Aria’s POV The Apex brothers had a whole damn floor just for this—a private infirmary in their penthouse tower. I’d only seen pieces of this place, but apparently, there were entire levels I hadn’t even touched. Maybe one day, when I wasn’t constantly fighting for my life or unraveling conspiracies, I’d bother to explore the rest of their world. But right now, my focus was glued to the restrained figure on the sturdy infirmary bed. Quin’s wolf. We got her. Thank the moon goddess for that. And someone else. My eyes flicked to Kaid. There he was, sitting like a wounded beast, scowling so hard it was a miracle his face hadn’t cracked. His entire aura screamed don’t touch me, and yet. There were two male attendants hovering over him, fumbling with the silver bullets still lodged in his skin. “Leave it,” Kaid growled, batting their hands away like they were flies. “I can get them out myself.” Yeah, that tracked. Kaid would rather rip out his own damn bullets with his teeth th
Kaid’s POV My claws sank into the nearest subordinate, slicing through muscle, tearing the bastard apart. Another came at me from the side—a wide swing, stupidly powerful—but strength without precision was nothing. I ducked, moved with cold calculation, and drove my teeth into his side, ripping straight through bone. I didn’t care about the blood. I didn’t care about the spray of flesh or the weight of his body collapsing beneath me. What I want is to end this cocky bastard. The one who thought he could demand what was mine. He would not have her. I tore the next subordinate’s arm clean off, and yet he didn’t scream. Didn’t even flinch. What—? Before I could process it, his fucking limb began to grow back. My gaze narrowed. My growl deepened. I ripped the other arm off. Snapped his leg.Drove him to the ground with my paw. And yet— The sickening crack of his bones realigning, the stretch of muscle reknitting—he was regenerating. The cocky man
Thane’s POV The things I heard through the open intercom settled in me like a blade I couldn’t pull out. The way her father spoke to her—like she was a burden, like she was disposable. Like she was nothing. No father should speak to his daughter that way. Especially not her. And then, as if he hadn’t done enough, he dared to speak about her mother like that. As if she’d deserved to die. I felt it—felt the rage thrumming in Kaid’s silence, simmering in Ryker’s clenched fists, crackling behind Caspian’s usually playful eyes. We all wanted to go back. We all wanted to rip that man apart. But we had a job to do first. A mission that couldn’t wait. The shadow pack was moving something tonight. Something big. And I wasn’t about to let that slip by us. The port. That’s what this place was called. Where the ships rolled in with their steel bellies full of cargo and the night air always smelled like salt and rust and something faintly rotten. I adjusted the intercom in my ear as
Aria’s POV I never thought in a million years. That he would ever call me.After everything.After I’d blocked every one of their numbers—his, my stepmother’s, my pathetic stepsisters’—I thought I’d finalized it. I thought I’d made it clear. I don’t want ties. I don’t want threads. I don’t want them. But here he was, cutting straight through the wall I’d spent years building. I forced the words out, sharp and cold. “Did my pitiful sisters cry onto your lap again?” A heavy silence. His voice came through like a low snarl. “Watch your mouth. Remember who you’re talking to. Just because you’re not living under my roof doesn’t mean you’ve earned the right to speak to me like that.” I scoffed, dragging my thumb across the table edge. “Like I have earned anything from you.” “Ungrateful,” he bit out. “You’ve always been so ungrateful. After everything I’ve done for you.” I swallowed the bitter taste rising in my throat. There it was. “What did you do for me, exactly?
Aria’s POV “It’s not up for debate,” I snapped, squaring my shoulders, locking my gaze on his like I could force my will into him. The others stayed quiet. That told me everything. If they wanted me to stay behind, they’d have backed him up by now. Thane finally broke the silence, his voice calm, thoughtful. “I have a much better idea.” I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not sitting back here like some helpless—” “You won’t be.” **** Thirty minutes later, I was standing in a room I’d never seen before. It looked like something straight out of those spy movies—walls covered with massive screens, machines humming quietly, the faint buzz of power thick in the air. “This is our security room,” Thane said, moving to one of the sleek consoles, fingers already flying over the keyboard. I crossed my arms. “This is so cool. How come I don’t see any security men?” “Because no one comes here.” His eyes didn’t leave the screens. “Aside from routine maintenance, no one steps foot in this place
Kaids PoV “As long as I’m not you, I won’t be as incompetent.” The corner of my jaw twitched. The only reason I allowed her to come was to show her how much information she lacks. If she thinks we are incompetent, then she is way worse. Ever since she ripped into us—me—about how poorly we were handling the investigation, it’s been pissing me off. Does she have any idea what I’ve done? How deep I’ve gone? The risks I’ve taken to scrape through the filth the Skulls Syndicate leaves behind? No. She doesn’t. And still… she wasn’t wrong about the part where she said we ignored the cruelty in the Academy. Since when did someone else’s opinion get under my skin? "Because it’s her," my wolf said coldly in my mind. "Because you’re terrified she’ll see you as incompetent." That is not true. I ignored him. Or I tried to. But he wasn’t done. "You sat beside her just to feel her. You kept pretending to scroll through your phone, but you were watching her Kaid." I clenched my jaw. No.