Chapter 258
The man caught the shift in her stance, his voice breaking through the tension like a blade.
“It’s me.”
Carmen froze. The dagger in her hand lowered, its tip dripping crimson.
“Duke?”
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A faint nod. His amber eyes held something unreadable–an emotion caught between warning and something far deeper.
“You saw everything?” Her voice came out raw, rasped from the weight of adrenaline and rage.
“Yes.” He didn’t look away. Didn’t flinch. Just stood there, his gaze steady and impossible to read.
For a long moment, silence pressed down between them. The wind curled through the narrow alley, carrying the copper tang of fresh blood.
Finally, Duke broke it.
“Carmen… what you just did is a crime.”
Her lips twisted. “What? Going to call the Stormridge enforcers on me?”
“No.” His answer came without hesitation.
“Then move.” She shoved at his chest, but his hand shot out, gripping her wrist.
The strength in his hold was Beta–born–unyielding. No matter how she twisted, she couldn’t break free.
“Come with me.” His voice left no room for refusal.
“And why would I?” she bit back.
His gaze flicked to her bloodstained shirt. “Unless you want to stroll back into Ashmoor Academy looking like you’ve just come from a slaughterhouse…”
Her eyes darted down. The streetlight made the splatters on her clothes blaze scarlet.
She stilled. Didn’t fight when he pulled her toward the black SUV waiting at the alley’s mouth.
The engine roared, and they sped through Mooncrest’s neon–drenched streets. Streetlights and Pack banners bled together in the glass, painting Carmen’s profile in cold light.
When they reached Duke’s apartment, he opened the door, motioning her inside.
“Shower. Now.” His tone was calm, but there was an undertone–command, but not Pack command. Mate command.
She said nothing, just stalked past him into the bathroom.
Water hissed behind the closed door. Duke lowered himself into the chair by the floor–to–ceiling windows, poured himself a glass of deep red wine/ and let it roll slowly in the crystal. The city’s nightscape stretched beyond the glass, but his thoughts weren’t on the view. They were on the woman behind the bathroom door–and the bond burning at the edges of his
restraint.
When she emerged, Carmen was in a white robe, hair damp and clinging to her cheeks, drops sliding down skin too pale under the warm light. She looked like a shard of moonlight–cold, untouchable.
Duke’s gaze darkened, lingering a beat too long.
Carmen didn’t seem to notice. She crossed the room, snatched the wine from his hand, and tipped it back in one swallow. Then she took the bottle and drained it without pause.
Her cheeks flushed quickly, her eyes unfocusing.
“More?” she asked, voice husky.
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Chapter 258
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“No.”
“You’re lying.”
He stayed silent.
She turned, heading for the kitchen, yanking open his liquor cabinet to pull out a bottle of white spirit. She twisted the cap, but his shadow was already there, cutting her off.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m done thinking. Give me the damn bottle.”
“Alcohol destroys the body.” His eyes narrowed.
“My heart’s already destroyed. What’s one more thing?” Her voice broke, and her eyes rimmed red.
“Do you even know who that was back there?” she demanded. “She’s the one who beat Riley in prison–shattered her eardrum, broke her legs. Riley’s life ended in that cell, and yet that piece of filth walks free.”
Her voice trembled with rage. “She took a hundred thousand from Ronan Duskcliff’s parents, swore she’d live out her ‘new life.’ You tell me, Duke, is that fair?”
“I gave her what she gave Riley–worse than that. Deaf. Crippled. Blinded. Tongue shattered. Hands and feet useless. If she survives, she’ll be nothing. Nothing.”
Her laugh was sharp, high–splintering. But the tears cut through it, shining tracks down her cheeks.
“No matter what I do, Riley will never be the same. Why does the Moon Goddess let good wolves suffer like that?”
Duke already knew Riley’s history–he’d investigated it himself–but hearing Carmen say it, tasting the grief under her rage, made his chest tighten.
“She was still top of her class at Mooncrest High, working two jobs, feeding the vultures of the Ebonclaw Pack, paying Maddox’s tuition, tutoring me. All while they bled her dry.”
His voice softened, almost a vow. “It will get better.”
“It won’t.” Her tone was flat, final. “That’s why I’ll take everything from the ones who hurt her. Tenfold. A hundredfold. If the law won’t touch them, I will.”
“Carmen-”
“Don’t you ‘Carmen‘ me.” She tried to drink again, but he caught the bottle and set it aside.
“Enough. Bed.”
She grabbed his shirt collar, dragging him down into her unsteady breath. “Who do you think you are?”
His eyes locked on hers, something primal flickering there.
“Duke. Your mate.”
Her drunken lips fumbled over it. “Duke…? What kind of name is that?” She squinted, swaying in his grip. “Sounds like ‘Dick.‘ I hate it. Disgusting.”
The bond between them flared, hot and undeniable. Duke’s jaw clenched. She might fight it–might hate him for what fate had bound between them–but he would not let her walk away.
Not now. Not ever.
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