Chapter 161
Chapter 161
GRAYSON
Damn it.
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Every instinct in me is begging for blood. Rogues. Their stench is everywhere, crawling into my lungs. scratching at my wolf until he’s clawing against my skin. I should shift. I should tear through them, rip their throats wide, and let the forest drink what spills.
That’s who I am.
That’s who I’ve always been.
The beast that doesn’t hesitate.
But now… now there’s Jessica.
She’s in there, sleeping, breathing soft, the only sound in this rotten world that keeps me tethered. She has no idea how fragile it all is–how one wrong move could end her. The Alphas don’t want her here, the rogues would gut her for sport, and every choice I make is a damn coin toss between saving her and destroying her.
My pack is gone. Burned. Buried. Every life I should’ve protected, taken because I chose her. Because I couldn’t let her go. And I’d make the same choice again, even if it damns me.
But if these rogues scent her? If they know what I’m hiding?
They’ll rip her apart first.
And I’ll follow them straight into Hell just to drag them back out and make them beg for death.
The howl comes again, closer, taunting, and I swear my control fractures. My wolf doesn’t want patience. He doesn’t want reason. He wants slaughter.
And Goddess help me–so do I.
“What can I do for you, dear Roman?” Kade’s voice cuts through the night, smooth, calm, the kind of tone that makes enemies second–guess themselves. He’s standing in the open, welcoming rogues like a snake charming prey.
Meanwhile, I’m crouched in the shadows, teeth bared, nails digging half–moons into my palms to keep from shifting, Hiding. Fucking hiding. Like some coward waiting for scraps.
Not my proudest moment.
Not when every instinct in me is screaming to leap, to shred, to show them who they’re dealing with.
But I can’t.
One look–just one–and these rogues will know. They’ll smell Jessica on me. They’ll sniff out the heat on her
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Chapter 161
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skin, the secret I’m breaking my back to protect. And then it’s over.
55 vouchers
My wolf thrashes against my ribs, furious at my restraint. He doesn’t care about strategy, doesn’t care about Kade’s games. He only knows one truth: enemies bleed, or we do.
I want to lunge.
I want to bury my teeth in Roman’s throat, feel the crunch of his spine snap between my jaws. I want to paint the dirt with his blood and make the others watch.
But I stay.
I crouch lower, chest heaving, vision rimmed red, every muscle trembling with the effort not to explode.
“She–wolf,” Roman growled, lips curling back to show yellowed fangs. “Moon–blessed. Word is you’re hiding her. Give her to us, and maybe we’ll leave your carcass whole.”
They laughed, snapping jaws, claws tearing dirt, daring us to deny it.
My vision went red. My wolf slammed against the cage of my body, claws bursting through my skin, jaw aching with the need to shift. Mine. The word roared through me, relentless, absolute. Mine to protect. Mine to bleed for. Mine to kill for.
Kade didn’t flinch. His voice was iron, cold and sharp enough to cut. “Rumors. Nothing more. But keep sniffing at my borders, Roman, and I’ll scatter your teeth in the dirt for the crows.”
The rogues bristled, tails high, hackles raised, the promise of violence thick in the air.
1 crouched deeper in shadow, muscles trembling with the effort to hold back. My wolf howled in my blood, clawing at me to lunge, to rip, to show them why I am Alpha.
Roman’s grin was all rot and arrogance, flashing fangs under the moonlight. “Don’t play dumb with me, Kade. I know what I smelled.” His wolves stirred behind him, yellow eyes glowing, their hunger bleeding into the night air. “Not just any bitch. You’re hiding her.” His nostrils flared as he dragged in a breath, savoring it. “Hybrid.”
My vision tunneled. My wolf slammed against my skin so hard I almost tore out of hiding.
Fuck you, asshole,
You cannot have her. You’ll never even say her name again if I get loose.
“Rumors, Nothing more. But keep sniffing my borders, Roman, and I’ll scatter your teeth in the dirt for the
crows.”
The rogues bristled, tails high, their hunger spilling into the air. The ground itself felt tight, trembling under the weight of too many claws ready to strike.
“You can’t hide her scent, Kade. She’s bleeding into the wind. Every wolf within a hundred miles will smell her
soon.”
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Chapter 161
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He prowled closer, shoulders hunched, claws half–sprung, boots grinding dirt and stone. Behind him his rogues slithered forward, tails high, hackles raised, paws gouging trenches in the soil.
“Step one paw farther, Roman, and I’ll scatter your carcass so wide even the crows won’t find you,”
Roman’s laugh was feral, all spit and fang. “You don’t scare me, pup. Not while you’re guarding a bitch like that. Give her to me. Let my pack taste her.”
Roman’s wolves writhed, restless, hunger bleeding out of them in sharp yips and low snarls. They were ready
to pounce.
And me–every second was a war to stay in shadow. My wolf wanted carnage.
Moonlight burned silver across Kade’s back as his claws slid free.
He prowled forward, chest rising with a sound more beast than man–a rumble so deep it rattled in the
marrow.
He tilted his head, eyes glowing like coals. “You think she’s prey? That I’d hand her to scavengers like you? Try me. Take her breath if you can. You’ll choke on your own before her scent ever touches your tongue.”
Roman’s grin split wide, fangs catching moonlight. “One warning, Kade. You can’t hide her forever. Moon- blessed flesh sings to every wolf for miles. When the packs catch her scent, you’ll drown in blood trying to keep her.”
His rogues surged, claws raking dirt, yellow eyes blazing.
Kade stepped forward, silver burning across his back, claws unsheathed. His growl cracked like thunder. “Then let them come. She’s under my teeth now. Untouchable. Take one more step, Roman, and I’ll scatter your hide so thin the worms won’t find you.”
The rogues faltered, ears twitching under the weight of his dominance. Roman spat in the dirt, eyes glittering.
“Enjoy her while you can, pup. The wind always changes.”
He
spun, his pack slinking after him, snarls fading into the treeline.
After a few minutes, I decided to come out, “You should’ve let me gut him,” I rasped, my voice all gravel and fang. “One strike. His pack would’ve scattered like cowards. Instead, you let him walk.”
Kade’s head turned toward me, slow as a predator about to pounce. “I let him live,” he growled, “because 1 chose it. Not because I couldn’t end him. Remember your place, Grayson. Where’s your girl?”
“She’s sleeping.”
Good,” he said, low, rumbling. “Keep her safe. One mistake, and all of them will come here looking for her.”
