Chapter 95: The Smiling Devil

Abel Stone.

"Blow the hinges," I ordered.

Oliver didn't hesitate. He slapped a strip of C-4 onto the heavy oak doors of the study. We backed up behind the overturned mahogany desk, covering our heads.

The explosion was a sharp, concussive thud that rattled my teeth. Dust and splinters rained down on us. Before the smoke could clear, I was moving.

I kicked the remains of the door open and stepped out into the hallway, my weapon raised.

I expected a wall of gunfire. I expected a dozen enforcers in riot gear.

Instead, I found him.

Kane Hellbound stood at the top of the grand staircase, about thirty feet away. He was flanked by four guards, but he held up a hand to stop them from raising their rifles.

He wasn't wearing armor. He was wearing a charcoal suit that looked like it cost more than the entire estate. His dark hair was perfectly styled, and his hands were tucked casually into his pockets.

He looked less like a man whose home had just been invaded and more like a host greeting rude dinner guests.

"You made a mess of my door, Stone," Kane said smoothly. His voice carried effortlessly down the hallway. "That was mahogany. Imported."

I kept my aim centered on his chest. My finger hovered over the trigger. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to end it right here. To put a bullet in his black heart and watch the light go out.

But Freya’s warning echoed in my mind. If you kill him while the knot is tied, she dies too.

"I’m taking more than the door," I growled, my voice rough with the urge to shift. I could feel the contract burning a hole in my pocket.

Kane smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. It was the smile of a predator who had caught a scent he liked.

"I see you found my safe," Kane noted, his eyes flicking to the bulge in my vest. "And you took the little souvenir. Do you really think a piece of paper is going to save her?"

"It’s a start," I said. "Move, Kane. Or I will go through you."

"Tough talk for a trespasser," Kane chuckled darkly. He took a slow step forward. His guards tensed, but he waved them off again. "How is she, by the way? Is she screaming yet?"

My grip on the pistol tightened until the metal creaked.

"She’s dying, Abel," Kane taunted, using my first name like a dirty word.

"I can feel it. The bond... it’s delicious. Every time she looks at you, every time her heart beats for you, it feeds me. She is burning herself alive to be with you."

"She hates you," I spat. "She would rather burn than belong to you."

Kane’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second, a flash of genuine anger rippling through his cold mask. But he recovered quickly.

"Hate is a passion too," Kane shrugged. "The knot doesn't care about the flavor of the emotion, only the intensity. But go ahead. Take the paper. Run back to her. Play the hero."

He stepped to the side, clearing the path to the stairs.

It was a trap. It had to be.

"Why?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Why let us walk?"

"Because I want to see you try," Kane said softly.

"And because I know something you don't. You think destroying the contract breaks the hold? You are a child playing with ancient fire, Stone. Go on. Rip it up. Burn it. See what happens."

He leaned against the banister, looking bored.

"Besides," he added, his eyes flashing red. "If I kill you now, who is going to comfort her when she realizes she can never escape me? I want her to have hope. Hope makes the eventual despair so much sweeter."

The monster.

He wasn't fighting us because he wanted us to suffer. He wanted to drag this out. He wanted to break Evelyn’s spirit completely before he dragged her back here.

"Oliver," I said, keeping my eyes locked on Kane. "Window."

"Alpha?"

"We are not walking past him," I said. "We go out the window. Now."

Oliver nodded. He turned and fired three shots into the massive glass window at the end of the hall. The glass shattered, letting the rain and wind howl into the corridor.

I backed toward the window, keeping my gun trained on Kane.

"This isn't over," I promised.

"No," Kane agreed, watching me with dead, shark-like eyes. "It’s just beginning. Give my wife my regards. Tell her I’ll be coming to collect her soon."

I didn't dignify that with a response.

I holstered my weapon and turned. We didn't have climbing gear, but we were wolves. We were built for impact.

"Jump!" I ordered.

We vaulted through the shattered window, plummeting two stories into the wet darkness of the garden below.

I hit the mud with a heavy roll, the impact jarring my bones, but I was up instantly. The contract was still safe against my chest.

"Move!" I shouted to the team. "To the SUV! Go!"

We sprinted through the rain, putting distance between us and the house. I risked one glance back over my shoulder.

Kane was standing in the broken window. The light from the hallway silhouetting his figure. He wasn't chasing us. He wasn't shouting orders.

He was just watching.

And even through the rain and the dark, I could tell he was still smiling.