Chapter 75 ADRIAN IS DEAD!

Chapter 75 ADRIAN IS DEAD!
XAVIER'S POV

I was slowly running my fingers through the soft strands of her dark hair, staring at her beautiful face. Thorne hasn't stop fawning at how our mate worshipped us willing and I'd be lying if I wasn't as much as happy.

I've waited for so long and it was worth the wait, eventually.

"Alpha... are you awake?" Ryan’s voice rang directly inside my head through the pack link.

I didn't move. I kept my arm hooked securely around Avrielle’s waist, my jaw tightening as I projected my thoughts back through the bond, keeping my physical body perfectly still so I wouldn't disturb her sleep.

"Speak," I commanded coldly. "What is it?"

There was a long, heavy pause on the other end of the connection—a breath so thick with hesitance that my Lycan instincts instantly spiked, my blood running cold.

"Something bad happened," Ryan sent back, his mental voice trembling slightly.

A sharp spike of irritation flared in my gut. My mind was already hanging by a thread, battered by the revelations of the day, and I had zero patience for games.

"My mind isn't settled enough for beating around the bush, Ryan," I snapped back fiercely. "Speak! Right now!"

The silence stretched for two agonizing seconds before Ryan delivered the blow.

"Adrian bit his tongue while chained in the cell," Ryan whispered through the link, his tone heavy with profound, suffocating guilt. "I'm sorry, Alpha... he's dead."

The words hit me like a physical strike to the sternum.
I sat up immediately, tearing myself out of the soft furs, untangling my arms from Avrielle’s body in a sharp, frantic motion.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs like a trapped beast, the light beneath my skin flaring up in a erratic, unstable pulse.

I ran a trembling, hand roughly through my hair, staring blankly at the far wall as the reality of the message shattered the room.

Adrian was dead. The boy who had grown up under my watch... my own cousin... gone.

The sudden movement jarred Avrielle awake. She sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes, her gaze instantly fixing on my tense, trembling shoulders. She reached out, wrapping her slender arms around my bare back from behind, pressing her warm cheek against my shoulder blade.

"What's wrong, Xavier?" she asked softly, her voice thick with sleep and deep concern.

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat feeling like crushed glass, before I slowly turned my head to look back at her.

"Adrian is dead," I said flatly.

The moment the words left my lips, Avrielle’s hands dropped instantly from my body.

Her wide, eyes filled with a sudden, overwhelming shock, her pale lips parting as the color drained from her face.

Seeing her reaction, a sudden surge of bitter regret washed over me. I almost cursed myself for telling her so bluntly. Adrian had been her husband—a man she had once loved, or perhaps still harbored feelings for despite everything that had transpired—not to mention who she'd faced rogues for, an executioner blade and even crushed my heart severally just to keep him safe and alive.

I didn't know if she still carried a piece of him in her heart, but seeing the pain shatter across her features cut through me like a double-edged blade.

I stood up abruptly, pulling my trousers up my legs and pulling the leather belt tight around my waist.

Avrielle scrambled to the edge of the mattress, her voice trembling as she stammered, "Can... can I come with you?"

I looked down at her pale, shaken face. I didn't have the emotional bandwidth to argue. I gave her a single, terse nod, turned on my heel, and headed straight for the hidden passage.

She scrambled off the bed, her bare feet pattering softly against the floor as she ran right behind me.

We strode out of the inner chamber and into the dark, narrow stone tunnel that cut through the mountain rock beneath the keep. I moved fast, my boots echoing off the damp walls with Avrielle keeping up with my long strides as best she could.

We reached a dead end at a smooth stone face near the upper foundation.

Without pausing, my right index claw elongated, sharpening into a hardened, pitch-black needle. I inserted the tip straight into a tiny, hidden groove in the mortar and twisted it hard.

CLICK-SLIDE.

The secret wall panel glided smoothly inward, revealing the back frame of my open walk-in wardrobe.

We both stepped through the threshold, emerging into my master quarters, and the stone panel slid shut behind us with a quiet, seamless thud.

I turned around, placing my hands on Avrielle’s soft shoulders, looking down into her wide, anxious eyes. "Wait here for me," I murmured, my voice dropping into a quiet, firm command. "I don't think you're ready to see what's down there."

Avrielle swallowed hard, looking at the door, but she slowly nodded in agreement. She walked over and sat down quietly on the edge of my unmade bed, her hands resting tightly in her lap.

I stepped closer, leaned down, and pressed a firm, lingering peck onto the crown of her head. "I'll be back soon."

