Chapter 86 THEN WHO?
CHAOS.
I sat in my car, staring out at the empty lot.
The engine hummed low, but I hadn’t moved.
My hand tapped on the steering wheel, as I wondered if I should wake Merrielynn up, or let her sleep a little longer.
She was slumped in the passenger seat, her hair falling across her face.
She looked peaceful and I hadn’t realized how much her presence calmed me until I spent the entire day with her.
My wolf, usually restless and on the verge of snapping, felt... calm.
Pliant, even.
It was almost laughable—and a little insulting—when I thought about everything I’d done to suppress it. The elixirs, the isolation, the endless fights to hold control.
And all it took was one heated moment with Merrielynn—just her touch—to silence the literal chaos.
But it wasn’t just that. It was her. Being near her, hearing her voice, feeling her warmth. She made it easier to breathe.
As much as I hated it, I'd agreed to take her back to her dorm. I gripped the wheel tighter, wishing I could talk myself out of it. The memory of her in my arms replayed in my head like a film reel I couldn’t turn off.
Her soft moans, the way she leaned into me, how her skin felt under my fingers.
I swallowed hard.
Yeah, I’d do anything to go back to that moment. To hold her just a little longer. But instead, here I was, parked outside her dorm, trying to convince myself to let her go.
Merrielynn sat across from me, her head leaning against the window, her eyes closed. She looked worn out, and something about it tugged at me. I sighed, cutting the engine and staring at her for a moment.
After a while, I reached over and touched her arm lightly. "Merrielynn," I called softly.
She was a little startled when her eyes snapped open as if she’d been caught off guard. Her gaze remained on mine for a split second, and I noticed the way she stiffened, like my touch had sent a shock through her.
I pulled my hand back, not wanting to push it.
“We’re here,” I said in a quiet voice, waiting for some type of reaction.
She blinked a few times, glanced around, and nodded. “Oh… thanks,” she murmured, fumbling with her seatbelt. She avoided looking at me, her movements quick, almost awkward, like she couldn’t get out fast enough.
I watched her, fighting the urge to say something or—hell—do something. I wanted to walk her up to her dorm, maybe even carry her if she was too tired to make it.
But I knew her. She’d hate it.
The little bit of... normalcy we’d found tonight would shatter if I even suggested it.
Instead, I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and said, “You should get some rest, alright?” I tried to sound casual, but my chest was anything but relaxed.
She hesitated, her hand on the door handle, then gave me a quick nod without meeting my eyes. “You too.” And just like that, she was gone, the door closing behind her with a soft thud.
She stepped out of the car, and my eyes followed her until the shadows swallowed her up. Even then, I didn’t move. I just sat there and exhaled slowly, staring at the empty passenger seat.
I immediately remembered something that I couldn’t put off any longer.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and dialed the number I’d been avoiding.
It was late, around past eleven, but I knew he’d answer. He always did.
The line clicked, and my father’s deep voice came through. “Cormac.”
I skipped the small talk. “Why the hell did you send a convoy to my house without giving me a heads-up?” My tone was sharp and I made sure he heard how frustrated I was. “I’m not a child.”
Silence. It stretched long enough for me to feel my chest tighten.
“Dad,” I snapped, leaning back against the headrest, “Answer me.”
Finally, his voice came through, calmer than I expected. “I didn’t send a convoy.”
I blinked, my mind tripping over itself. “What?”
“I didn’t send anyone,” he said again, giving nothing away.
The phone grew hot in my hand as his words sank in.
Was he lying?
No—he was too proud to lie about something like this. But if it wasn’t him… then who the hell had sent them?
I didn’t give him a chance to say any more before hanging up and shoving the phone back into my pocket.
Something wasn’t adding up, and the knot in my gut told me I wasn’t going to like the answer.
If my father didn’t send the convoy, then who the hell did? That convoy had obviously come from the palace, so if not my father, then who?
I unlocked my phone and went straight to the photo gallery. I began scrolling quickly to the security camera shots I’d requested earlier from the penthouse staff.
I stared at the first image, and I tapped it, zooming in until the blurry figure sharpened enough to recognize.
My father’s Beta.
I stared at his face, my brows furrowing as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near my place unless ordered to be, and when I'd seen the photos earlier, I’d thought he was acting on my father’s instructions. It made sense at the time—he was one of my father’s go-to enforcers.
But if my father wasn’t behind this…
I exhaled sharply, leaning back in the seat as my jaw tightened.
My old man was a lot of things—controlling, stubborn, impossible to please—but lying about something this petty?
That wasn’t his style.
So if it wasn’t him, then what the hell was the beta doing there?
I stared at the photo a moment longer, questions swirling in my head.