Chapter 99
They didn’t ask me to stand beside him.
They didn’t put me in the frame.
My chest tightened.
This was about him.
Only him.
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What did that mean for me?
Before I could think too hard about it, I heard the familiar, measured footsteps echoing
down the hall.
Pierce.
He strolled toward us like he was arriving at a dinner party. Relaxed. Casual.
“Is it done?” he asked, scrolling on his phone.
One of the men nodded. “Just sent it.”
A beat.
Then Pierce’s phone buzzed.
He opened the message, studied the photo, and smiled.
“Perfect.“.
He tapped a few buttons, then hit send again.
I could only imagine where it was going. Moonstone. My father. My pack.
He looked up from the phone and gave Aiden a polite smile.
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“I imagine that’ll get a pretty quick response.”
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Even as he said it, his phone began to ring. He ignored it. Slipped it into his pocket like it was nothing.
And crouched in front of Aiden.
“You hungry, kid?”
Aiden didn’t answer right away. He looked up at me, eyes wide, body tense.
“No,” he mumbled.
But his stomach growled–loud and unmistakable.
Pierce’s smile widened. “Come on. Let’s get you some food.”
He held out a hand.
Aiden didn’t take it. He glanced at me again, clearly waiting for a signal. I wanted to tell him to run. To fight. But what good would that do?
So I gave him the only thing I could.
A slow nod.
“It’s okay,” I whispered.
His hand slipped into Pierce’s, reluctantly.
Pierce stood, tall and confident. “Just a quick bite. You’ll feel better.”
Aiden didn’t move at first.
So Pierce stepped closer, then rested a hand lightly on his shoulder.
Aiden flinched.
That hand wasn’t rough–not obviously–but something about it made my stomach twist.
Chapter 99
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Too familiar. Too practiced. Like he’d done this before. Like he enjoyed pretending to be
gentle.
He turned with Aiden and began walking him down the hallway, slow and calm like they were headed to brunch instead of whatever nightmare waited next.
Aiden looked back at me over his shoulder.
His eyes were wide–uncertain.
I forced myself to smile, to nod like everything was fine.
He gave a tiny, hesitant smile in return.
Pierce pulled him in a little closer, his hand now flat between Aiden’s shoulder blades.
Paternal. Possessive.
My skin crawled.
I stood there, watching until the two of them disappeared around the corner.
And then I turned.
The two remaining men were still there.
Still watching me.
No longer pretending they weren’t.
The one with the scar smirked. His eyes swept down my body in a way that made me feel suddenly, acutely aware of how little I wore. A bathing suit, a thin linen beach cover up.
How cold the hallway had become. How empty the villa felt without Aiden nearby.
The other man’s mouth twisted into something between amusement and hunger.
I took a step back.
They took a step forward.
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Chapter 99
The scarred one cracked his knuckles.
“Well,” he said, voice low and gleeful. “Now that the pup’s out of earshot…”
I kept backing up until my heel hit the baseboard.
Nowhere else to go.
I looked over my shoulder–just pale walls and closed doors.
No guards. No witnesses. No help.
When I turned back, they were still coming.
Deliberate. Confident.
The smell of sweat and old blood reached my nose before they did.
I clenched my jaw and squared my shoulders.
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“I wouldn’t,” I said, voice low and even. “You won’t make it out of this building alive if you lay a hand on me.”
They laughed.
A short, barking kind of laugh, like I’d just told them a joke.
For the first time since this all started, I didn’t know what I was going to do next.
I didn’t know if I could stop them.
I just knew I was alone.
And I was terrified.
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