Chapter 188: I love you

I wanted to live—desperately, fiercely, with every aching fiber of my being. The terrible, suffocating dread was devouring me from the inside, no matter how hard I tried to push back the dark thoughts and cling to the belief that my man would find me.

Suddenly, a dull, metallic crunch echoed from outside, followed immediately by the sharp, piercing screech of tires. The entire container shuddered violently. The battered rear doors tore off their hinges and flew outward with a deafening bang. Standing in the framed opening against the dim overcast light was him.

No matter how many years passed, I could pick him out of a crowd of thousands. The twisted, sickening obsession gleaming in his eyes sent a violent shiver down my spine.

Dean Nyland.

Our eyes locked instantly, and his grotesquely cybernetic, scarred face contorted into a monstrous, bloodthirsty grin. My heart stopped. The blood drained from my limbs, turning my muscles to brittle glass. Spikes of panic pricked beneath my skin so intensely I wanted to claw it off—anything to stop that monster from looking at me like that.

"Long time no see, my breeder," he purred, his voice scraped raw with malice. "What’s the matter? Aren’t you going to throw yourself into your savior’s arms? Or are you afraid of dirtying me, you filthy whore?" A crooked sneer spread across his face, searing my lungs like toxic acid.

"Hey! Where do you think you’re going?! You haven’t transferred the rest of the money!" Ian screeched frantically from the floor. "Max, get the money!"

"Have you forgotten your place, you fucking scum?" Dean snapped, his movement fluid as he drew a heavy handgun. "I threw you that pocket change for the info, and you think you can demand more?" A suppressed pop hissed through the air, sending a bullet tearing toward Max.

What followed was a swift, terrifying blur of blood and violence. Dean executed both of them without hesitation. Before the smoke could clear, he pivoted, leveling the smoking barrel straight at Adam.

"Stop! Don’t shoot! He’s my doctor!" I screamed frantically, fighting back the wave of disgust clawing at my throat. What a vile, heartless monster—exchanging an innocent person’s life for mine.

"I have a far better doctor waiting for you," Dean said with a sneer. "Don’t worry, he’ll help us become a true pair. And he’ll rid you of that filth." He gestured with sickening contempt at my wrist, where Magnus’s mark lay hidden beneath my skin.

Cowering, I shook my head in violent refusal. "No! I only trust my doctor! He’s the only one who knows how to treat me when my attacks hit! Whatever kind of monster you are, you don’t want me dead!" Forcing the lie out with absolute conviction, I stepped in front of Adam, shielding him with my body as I met Dean’s gaze with defiant eyes.

"Attacks?" Dean tilted his head with animalistic curiosity, his predatory gaze digging into my pale face. "What attacks?"

"In case you forgot, your psychotic sister poisoned me with a rare toxin," I said, forcing my voice to hold steady. "It permanently damaged my system. My internal organs are compromised. Adam is my personal physician—he calculates every gram of food I eat, because even standard meals can disrupt the chemical balance and plunge me into unbearable agony. He knows every precise dosage. Without him, I’m a corpse within days."

"Then why is he cowering there in silence while you fight his battles?" Dean growled, his grip on the gun remaining dead steady.

"His life is my responsibility," I lied, knowing Dean would never listen to Adam directly. "I need him, not the other way around."

As I spoke, I felt the paralysis in my body slowly thaw. A soothing heat flared in my chest. I watched with quiet triumph as Dean’s focus wavered, his pupils dilating as he began drawing deep, shuddering breaths of air.

My pheromones were taking hold. The breathing exercises Adam and I had practiced for nearly an hour while being tossed around in the container were working. I had centered myself, and my Alpha Breeder essence had ceased its frantic thrashing, unleashing a subtle, suffocating wave of power to overpower the hostile Alpha before me.

"F-fine. Fuck, have it your way. If your damn life depends on this piece of shit, I’ll tolerate his pathetic existence," Dean rasped out, jerking the gun barrel toward the exit. "Move. We’re sailing."

My lungs seized, cold shock ripping through me. Sailing? No...

My legs felt like lead as I stepped out, clutching Adam’s ice-cold hand. We were standing in a secluded, derelict harbor. The cab of the semi-truck that had rammed our shipping container was smoking, its driver slumped, bleeding over the steering wheel.

"Wait! There’s a man in there! He needs help, we—"

Adam yanked my arm sharply, shaking his head with grim finality as he pointed toward the cab. My voice died in my throat. A clean bullet hole was punched through the driver’s neck. He was already dead. Dean was eliminating every loose end.

"Keep those pretty legs moving toward the yacht, my sweet little betrayer. I’ve got a surprise waiting for you—not that you deserve it."

As we trudged along the rotting wooden pier toward a massive luxury yacht, I did everything I could to drag my feet, only to receive a brutal shove from the muzzle of Dean’s pistol against my shoulder blade. We were barely halfway up the gangway when the distant, thunderous roar of high-performance engines shattered the air. I whipped around. Black SUVs were hurtling into the shipyard at breakneck speeds, tearing down the access road directly toward the pier.

My heart stopped, then slammed against my ribs with terrifying violence. The lead car screeched to a halt, tires smoking, and a tall, silver-haired figure threw the door open.

Magnus.

He sprinted down the pier toward us like an unleashed, ravenous beast.

"Freeze!" Dean shrieked frantically. He grabbed me by my hair, yanking my head back until my neck strained, and slammed the cold steel barrel of his gun against my temple.

Magnus halted instantly. He skidded to a stop at the edge of the pier, his dark eyes wide with unadulterated horror as they locked onto mine. His chest heaved violently. Fresh blood dripped from his scarred knuckles, but he seemed completely oblivious to the pain. He saw only me.

And I saw only my Alpha, utterly helpless to stop the sobs tearing through my chest. His face was a mask of unbearable agony and raw fury. He was so close—merely yards away—yet separated by a stretch of murky water and the deadly weapon pressed against my skull.

Looking straight into his eyes, my trembling lips silently formed three words:

I love you...

The deafening roar of the yacht’s engines flared, drowning out all sound as the vessel pulled away, tearing me from the man who was my entire world.