Chapter 77
Aria’s POV
I felt the bullet graze the top of my head, shattering the vase on the table behind me.
Delilah let out a shrill scream.
Grayson collapsed under me with a grunt as I tackled him to the ground.
“Oh my god–are you okay?” I cried, heart racing.
“Stay behind me,” he said hoarsely.
Immediately, I noticed something was off with his voice.
I looked up–and froze.
His face had gone pale, and blood was trickling from his nose.
No. No, no-
The wine. It must be that wine Delilah gave him!
I whipped around, rage surging through me as I yelled at Delilah, “What the fuck did you give him?!”
She was trembling, her whole body shaking. “Just… just a little wolfsbane. Nothing strong enough to kill him…”
Wolfsbane.
My blood ran cold. That was one of the deadliest poisons to werewolves. Even a small dose wouldn’t kill him right away, but it could paralyze even the strongest wolf, maybe even leave permanent damage.
I couldn’t believe she did this to him. I glared at her and screamed, voice shaking with fury, “WHY?! What the hell is wrong with you?! He’s your brother!”
She stumbled back, tears spilling down her face. “I–I know…But I didn’t have a choice-”
“He’s done everything for you! Even after you betrayed him like that, he still came all the way out here just to fix things with you. And you- you tried to kill him?!”
Delilah opened her mouth. But before she could say anything, a cold, menacing voice came from the doorway:
“Bullshit. Grayson Hart’s a fucking tyrant. He doesn’t care about anyone.”
I snapped my head toward the voice, and saw Jace walked into the room with a gun in his hand.
…How is this possible?
“You’re supposed to be in prison,” I breathed.
He smirked. “You can thank my darling wife for that. She set this innocent man free.”
And just like that, everything clicked.
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Chapter 77
This—this whole thing was all a trap.
Delilah had lured us out here, far away from everyone else, to a place with no cell signal. That way, no one could warn Grayson when she helped Jace escape. We also couldn’t get any help.
And Delilah poisoned the drink. Because she knew Grayson wouldn’t question anything she handed him. That’s how much he loved her. And she used his love.
thad never hated someone this much in my entire life.
But it still wasn’t over yet.
Then I saw Jace turned his head and shouted out the door, “Come on in, man. You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?”
I stared in horror as another man strolled inside. He also got a gun in his hand.
I almost didn’t recognize him at first. It had been a while since I last saw him. But then, I realized who he was.
Jonathan.
That Apex employee who had once tried to arrest me for sleeping on the supermarket’s floor. Grayson showed up in time and stopped him. I heard that he got fired for that later.
I never thought I’d see him again.
Till now.
“Jonathan…” I whispered, my voice trembling. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey there, bitch,” he spat, face twisted in a snarl. “I didn’t get to fucking drown you at the lake last time. But not this time. This time I’m sending you straight to hell.”
Chill shot through my spine.
“It…It was you?! That night in Europe…you were the one who tried to kill me?” I stared at him in disbelief. “But why? What the hell have l done?”
He snarled. “You’ve got some fucking nerve asking that! You ruined my life you know? You and Grayson Hart! I lost my job, my career, everything I worked for! All because of your little ‘investigation.‘ Now I’m stuck cleaning toilets at some shitty bar. So yeah–you two deserve to die.”
He ranted like a madman, then suddenly fired a shot into the ceiling.
I flinched hard. Grayson quickly reached for my hand and squeezed it.
Jonathan turned the gun back on us. “And you think you’re so special, Grayson Hart? Alpha of Red Stone Pack, big man in the business world. No, NO! I’m telling you–you’re nothing but a spoiled bastard born with a good name. And you stepped on poor people like me to satisfy your ego, you fucking asshole!“.
“That’s bullshit,” I snapped. “You’re not some innocent victim. You were a bully–both of you were! Grayson didn’t come after you because you were poor. He came after you because you bullied real innocent people like me. So stop blaming the world because you totally deserve this miserable life you’re having!”
“Shut up, bitch! SHUT THE FUCK UP!!”
Jonathan shrieked, pointing the gun straight at me. But before he could shoot, Jace grabbed his arm.
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12:36 Sun, 10 Aug
Chapter 77
“I told you,” Jace growled, “Not her.”
Jonathan turned on him. “Seriously? You still want this tramp? Hasn’t she done enough?”
Even Delilah looked at Jace in disbelief. “Yeah Jace? What are you doing now?”
“Shut up!” Jace roared at his wife. Then to Jonathan, he hissed, “Let’s deal with the real problem first.”
..Fine,” Jonathan muttered, raising the gun toward Grayson.
“Wait!” Delilah rushed forward, putting herself between us. “Now that we’ve got all the control. W–we don’t have to kill him, right?”
“Carter, what the hell is your woman talking about?” Jonathan growled.
“Move, Delilah!” Jace barked at her
But she stood firmly on her spot, her arms spread wide. “We can lock him up–forever, if we want. We can strip him of Apex and the pack… Isn’t that enough? We don’t need to take his life!”
Jace cursed loudly and stormed toward her.
With a huge noise, he slapped her hard across the face!
She let out a horrified scream. “What–what are you doing-”
“I’m so fucking done with you!” he shouted. “You stupid, needy, shallow bitch! The only reason I married you was for your money, and I ended up getting nothing! Not a damn cent! So you’re fucking useless now. Get out of my fucking way!”
Delilah burst into tears. “No, no…I don’t believe this…You said you loved me! And I’m carrying your child…You said we’d stay together forever when everything’s done…”
“I said those so you can get me out of prison,” Jace sneered. “Now shut up and stay out of this.”
Finally, the mask was gone.
Jace had shown his true face.
Delilah stared at him in horror, completely broken. He yanked her by the hair and dragged her aside, then turned to Jonathan. “What are you waiting for? Fucking shot him now!”
Jonathan kept his gun pointed at us, but his hands were shaking. He kept glancing at Grayson–and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, there was fear in his eyes.
“W–Why me?!” he stammered. “Why can’t you do it?”
“I thought you wanted this. I’m giving you the damn chance!”
“You hate him too, don’t you?! You kill him!”
“Fine! Fucking coward!” Jace shouted.
He raised the gun. Aiming straight at Grayson.
I instinctively threw myself in front of him, my whole body tense.
But to my surprise, Jace didn’t pull the trigger either. His hand trembled violently if he couldn’t handle the weight of the gun.
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12:36 Sun, 10 Aug
Chapter 77
And then, Grayson let out a low, hoarse, scornful laugh.
“Seriously? You think the two of you could kill me?”
“Why the hell not?!” Jace roared. “Y–You’re standing right here! And you’re drugged, you can’t move…I’m not afraid of you!”
“Your shaky voice says differently,” said Grayson icily.
Suddenly, a shockwave of Alpha aura exploded through the room like a hurricane. Everyone stumbled, dropping knees to the ground.
Jace tried to lift his gun again in horror. But it was as if an invisible force was pushing his arm down.
“No member can harm their Alpha,” Grayson said darkly. “And you two soft wuss? You’re not even close.”
He slowly rose to his feet, towering over everyone like a war god.
His eyes–once smokey grey–were glowing gold. A sign that his wolf was taking over control.
“No…no…IMPOSSIBLE!” Jace screamed, backing away. “You were poisoned–you shouldn’t be able to move-”
But his words were drowned out by a deafening wolf’s roar.
Grayson’s body burst upward, transforming into a massive black wolf that tore straight through the ceiling.
Jace and Jonathan’s horrified screams echoed through the shattered dining room as the wolf lunged at them.
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