Chapter 193
Lynette's POV
Cole's hand was already on the door handle when he paused.
"Alpha," he said quietly. "Be careful around Harrington."
I stopped mid-step. Turned to look at him.
"What did you find out?"
He hesitated. His jaw worked like he was chewing on words he didn't want to say.
"Nothing concrete," he finally admitted. "Just... instinct. The way he looks at you. The way he moved when that assassin came at you in the hallway. It's not just protective. It's..."
"Possessive," I finished for him.
Cole nodded once. Sharp. Efficient.
"His protection goes beyond what's reasonable for a business arrangement," he said. "Beyond what's smart, even. If Belser or Rezar figure out how much you mean to him..."
"They'll use me against him," I said flatly.
"Or use him against you."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to say Cole was reading too much into it.
But I couldn't.
Because he was right.
I'd felt it too. In the way Kael had looked at me on that platform. The way his hands had lingered when he'd fastened my shoes. The way he'd said you're important to me like it was both a confession and a threat.
"I'll be careful," I said.
Cole studied my face for a long moment. Then he inclined his head.
"Good hunting, Alpha."
I slipped out into the hallway.
---
The corridor was empty. Silent except for the low hum of the ship's engines.
I moved quickly toward the stairwell. Kept my footsteps light. My breathing controlled.
The cameras at the elevator bank tracked movement. I'd memorized their angles on the way down. Knew exactly where their blind spots were.
The stairwell door was fifteen feet away.
Ten.
Five.
I reached for the handle.
Then I felt it.
A shift in the air. A displacement of space that didn't belong.
I threw myself sideways.
Something massive crashed down where I'd been standing a heartbeat before. The impact shook the floor. Sent vibrations up through my legs.
I looked up.
A huge figure loomed at the top of the stairs. Easily seven feet tall. Shoulders so broad they nearly touched both walls.
Enhanced guard.
My pulse spiked. Adrenaline flooded my system.
Then I heard it. Below me. Heavy footsteps climbing up from the lower floors.
Shit.
I was boxed in.
The guard at the top of the stairs descended slowly. Deliberately. Each step a calculated threat.
"Harrington's companion," he said. His voice was flat. Mechanical. "We need to verify your capabilities."
I forced myself to stand still. To look small. Harmless.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said. Let my voice shake just a little. "Please, I just want to go back to my room."
The second guard appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Shorter than the first but just as broad. Same dead eyes. Same purple-mottled skin.
"Of course you do," the shorter one said. He smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "But Mr. Belser is very curious about all his guests. Especially the ones who claim to be weak."
The taller guard moved closer. I could smell him now. Chemical. Wrong. Like meat left too long in the sun.
"Show us," he said.
"Show you what?"
"Your weapons. Your strength. Whatever it was you used to kill one of us last night."
My mind went blank for a second.
Last night?
They thought I—
Oh.
They thought I was the one who'd attacked the enhanced guards. Whoever had actually done it, they'd pinned it on me.
"I didn't kill anyone," I said. Kept my hands visible. Non-threatening. "I've been with Harrington all night. Ask him."
The shorter guard laughed. It sounded like gravel in a blender.
"Harrington can't protect you down here," he said. "No cameras. No witnesses. Just us."
The taller one cracked his knuckles. The sound echoed in the stairwell like gunshots.
"Last chance," he said. "Show us what you've got, or we'll have to get creative."
He raised one massive fist.
Brought it down on the metal railing.
The steel bent. Twisted. Crumpled like tinfoil.
I stared at the destroyed railing. At the casual, terrifying strength it had taken to do that.
These things weren't just enhanced.
They were monsters.
And I had no weapons. No backup. No way out.
Think. THINK.
I let my shoulders slump. Let fear show on my face.
"You're right," I whispered. "I am weak. I'm just... I'm nobody. Please don't hurt me."
The taller guard frowned. Like my reaction confused him.
Good.
Confusion meant hesitation. Hesitation meant time.
"You expect us to believe that?" the shorter one said. But he sounded less certain now. "After what happened to Brendon?"
"I don't even know who Brendon is," I said. Made my voice crack. "I swear. I'm just here with Harrington. I don't know anything about—"
Footsteps.
From above.
Steady. Controlled. Coming down fast.
All three of us looked up.
Kael appeared at the top of the stairs.
He took in the scene in one glance. Me backed against the wall. The two enhanced guards bracketing me. The destroyed railing.
His expression didn't change.
But something in the air shifted. Got heavier. Colder.
"Found you," he said quietly.
He walked down the stairs. Slow. Deliberate. Each step measured.
The guards didn't move. But I saw them tense. Saw their weight shift like animals preparing to fight or flee.
Kael stopped two steps above us. Put himself between me and them.
"Belser gave his word," he said. His voice was calm. Flat. "No guests would be harassed on this ship."
"Mr. Harrington," the taller guard said. "We were just—"
"I don't care what you were doing," Kael cut him off. "Leave. Now."
"Sir, we have orders to—"
"I don't give a damn about your orders."
The temperature in the stairwell seemed to drop ten degrees.
"Go back to Belser," Kael continued. His voice never rose. Never wavered. "Tell him if his pets bother my companion again, Pinehollow Pack will consider it a breach of hospitality. And we take breaches very seriously."
The two guards looked at each other.
Some wordless communication passed between them.
Then the taller one nodded once. Stepped back.
"Understood, Mr. Harrington."
They left. Moving fast despite their size. Their footsteps faded down the lower stairs.