Chapter 8 You're Not Planning To Walk The Whole Way Alone, Are You?

• The air froze instantly.
• Every wolf turned, instinctively, toward the owner of that voice.
• I lifted my head too—
• And collided with Adrian’s eyes, deep green, heavy and dangerous, sharp as a blade.
• For a split second, I almost thought I’d seen the shadow of someone buried deep in my bloodline.
• A familiarity I couldn’t explain pricked at my chest, like a needle being lightly flicked.
• William looked up and met Adrian’s gaze.
• He visibly froze.
• Because no wolf had ever defended me, the “woman who’d been in the prison” at a family dinner.
• And Adrian was the only exception.
• He’d left the Pack young and built his own commercial empire, an even larger Pack of his own.
• Even if every Alpha in this city lined up to pour him drinks, he might not spare them a glance.
• Someone of his level didn’t need to involve himself in William’s family drama.
• But he spoke for me anyway.
• Why?
• I didn’t have time to think.
• The doctor came downstairs, saying Rocco’s allergic reaction wasn’t critical and he had already taken the medicine.
• William exhaled in relief. Then he looked at me again, his voice turning cold.
• “Julie, either way, tonight we’re settling this.”
• “Fine.” I walked to the sofa and pulled a sheet of paper from my bag.
• My heartbeat was steady. But my wolf scent was cold as Moon Fang Keep’s iron walls.
• “Since you brought it up—”
• I slapped the document down in front of him with a sharp crack.
• “Then let the whole family witness it for us.”
• A divorce agreement lay spread across the table.
• William froze, his pupils tightening. He hadn’t expected that I prepared so thoroughly.
• I hooked a cold smile at the corner of my mouth.
• “Sign. From now on, we’re done. Clean cut.”
• Before he could react, I turned and walked out.
• Silence tore through the entire hall.
• I could feel every wolf’s senses pulling tight, breath held.
• To them, that one slap of paper was more offensive than biting William’s throat out.
• William’s fingers trembled.
• He’d been publicly humiliated.
• In the corner, Adrian leaned back in his chair, that faint curve of his mouth like a blade under moonlight.
• He looked like he was enjoying it.
• Like he was… interested.
• The moment I stepped out of the house, it felt like I’d dragged myself out of a massive trap.
• I opened my ride-hailing app.
• Ten minutes, no one accepted.
• The wind on the mountain was cold. My wolf blood churned with fever, and all I could hear was my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.
• I didn’t want to turn back. I couldn’t.
• This spine, this little bit of dignity, I, Julie, still had it.
• So, I grit my teeth and started down the mountain road on foot.
• Less than five minutes, my head began to feel dizzy.
• The fever flared back.
• My forehead burned. I couldn’t even stand steady.
• And then—
• A bright beam of headlights approached from behind.
• The Maybach engine sounded low and steady, like a massive male wolf closing in on prey without rushing to kill.
• The car stopped beside me.
• The window rolled down slowly.
• When I turned my head, I met those deep eyes, dark as midnight water.
• Adrian’s voice was calm and magnetic, carrying the pressure an Alpha couldn’t hide.
• “Julie. Do you need a ride?”
• In that moment, the wolf in my chest—
• Went silent.
• As if… it recognized him.
• The moment I met eyes that deep, dark as an ocean at night, I froze.
• Adrian?
• How could it be him?
• The corners of his eyes were long and slightly lifted, born with a cold nobility and the scent of danger.
• Under the dim headlights, his wolf aura was steady, like the quietest predator in the deepest forest.
• The humiliation from earlier was still lodged in my chest like barbs. I didn’t even know how to speak.
• “This mountain road…”
• Adrian’s voice was hoarse and low, carrying an Alpha’s unconscious pressure.
• “If you walk it down, it’ll take at least an hour.”
• “You’re not planning to walk the whole way alone, are you?”
• …Actually, I was.
• William won’t chase after me. He won’t send me home either.
• I’d long since learned to rely on myself.
• “Thank you…”
• I pulled open the door. The second I sat down, the world suddenly tipped hard to one side.
• A vicious wave of dizziness hit. I nearly fell out of the seat.
• My stomach flipped. My head felt like it was being torn apart by two wolves.