Without waiting for a response, I turned and strode out of the bedroom.

I marched down the staircase, bypassing the main living quarters and descending straight to the second floor, heading directly for the iron gates that guarded the deep cell units.

The guards stationed along the torch-lit corridors bowed low as I passed, their faces pale with residual terror from the battle, but I ignored them entirely, driving my steps deeper into the cold, damp subterranean tunnels.

Finally, I reached the lowest, most secure isolation cell at the very bottom of the dungeon. Standing outside the gates looking utterly drained and sick to his stomach, was Ryan. Four elite, heavily armed border guards stood at attention beside him, their spears held rigid at their sides.

The moment I approached, all four guards bowed deeply. "Alpha."

I didn't say a word. I pushed right past them, shoving the cell gate open with a loud, metallic slam. Ryan trailed silently behind me, his head bowed.

I stopped in the center of the room. Sitting motionless, slumped against the central stone pillar, was Adrian. He was still wrapped tightly in the heavy silver chains Ryan must had secured around his chest and arms.

The metal was glowing with a faint, toxic light where it had eaten into his flesh. I took two slow, heavy steps forward, my eyes locked onto his still, lifeless form. I knelt beside him, reaching out with trembling fingers to gently pry his jaw open.

My breath hitched.

His tongue had swollen to twice its normal size, pushed backward into his throat where he had bitten down hard, completely blocking his airway until he suffocated.

A sudden, blinding wave of primal, violent rage erupted in my chest.

SCHLUCK!

My claws extended in a flash. With a furious, sweeping strike, I slashed through the silver chains, shattering the links like brittle glass.

I caught Adrian’s limp body before it could hit the hard floor, pulling him against my chest in a tight, desperate embrace. I laid him down gently on his back, my thumb brushing over his raw, bloody wrists—they were heavily blistered, dark blood seeping unconditionally from the deep silver burns.

A deep, terrifying growl tore from my throat, shaking the damp stone walls of the cellar.

"Where the fuck were you, Ryan?!" I snarled, my voice vibrating with raw, murderous fury.

Ryan stepped forward, his head low, his voice trembling as he tried to explain. "I... I chained him up, Alpha. And then I went above ground to check up on our wounded warriors. I helped settle the perimeter, sent the injured men back to their families... when I came back down to check on him, I met him like this."

I stood up slowly, turning my full body to face him. My eyes had turned pitch black, my Lycan aura flaring around my frame like an suffocating, invisible wave of crushing weight.

I took one step forward and growled, "Why did you leave him alone?!"

"I asked four guards to be stationed right outside the door..." Ryan began, his voice frantic.

Before he could even finish the sentence, my fist exploded across his face.

BANG!

Ryan stumbled backward, his head snapping sideways, blood spraying from his lip as he hit the wall. I didn't give him a second to breathe. I closed the distance in a fraction of a second, pulling my fist back to shatter his jaw with another brutal blow.

BANG!

Ryan’s head cracked against the masonry, his knees buckling under the force.

I raised my fist a third time, ready to beat him into the floor, when a strong, broad hand suddenly shot out from the dark, grabbing my shoulder in a iron-clad grip.

"Calm down, Xavier!" a deep, authoritative growl sounded right by my ear.

I spun around on my heel, my senses completely overridden by bloodlust. I locked my eyes onto Kaiden, my hand shooting out like a striking viper, wrapping tightly around my Beta’s throat. I hoisted Kaiden off his feet, turning to hurl him straight across the cell to smash into the far stone wall.

My fingers tightened over his windpipe for one long, terrifying second... and then my sanity snapped back into place.

I stopped.

I slowly released his throat, dropping Kaiden back onto his feet.

Kaiden stumbled slightly, coughing roughly as he rubbed his bruised neck, clearing his throat to regain his posture. He looked at me with steady, unblinking eyes, showing no fear despite the terrifying aura rolling off my body.

"It isn't his fault, Xavier," Kaiden said softly, his voice thick with genuine sorrow. "I'm... I'm so sorry for your loss."

My hands balled into tight, shaking fists at my sides. The silence in the dungeon made my heart grow heavier with ache.

I looked down at Adrian’s pale, lifeless face one last time, my jaw clamping shut until my teeth ground together. And then I moved my gaze to Kaiden.

"Send a formal letter to Malphas," I commanded coldly, my voice flat, hollow, and devoid of any humanity.

Without waiting for a response, I turned my back on the body, stepped past Ryan, and walked straight out of the cell.