Without the knife, I was even more helpless than before.
I was out of options, out of energy, out of…everything.
Sinking into a pile on the floor, I covered my face and burst into hiccupping sobs.
“Don’t cry.”
His voice was gruff and cold, and I couldn’t tell if he was trying to comfort me or trying to get me to stop because it annoyed him.
It didn’t matter. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t stop. I lay there, weeping and trying to breathe through my sobs.
The man let out a helpless sigh. He squatted down and touched my hair, running a hand through it.
I ducked away from his touch.
“I’ve been thinking about you for a long time, and I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry,” he said in a softer tone.
Huh? He’d been thinking about me for a long time?
He knew who I was… He’d pretended to be Roman and texted me.
That meant he knew I was “involved” with Roman.
And Roman had declared that I was his woman that evening at Nightshade.
I wracked my brain to recall the men present that night. Men whose physical appearance matched.
In addition to Griffon, Preston and many other wolf shifters from prominent packs were there.
Griffon and Preston looked down on me, so they wouldn’t do such a thing. Neither of them wanted anything to do with me…and Griffon would have never gone to these lengths. Not when he could have me with a snap of his fingers.
That meant this man was likely someone who knew Roman.
And he must be familiar enough with Roman to know Roman was in a meeting when she called to confirm it.
This all made sense. Roman was sc um, so he would a*sociate with other scu m. The type of scu m who would do something like this.
Oh goddess.
A chill ran down my spine.
I’d told him about the fake contract.
If he told Roman…
Frightened, I trembled all over. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t move.
I was as good as dead no matter what.
The man picked up the dagger and looked at it, running his thumb over the hilt.
“Were you going to trick Roman into drinking that drugged wine and then ki ll him with this?”
clenched my fists and kept my m outh firmly s h ut.
He threw the dagger away. His eyes flashed with his wolf, with anger. “Next time you find yourself in a position where you need help, come to me.”
“Come to you?” I scoffed. “I don’t even know who you are,
what you look like.”
The man did not reply. He picked up my phone, opened WhatsApp, and added his number.
After sending a message, he handed the phone back.
“I promise to come when you need me.”
I looked down at my phone to see whatever fake name he’d entered.
This “Greyson” wouldn’t even show me his face, so it’s not like I expected him to enter his real name in.
I lowered my head and was deep in thought when the man suddenly picked me up.
I thought that he was going to do something ho rrific to me again, so I struggled desperately.
Instead, he put me back on the bed, pulled up the quilt, and covered me with it.
Then, he leaned over and said, “Have a good sleep. Don’t wait for Roman. He won’t come back.”
I didn’t understand what he meant. “What do you mean?”
He didn’t respond, just left quickly as if he had something urgent to deal with.
As I watched him leave, I wished I could pounce on him and tear him apart.
But I was so tired and weak that I couldn’t wait to fall asleep. I wished I had the stamina that someone like “Greyson” had.
”
Even after all he put me through, thanks to his wolf nature, he didn’t even appear tired.
Meanwhile, my weak human body was nothing but a betrayal on all fronts.
Still, I forced myself to go sit on the sofa and wait for Roman.
No way was I going to put faith in the words of the man who’d a*saulted me.
I had to be on full alert to deal with Roman.
At least Greyson hadn’t threatened me with Harper.
However, I wasn’t done with Roman and Greyson. Not by a long shot.
I clenched my fists and made a promise to myself to make them pay.
After coming out of the Knight Pack offices, Roman held the contract and looked very happy.
He went to his car in the parking garage under the building, excited to go straight to the Windmere Hotel to find Taya To…celebrate.
Unexpectedly, a fleet of Jeeps suddenly rushed out from seemingly nowhere and surrounded him.
Roman’s wolf immediately went on alert, and he had a bad feeling. He quickly abandoned his car; escaping in his wolf form would give him better chances.
He started running toward the exit, undoing his tie. Once he’d shed his constricting clothes, he could shift. He’d barely made it more than a few meters when a car drove straight toward him as if it had lost control.
Frantically, he looked around for a new escape route, but everywhere he turned, a Jeep blocked the way. He might be faster and more powerful in his wolf form, but there was nothing he could do if he was surrounded.
The car forced him to retreat to a corner, and the driver’s door slowly opened.
A man wearing a gold and copper mask stepped out.
The car’s headlights shined bright in Roman’s eyes, so he couldn’t see the man clearly. He could only vaguely tell that it was a young-ish man in casual clothes.
In Arcadia, the Starke pack was important. Everyone knew who the Beta of the pack was. How dare this guy gather so many cars to surround him, corner him. Who would have the balls to do this?
“Do you know who I am?” he growled out at the masked man.
The man cocked his head.
“I do.”
His voice was low and hoarse, deliberately faked.
Only a co ward would hide his identity beneath a mask and a false voice. And Roman wasn’t remotely scared of co wards. He was unfazed, and strode over to the man. He pointed a finger at his nose and growled, “Since you know who I am, I can only supposed you’ve blocked my exit because you’re interested in dying tonight.”
The man’s eyes flashed with his wolf-almost an amused look in them-and he only raised his hand slightly. The bodyguards standing behind him immediately stepped forward and grabbed Roman’s hand.
Before Roman could react, the bodyguard took out a knife and cut off his finger-the one he’d pointed at the man.