Chapter 119:Touché Motherfucker

Chase POV 

"Fukers like to keep this place like a freezer."  I groaned as I remembered from the last time I stayed here how cold this Packhouse's corridors felt when you ventured them before dawn, a chill that settled in my bones and kept me awake better than any jolt of caffeine. 

"It's to keep their secrets from thawing," Thor remarked, making me smirk, although I was still nervous about what I was about to walk in on. Knox said: Kane's summons had come abruptly, his voice a low, angry order through the mind link: 

"Get Chase to the kitchen. Now." 

I understood and hated how familiar that tone was; Adam was the same with the usual stick-up ass bollocks with his commands to Liam and me, so how could I ignore it? We all had a plan, and even though I despised playing my part, I couldn't risk betraying it and putting Lottie at risk.

I jogged down the lavish staircase, the wooden treads squeaking beneath my weight. A single light shone through the adjoining corridor—a faint, golden glow that spilt from the open kitchen door. My pulse throbbed in my ears, matching the hammer of my heart. The sky outside was tinted with deep purples and ghosts of orange, signaling that dawn was close. The hush of near-morning always made the house feel unnaturally large and hollow, as if it were waiting for something terrible to happen. 

In many ways, it was.

Halfway down, I caught a swirl of voices. Most were quiet—except for one, furious and male. Adam. His tone cracked against the tiles, sharp as a blade. I hurried the last few steps, let the wooden banister go, and strode in. 

Immediately, the scene seized my gut.

Adam stood in the centre of the spacious kitchen—towering, tense. His dark eyes gleamed with an anger that looked barely restrained. He was all sharp angles—clenched jaw, corded neck, fists balled tight on his sides. Under the overhead light, his muscles seemed ready to snap if someone so much as breathed wrong. And that someone, I realized, was Connie.

"Fuck." I moaned to Thor. "Queen bee alert." I mused, seeing her pressed against the sink, bare toes curling on the cold floor, arms wrapped defensively around herself. Her usually flawless face looked blotchy from crying, and her dark hair tumbled loose over her shoulders. My stomach lurched when I saw the red blotches beneath her eyes and the unmistakable streaks of tears on her cheeks.

"Don't care. She's a liar." I kept repeating, so I was prepared for my role here—I knew I had to rush in, pretend I was the white knight, the hero to rescue Connie. But I wasn't prepared for the sudden jolt of attraction that punched me the instant I met her gaze. The moon goddess help me—I still felt drawn to her. Something about the trembling set of her lips and the wide-eyed terror made me want to scoop her up and carry her somewhere safe.

It was a curse—I knew it was. Astaroth's meddling had made sure my body betrayed me around Connie. My mind braced for the fight, but my heart… it thudded with an idiot's devotion. Even though I hated how she treated my sister, Lottie, my chest tightened with the need to protect her. It was a twisted, maddening sensation.

"Chase," Connie whimpered, her voice cracking as soon as she saw me.

For half a beat, I just stared, reminding myself: This is an act. She's not your priority. She's the enemy we must fool. Don't let her get under your skin. But I couldn't deny my body's reaction—Thor, my wolf, prowled in my mind, half-lust, half-loathing. The contradiction was enough to churn my insides.

"The one and only sugar tits." I grinned, trying to ease some tension with my sexy personality.

"Your delusional personality", Thor countered, making me snort aloud as Adam let out a low, feral growl, dragging me back to reality. 

"Don't let her fool you," he snarled, stepping forward. "She's gone too far this time." I inclined my head in the barest nod toward him. 

"She usually does." Kane added, bored with the whole situation. 

"She is your mate. Can't you silence her?" Adam snapped, too lost in righteous fury.

"Tried. She is like a cockroach..." He muttered, not lifting his head to look at Connie and see the pain etched on her face. 

"Then I suggest a bigger fucking silver bullet." 

"Adam." I warned as I hoped he'd catch my signal. The faint twitch of my cheek—the half wink that said, I'm playing my part, brother. Calm down. The plan was set: I had to act like I truly wanted Connie, even though we all knew I despised what she stood for and what she'd done to Lottie. Kane had made it painfully clear: 

"Seduce her, earn her trust." Peace of piss, I thought at the time. I did it every Friday night but the reality of it now loomed over me darkly. I forced my expression into righteous indignation as I stepped fully into the kitchen, shoulders back, posture ready for a standoff. 

"Adam," I barked, my voice hard enough to slice through his rage. "Whatever she did, it can wait."

Connie's eyes shone with tears when they flicked to me; I watched her trembling, gasping for breaths that never seemed to fully form. She looked frightened—though whether of Adam's fury or the trouble she'd stirred up this time, I couldn't tell.

"You have no idea—" Adam's nostrils flared. 

"Like I said," I snapped, "leave her to me." I forced my gaze to narrow threateningly, playing the role of protector, incensed that he'd cornered my so-called precious mate. It was a vile contradiction. My mind replayed the countless times Connie had sabotaged Lottie, the biting remarks, the snide manipulations. Beneath my tight control, I seethed, but outwardly, I anchored myself in the performance. 

"She's my responsibility, Adam." I declared with authority that it was actually laughable. Adam paused, studying me, and for a fraction of a second, I saw an understanding flare in his dark eyes: He recognized my charade. 

"I think you will find she is my responsibility." Kane spat, before I got too comfortable.

"You don't want her; let's be honest." I scoffed, looking at Kane as I pulled her closer to me, her face buried in my neck as I winked at Kane over her head. "And it's not like you deserve her either... She is precious. You are just too stupid to see it." I growled menacingly. As Connie hid in the crook of my neck pretending to sob, my hand wound through her hair; I saw Liam eye me with a roll of his eyes while Kane stuck his fingers down his throat, pretending to gag. 

"Fuck it, what do I care." Kane laughed, sitting back down just as I let Connie go, and she turned to look at Kane, tension filling her shoulders as she sucked down a sob.

"You're an asshole." She spat verbally and literally on the floor in front of him. Making me want to vomit. 

"Ladies shouldn't spit." I groaned to Thor, who laughed deeply, the strain easing from him, too. 

"Never seen you complain when they spit on your cock." He chortled out, amusement lacing his tone.

"Touché motherfucker."