Chapter 254
+8 Pearls
Carmen avoided Duke’s gaze, her fingers tightening around Jace Hale’s wrist as she pulled him toward the exit with long, decisive strides.
Behind them, Duke’s eyes narrowed, tracking the way their hands
rushing through his chest, the beast inside him clawing for releaemained clasped. The sight sent a surge of heat and fury
Bang!
His fist slammed into the doorframe with enough force to splinter the wood.
“Carmen,” his voice was low, edged with a growl, “you’ve got some nerve.”
to kainst his face. He could still feel the ghost of
Jace rode his motorcycle in brooding silence, jaw locked, the wind whipping Carmen’s closeness back in that room–how she’d leaned in as though
him, but their lips had never actually touched.
He’d realized in that instant: she had only used him as a prop, a tool to rile that other male.
The thought made his chest feel heavy, like a stone lodged behind his ribs.
Without a word, Jace pulled the bike to a halt in front of the Silverfang Den, He didn’t bother asking if she wanted to return to Ashmoor Academy–his mood was too dark for that.
He dismounted, caught her wrist in a firm grip, and all but dragged her inside.
The Silverfang Den pulsed with low, predatory energy. Blood–red lights flashed over writhing bodies, the air thick with the mingled scents of sweat, musk, and liquor. The bass of the music throbbed like a heartbeat, primal and unrestrained.
Jace pushed Carmen into a shadowed booth in the corner, his presence looming over her.
Her reaction was instant—her boot shot up, pressing firmly against his chest, halting him in place. Her gaze was glacia
glacial, her voice sharp as a claw’s edge.
“Looking for a fight?”
The strobe lights flickered over her features, revealing a beauty edged with danger, an Alpha’s challenge in every line of her body.
Whatever wolfish bravado Jace had gathered vanished under that stare. He exhaled heavily, shoulders loosening, and slumped down beside her, letting his head fall against her shoulder.
“Carmen,” he murmured, voice softer now, “I really do like you.”
Her lips curved in something that was not quite a smile. “Affection doesn’t put meat on the table.”
“It can,” he said quickly, desperation seeping into his tone. “If you’d just give me a chance, I’d take care of you for the rest of my life.”
She laughed, short and cold.
The phrase was one she’d heard before–from Maddox–back when he’d sworn to protect Riley forever, promising that once he became a warrior, he’d hunt down anyone who hurt her.
Those words had turned to ash. The man had turned into a monster.
Carmen had long since learned: a male’s promise of protection was the biggest lie in the pack.
She stood, straightening her jacket. “Jace, lines like that might fool a naïve pup. Not me.”
“Entertain yourself. I’m leaving”
But before she could take a second step, a figure lurched into her path and dropped to his knees.
The reek of strong liquor hit her nose first. Then his arms locked around her waist in a desperate grip.
Her eyes sharpened. The drunken wolf clutching her was none other than Ronan Duskcliff.
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Chapter 254
+8 Pearls
His pupils were blown wide, breath ragged, voice hoarse with some tangled mix of sorrow and longing.
“Riley…” he rasped, using a name that didn’t belong to her. “I can’t… I can’t stand this anymore. Please forgive me.”
His voice cracked, a sound raw enough to scrape bone. “I’ll change, I swear it. Just come back to me. Don’t give your heart to Lucien Duskgrave–give it to me. I need you, Riley. I can’t live without you.”
Tears streaked his cheeks, and his grip tightened like iron.
Carmen’s expression went icy, the steel in her voice making the nearby wolves pause mid–step. “Let. Go.”
“No!” he cried, almost snarling. “I’ll never let go again. Please… just one more chance.”
Her patience snapped. One hand fisted in his hair, she yanked his head back and struck him across the face with a sharp crack.
“Now you regret it?” she spat. “Where was this when Riley was broken by your hands and your pack’s treachery? When you left her crippled for life?”
Her boot drove into his chest, sending him sprawling onto the sticky floorboards. She stepped forward, planting her heel over his heart.
“Look closely, Ronan,” she said, voice low and lethal. “I’m not Riley. But hear this–Riley will never forgive you.”
“If you truly feel remorse….” she leaned her weight into the heel pressing against him, “…then do the only thing that might matter. Die.”
He was too far gone in drink to heed the danger, his hands still scrabbling to grab her ankle.
“Riley please… I can make it right…”
did?”
Carmen tore her foot free, leaving a reddened mark on his skin where her boot had scraped him.
“Make it right?” she hissed. “You think a few empty words and a tear–stained plea can erase what you
Riley had been light itself–gentle, untainted. And yet the Ebonclaw Pack, the Duskcliffs, and Maddox had torn her life to pieces.
“When you joined in to destroy her,” Carmen’s voice was a whipcrack in the music–thick air, “did you ever stop to think this day would come? She was pure, she was trusting–how did you stomach shattering her?”
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