Chapter 24

Kayla

The moment I stepped through the front doors of the estate, I felt a heavy weight settle on my shoulders. My mind was still spinning, replaying everything I had just seen in that dark, suffocating basement.

And it didn’t help any that I didn’t even get to come home to my own house, but rather a foreign place that was still mostly empty after Isabella fucking stole everything.

I hurried up the grand staircase, ignoring the soft “Luna, welcome home,” from one of the housemaids. The second I got to my bedroom and the door closed behind me, I pressed my back against it and exhaled shakily.

I had known from the start that Nicholas wasn’t exactly a… paragon of virtue. He was arrogant, manipulative, and seemed to love the idea of fulfilling the typical ‘bad boy’ trope. I could put up with it, though, knowing that he wasn’t actually going to cause trouble and that we were helping each other achieve our goals.

But what I had just seen wasn’t the calculated young Alpha playing his usual political games. It was something else. Something darker.

That woman hadn’t been a guild prisoner—not officially. I was sure of it. And the room she was in? Hidden in the depths of the guild hall? That didn’t exactly scream “above board.”

My stomach churned as I tried to piece it together. Was he doing something illegal? Something… wrong? I didn’t want to believe it, but the images wouldn’t leave my mind. He had looked utterly terrifying in that room, like he was one split hair away from shifting and tearing the building and everyone in it to shreds.

Something was seriously wrong here.

A soft knock startled me out of my thoughts, and I straightened immediately. “Come in.”

The door opened, and Jade popped her head in. I relaxed a little, glad that it wasn’t Nicholas I had to face right now. “Hey, you good?” she asked, stepping inside. Emma was following close behind her with a curious look on her face.

“I’m fine,” I said quickly, forcing a smile. Too quickly, probably. “Just a little tired. It’s been a long week.”

Jade narrowed her eyes. “Sure, because ‘tired’ explains why you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I don’t look like that,” I protested, crossing my arms defensively.

Emma giggled. “You kind of do, actually. This house is a bit big and creepy, sure, but I promise it’s not haunted.”

“Well…” Jade shrugged a shoulder and chuckled. “That’s debatable.”

I sighed, sinking down onto the edge of the bed. “It’s really nothing,” I said, trying to sound casual. “I just need a break, that’s all.”

Truthfully, I wasn’t used to having friends—not real ones, at least. I’d once thought that Vanessa was my friend, and I had told her everything about myself, and look how that turned out. So it went without saying that I wasn’t exactly keen on spilling my guts to Jade and Emma just yet, as much as I liked them both.

Plus, if Nicholas was up to something dark, then who could I entrust with that information around here? What would happen to me if I went around asking too many questions?

Neither of them looked convinced, but thankfully, they didn’t press the matter any further. Jade plopped down beside me, leaning back on her hands. “Well, how about a pizza night, if you need a break so badly?”

Emma grinned. “And wine. Definitely wine.”

I hesitated, the tension in my chest loosening just slightly at the thought. “Pizza… actually sounds really fucking good,” I admitted softly. And I was starving.

Jade beamed, already pulling her phone out. “Pepperoni okay? Or do you have some weird topping preference we should know about?”

“Pepperoni’s fine,” I said with a small smile. “I could go for some garlic knots, too.”

As Jade placed the order, Emma grabbed a bottle of red wine from the side table and poured three glasses. Soon enough, the three of us were perched on my bed, passing around slices of greasy, cheesy heaven and sipping wine like we were carefree teenagers again.

For the first time that evening—all week, really—I felt myself relax. Not completely, but enough to push the dark thoughts to the back of my mind. I even laughed at one of Jade’s exaggerated impressions of Nicholas, complete with a mock serious face and deep, commanding tone.

“‘Kayla,’” Jade said, lowering her voice dramatically, “‘why must you disobey me at every turn?’”

I snorted into my wine glass. “That’s disturbingly accurate.”

Emma smirked. “You should have seen him at the coffee shop once. He asked for a double espresso and glared at the barista like she had committed treason when she gave him a single shot by mistake.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “And let me guess; he asked for her number right after,” she quipped.

Emma nodded and nearly fell over with laughter. “See? Jade knows exactly what he’s like!”

We laughed, and for a while, it felt normal. Easy, even, like I was home again.

But as the night stretched on and the wine bottle emptied, that nagging sense of unease crept back in. By the time I said goodnight and slid under the covers, my mind was buzzing again.

Sleep didn’t come.

I tossed and turned, staring at the shadows dancing across the ceiling. The image of Nicholas in that basement haunted me, along with the memory of that woman’s trembling voice. What did she know? What did Nicholas want from her?

Finally, I gave up. Throwing off the covers, I padded out of my room and into the quiet hallway. The house was still, save for the faint howling of the wind blowing outside. Shivering a little, I made my way toward the kitchen, hoping a glass of water might calm my restless mind.

As I passed Nicholas’s study, I noticed the door was slightly ajar, a sliver of warm light spilling into the hallway. I frowned, curiosity prickling at me. Was he still awake? Up to more nonsense, maybe?

Peeking inside, I saw that the room was empty. Papers were scattered across his desk, some crumpled, others stacked haphazardly. A map was pinned to the wall, marked with several red circles.

Something about the scene made my chest tighten. It looked… chaotic. Rushed. Whatever he was working on, it wasn’t just ordinary pack business.

I stepped inside cautiously, my eyes scanning the desk. A piece of paper caught my attention—a name written in bold letters—but before I could read further, a voice behind me made me freeze.

“What the hell are you doing in my office?”

I spun around, my heart leaping into my throat. Nicholas was standing in the doorway, blocking the exit. He looked pissed.

“I-I wasn’t—” I started, but before I could finish, he closed the distance between us in two long strides, his hands bracing on either side of the doorway behind me.

“Don’t lie to me, Kayla,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “Were you snooping again?”

I bristled at his tone, the initial shock fading into anger. “Don’t try to intimidate me!” I snapped. My training kicked in, and I whirled toward him and shoved against his chest instinctively. Hard.

The movement surprised him, and he stumbled back a step. My nails scraped against his lip in the process, drawing a thin line of blood.

Nicholas touched his lip, his fingers coming away red. His amber eyes flashed with something unreadable—surprise, maybe, at my strength despite not having a wolf—but he quickly masked it.

“You’re stronger than you look,” he muttered, dabbing at the blood with his thumb.

I crossed my arms, glaring at him. “And you’re more annoying than you look.”

For a moment, he just stared at me, his expression unreadable. Then, without a word, he stepped closer again, reaching past me. His arm brushed against mine, the contact sending an unwelcome shiver down my spine.

But he didn’t touch me. He just reached beyond me and pulled the door shut with a quiet click, effectively locking me out of his office.

“You shouldn’t be sticking your nose in other people’s business,” he said, his expression hidden in the dark hallway.

I opened my mouth to retort, but before I could, he turned and started walking away, his broad shoulders tense.

Anger flared in my chest at his dismissal—again. Before I could think, I blurted out, “I think I have the right to know if my husband is interrogating women!”

He stopped in his tracks, his shoulders tensing.