Chapter 9
Jase POV
The glass cage of my office at Davenport Tech felt too small. Three walls of bulletproof glass overlooked the gray New York skyline, yet I was the one suffocating. My massive obsidian desk was completely bare, a dark altar to my own sleepless fury. The air was thick with the metallic, ozone stench of my anger.
My Inner Wolf paced relentlessly, clawing at my sanity. *Mine. Stolen. Bring her back.*
She was throwing a tantrum. That was all this was. When the heavy oak doors finally clicked open, I braced myself, fully expecting Adelina to walk in with her head bowed, ready to beg for her job and my forgiveness.
Adelina POV
I stepped into the penthouse office, immediately hit by the suffocating, aggressive wave of Jase’s metallic scent. But after a night in the sanctuary of The Plaza, wrapped in the lingering phantom warmth of Kain’s cedar and rain scent, Jase’s anger didn't terrify me anymore.
I walked straight to his obsidian desk and dropped the crisp white envelope onto the dark surface.
"End this childish tantrum, Adelina," Jase growled, his voice laced with a heavy Alpha's Command that was meant to force my knees to the floor.
But I was wolfless. His magic trick didn't work on me. I stood perfectly straight. "That is my formal resignation. My things are already cleared out."
Jase let out a dark, mocking laugh, leaning back in his leather chair. "You think this little stunt works on me? Hiring some filthy Rogue to pick you up in a rented car to make me jealous?"
"I'm married, Jase," I said, my voice deadpan and steady. "A formal Mating bond. It's done."
The mocking smirk slid off his face. The silence in the room became a physical weight.
"Because of this marriage," I continued, savoring the absolute shock paralyzing his features, "my father's Pack trust fund has been legally unlocked. I have a twelve-million-dollar line of credit in my name, fully backed and guaranteed by the Blackstone Financial Empire. I don't need your job, your money, or your scraps."
Jase’s eyes dilated, the human amber swallowed entirely by the feral, glowing gold of his Inner Wolf. "Blackstone?" he breathed, the word sounding like ash in his mouth. Then, a paranoid, destructive jealousy twisted his handsome face into something monstrous. "Who is he? What kind of pathetic stray did you trick into—"
"My Mate," I interrupted, my voice dropping to a glacial whisper, "is someone you can't touch."
Something inside Jase snapped. The composed, untouchable billionaire Alpha vanished. In a blur of supernatural speed, he vaulted around the desk. Before I could blink, his hand clamped around my upper arm. The sheer, brutal force of his grip ground my bones together.
"Tell me his name!" Jase roared, his fangs descending, his breath hot and reeking of violent possessiveness against my face. "You are *mine*, Adelina! Tell me who he is so I can rip his throat out!"
I winced, trying to pull away from his crushing grip, but he only squeezed harder, his eyes wild with a sick, obsessive madness.
Suddenly, the heavy glass doors swung wide open.
"Jase, darling!" Kira’s sickly sweet voice echoed through the tense room. She strolled in wearing a pristine pink Chanel suit, her eyes glued to the tablet in her hands. "Have you seen the headline on *The Howl* today? They're already calling me Luna of the—"
Kira’s voice died in her throat. She looked up, her triumphant smile freezing instantly. Her eyes darted from Jase’s feral, unhinged expression to his white-knuckled grip on my arm. The pristine illusion of her perfect Alpha and their unbreakable power alliance shattered into a million jagged pieces right in front of her.
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