said calmly. “Bond shock can be fatal to unstable minds p>
“So I have to go.” I slumped back in my chair, defeat tasting bitter on my tongue. “If I don’t, I’m the villain. I’m the wolfless girl who murdered an Alpha’s spirit p>
“Go,” Dallas said.
My head snapped up. “What p>
“Go. Not to save him — to free yourself.” He leaned forward, the intensity of his gaze pinning me to my seat. “Go and see the monster without his mask. See him weak, pathetic, and broken. It will sever the last chain he has on your soul. If you don’t, the question of what might have been will haunt you for the rest of your life. You need to see that he is just a man, Adella. And a small one at that p>
His words cut through the fog of my guilt. He wasn’t sending me back to be abused — he was sending me to witness my own victory.