CHAPTER 124:What Drake Wants

CHAPTER 124:What Drake Wants
DRAKE

She stood up the moment she saw me her eyes wide, lips parted in shock. The music thudded around us, but all she could hear now was the thunder of her own heartbeat. Just the reaction I wanted.

Tessa stumbled back, nearly knocking into one of the men she'd been flirting with, her heels clicking in panic. I took a slow step forward, each movement deliberate, calculated.

“So,” I said with a twisted smile curving my lips, my voice low and cold. “You remember me, Tessa.”

One of the guys some broad-shouldered fool who thought he was being noble stepped between us and shoved a hand against my chest.

“Hey, man, back off. You’re scaring her. Just let her go.”

I didn’t say a word. I simply grabbed his wrist, twisting it until he yelped and dropped to his knees. The other one lunged at me, throwing a wild punch.

Big mistake.

In a heartbeat, I shifted my eyes glinting gold, my features morphing just enough to show what I truly was.

Both men froze, their courage evaporating.

“Freak!” one of them shouted as they scrambled for the exit, nearly tripping over each other to escape the club.

I turned my head quickly, scanning the room.

She was gone.

One second there, the next vanished into the crowd like smoke in a storm.

Typical.

Prey always runs.

I pushed through the club doors, heat and bass fading behind me, replaced by the bite of night air. The parking lot stretched out like a forgotten battlefield, lit only by flickering lamps and the dying hum of neon signs.

Then I caught it.

That scent.

Jasmine. Fear. A trace of sweat. Sweet, sharp, familiar.

Tessa.

It clung to the wind like a secret whisper, begging to be followed.

I let the wolf stir beneath my skin, a low hum of instinct sharpening my senses. My eyes adjusted. The night wasn’t dark to me it never had been.

I moved between cars, my steps soundless, my breath steady. Gravel crunched faintly beneath my boots, but I barely registered the noise. I was tuned into something else entirely.

“Tessa,” I called out softly, voice casual, almost amused. “You know how this ends.”

No answer. Just silence and the faint tick of a cooling engine.

“You can’t run forever,” I added, letting a chuckle slip through. “What did you do? Cheat on your boyfriend? Break a little promise?”

The edge in my voice cut like glass.

Then movement.

A flutter of breath. A shift of shadow. There, behind a dented gray sedan.

I didn’t hesitate.

I blurred forward, my speed blinding, and caught her wrist in one swift motion. Her skin was clammy, trembling. Her pulse kicked against my grip like a trapped bird.

“Got you,” I murmured.

She gasped and twisted away, slipping from my grasp. Her feet scrambled for traction on the loose gravel, and she bolted wild and wide-eyed, like a deer just now realizing the forest was full of monsters.

I watched her run.

Let her.

Let her think she had a chance.

Then I vanished and reappeared in front of her, grabbing her mid-stride. One hand wrapped around her neck not hard enough to choke, just enough to hold. To remind.

She kicked. Fought. Her nails raked down my arm.

Still soft.

Still trying.

“Don’t you miss me?” I whispered, leaning close. “Don’t you miss Drake?”

Her eyes shimmered with tears. No answer. Just panic.

I smiled.

“This is just the beginning.”

And then I dropped my voice to a whisper, so quiet she had to freeze to hear it.

“I’m going to make your life a living hell.”

Her scream never came.

I knocked her out before it could.

And as her body went limp in my arms, I looked out across the empty lot with a slow, deliberate grin.

Let’s see how you like the taste of your own game, Tessa.

EMMANUELLE

Perched on a thick tree branch, hidden by leaves and shadows, I watched the nightmare unfold.

Drake’s face twisted, half-wolf, half-man predator through and through. He moved with a terrifying grace as he seized Tessa like she was prey meant for the taking.

She didn’t stand a chance.

Beside me, Adam crouched, his arms folded across his chest like this was just another Tuesday night.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

“How did I even get up here?” I whispered, half to myself.

“Me,” Adam said simply, without even looking.

I blinked, trying to process. One minute I’d been in the lot with him, the next—airborne. Up a tree. Watching my stepsister be taken like a hunted animal.

“He’s… taking her,” I said, the words dry in my throat.

Adam nodded.

“To where?”

“You really don’t want to know.”

I turned to him, my eyes narrowing. “Try me.”

His smirk was small, crooked. Like he was amused by my stubbornness. Like he thought I couldn’t handle it.

“I have to know,” I said, voice low. “Drake’s not just going to scare her, Adam. He’s going to hurt her. You saw his eyes. That wasn’t rage. That was something worse.”

He let out a breath, then reached for me.

His hands closed around my waist with a confidence that made my stomach twist. I hated how aware I was of his touch, how steady and sure he always seemed even in the middle of chaos.

“Don’t get any ideas,” he said with an eye roll.

“Not even one,” I muttered.

“Good. Close your eyes.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I said so. And because the place he’s taking her isn’t somewhere you want to look at for too long.”

The seriousness in his voice pulled at something deep inside me.

I shut my eyes.

Wind roared around us almost instantly, lifting my hair and slapping it across my cheeks. It wasn’t just a breeze it felt like we were flying. My stomach dropped, and I instinctively clutched at him, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt.

Then... stillness.

The silence was sudden and complete.

“Open them,” he said softly.

I did.

And nearly stumbled back.

Before us stretched a compound wrapped in rust and rot. Fences lined with barbed wire stretched into the darkness. The buildings beyond were jagged stone, some half-swallowed by creeping vines and moss, others crumbling like time itself had tried to erase them but failed.

The air smelled of wet earth, iron, and old secrets.

I hugged my arms around myself, shivering despite the warm night.

“Where are we?” I whispered.

Adam didn’t look at me.

“This is where he’s taking your stepsister.”

My throat closed up.

Something about this place felt wrong. Like the walls remembered screams. Like the ground beneath our feet had been soaked with sorrow one too many times.

Tessa was many things manipulative, reckless, selfish but she didn’t deserve this.

“Will she survive it?” I asked, though the question already felt like a curse.

Adam stayed silent, his jaw clenched.

That silence was answer enough.