Chapter 233
Chapter 233
Chapter 233
Third Person’s POV
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Lana lifted her chin, her amber wolf–eyes flashing in the dim glow of the inn’s lantern. “I was only trying to unbutton his collar,” she snapped, hands raised in defiance. “Let the poor bastard breathe a little! That’s all!” Her finger jabbed sharply toward Kade. “And besides–I already said it before, didn’t I? Even if Kade stripped naked and danced right in front of me, I wouldn’t feel a flicker of interest p>
Victor’s brow arched, his voice like the weight of a storm pressing down on the small, rented room. His presence was suffocating–Alpha–bred, the kind that could crush bone without lifting a claw. For a moment, the tension in the air eased, though his expression remained carved from stone.
Kade’s wolf bristled. His face flushed red as his snarl cracked through the silence. “The hell did you just say?” His fists curled at his sides, barely keeping from shifting. “Me–naked, dancing in front of you? Are you insane, Lana? What the hell’s in that head of yours p>
Victor’s eyes narrowed. His tone cut sharper than claws. “If you have no interest in Kade, then why,” his words dripped with venom, “did you come to an inn with him p>
“Because…” Lana’s voice wavered before snapping back with a desperate rush. “We were following someone! That woman who left earlier–Aurora. She’s my friend’s sworn enemy p>
Kade straightened, nodding fervently, his jaw clenched tight. “She’s telling the truth, Victor. Why the hell else would I come to a place like this with her? You know me. You know the kind of women I like p>
Victor’s gaze turned glacial. He did know. Kade’s wolf had long since imprinted on Freya Thorne–the Bloodmoon she–wolf, once his commander in the Iron Fang Recon Unit. She was the one name that lingered in his nephew’s blood like a fever. And when Freya had wed another, Kade had vanished abroad, his wolf restless, unmoored.
“If there’s nothing else, I’m gone.” Kade pushed to his feet, restless energy rippling from him like static. He didn’t want to stay caged in the same room as Victor’s scrutiny.
“Wait.” Lana’s voice pitched upward. “The man with Aurora today–you should look into him. He reeks of coin and shadow. I swear, he’s holding something over her, some kind of leverage. Money’s moving hands. You can smell it p>
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10:14 Tue, Sep 16
Chapter 233
66
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Kade paused in the doorway, gave a short, sharp nod. “Fine. I’ll check. But I don’t give a damn about Aurora’s games.” He waved dismissively, his broad shoulders tense as he stalked out.
The door slammed, and silence devoured the room.
Lana finally exhaled, realizing too late how close she stood to Victor. Just the two of them now, caught in the dense air like prey in a snare.
“Well, then, I’ll be going too.” She took a step, but Victor’s arm shot out with Alpha speed, barring her way
with the ease of a wolf who had led armies.
His gaze pinned her where she stood. “You’re not going to explain yourself p>
Her lashes fluttered, lips parting. “Explain… what?” Then her face lit up with a nervous smile. “Oh! Don’t worry about the room. The charges are already paid p>
Victor’s temple twitched. His jaw clenched so hard the veins stood stark along his neck. Of all the wolves in the packs, only this woman had ever been able to ignite his temper so effortlessly.
“You mean to tell me,” he growled, voice low and rough as gravel, “that because you wanted to trail Aurora, you would come here–alone–with a man? That you would risk everything to snoop p>
“I didn’t come with just any man,” Lana fired back. Her wolf bristled, but her heart thudded wildly in her chest. “It was Kade. That’s different p>
Victor’s eyes darkened to obsidian. “Kade isn’t a man to you p>
Her throat bobbed. Not like that. She had always seen Kade as nothing more than an unruly younger brother. But how could she explain that to a wolf like Victor, whose gaze stripped lies bare and left nothing but bone?
“Or what?” Victor’s voice dropped into a dangerous rumble as he leaned in, shadow swallowing her smaller frame. “If it hadn’t been Kade beside you–if it had been a colleague, a subordinate, any other male–would you have dragged him here too p>
Lana’s shoulders curled inward under his stare. She tried to keep her voice steady, though the heat of his wolf pressed into her bones. “Of course not. Don’t twist this. Kade and I… we both care about Freya, we both despise Aurora. That’s the only reason I pulled him in. And like I said–I don’t have feelings for him. I’d never lay a hand on him p>
Victor’s mouth curved, but there was no humor in it. His eyes gleamed with a hunter’s cruelty. “Then who would you lay a hand on, Lana? ”
2/3
10:14 Tue, Sep 16
Chapter 233
66
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The air thickened, heavy with tension. His question wasn’t just words–it was challenge, Alpha to she–wolf, testing the truth that pulsed under her skin.
Lana’s heart lurched. Her wolf stammered inside her chest, caught between fight and submission. The first name on her tongue, reckless and sharp as a blade, slipped free before she could bite it back.
“Anyone,” she whispered, eyes locking with his, “but you p>
The silence after was brutal. Victor’s expression darkened, his wolf aura rolling like thunder, crashing through the fragile walls of the inn.
Lana realized too late what she had said, but the words hung between them, electric and irreversible.