Chapter 91: If He Makes You Feel Safe

"Right, ’tormenting’ you," Jordan scoffed, shaking his head with a wide, knowing smirk. "Brianna, he literally moved our entire family into a mansion that looks like a palace, personally wiped out our Grey Moon pack records, and just stroked your face in front of us. If that’s what his torment looks like, please let him torment the rest of us too!"

"Jordan!" I growled, picking up one of the discarded wooden daggers from the rack and pointing it threateningly at his chest. "One more word out of your mouth, and I will personally demonstrate my ’weapon handling’ on you."

Jordan raised his hands instantly, stepping behind Jayden. "Alright, alright! Message received! We don’t want to end up as target practice."

Jayden chuckled, though his expression softened as he looked around the state-of-the-art training hall, before turning back to me with a rare, genuine gentleness in his eyes.

"Kidding aside, Bri... we really don’t care what your relationship with him is, as long as you’re safe," Jayden said softly, crossing his arms. "When we saw Mom’s head bleeding, we thought we were finished. We thought Ludwig’s men were out to destroy us. But then we got the news that this was going to be our house. And not just that, we are now members of the Morningstar Pack."

Jordan nodded in agreement, his usual teasing tone fading away. "Yeah. We’ve never seen anyone stand up for our family like that. So, if he’s genuinely on your side—and if he makes you feel safe—we’re not going to question it, even if he does look older than us."

Idiots. He’s not even that old.

I looked at my brothers, the defensive prickles on my skin slowly smoothing down. I let out a soft, defeated sigh, lowering the wooden dagger and placing it neatly back into its slot on the rack.

"I can protect myself," I murmured softly, my fingers lingering on the cool rack. "And I’ll protect you guys, too. Edgar... he’s a calculating man. He’s an Alpha through and through, and everything he does has a purpose. But... he kept his word to me today. He got Mom and Dad out of that hellhole."

"And gave us the upper floor," Jayden added, his face instantly lighting up again as he grabbed my sleeve. "Which brings us back to why we came down here in the first place! You have to see the balcony upstairs, Brianna. Your room has a private terrace that oversees the entire district!"

"Wait, her room has a private terrace?!" Jordan gasped, his head snapping toward Jayden in mock outrage. "Why does she get the private terrace?!"

"Because she’s the one who beat up an Alpha, idiot!" Jayden laughed, slinging an arm over my shoulder and pulling me toward the reinforced stairs. "Come on, let’s go check out the rooms before Mom tries to start inspecting every nook and cranny herself!"

I let them drag me up the steps, listening to their loud, chaotic bickering echo off the high ceilings. As we reached the main level, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the polished glass of the entryway—my cheeks had finally returned to their normal color, but a quiet, undeniable smile stayed firmly on my lips.

I looked... happy.

So this is what freedom looks like. Hm, it suits me.

We spent the next half hour exploring the upper floor, my brothers marveling at the plush carpeting, the sprawling en-suite bathrooms, and the massive walk-in closets. But as I stood in the middle of my new room, looking at those huge, empty wardrobes, a very practical realization hit me.

We didn’t have anything to put in them.

Our old clothes were practically rags from the Grey Moon slums, and there was no way in hell I was letting my parents go back to that rotting district just to pack up trash. We needed an entire new wardrobe—for all five of us.

Buzz.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Benjamin:

Benjamin:Are you out yet? What are you up to today?

I glanced at the time in the corner of the screen: 01:15 PM.

I blinked. It was already past noon—right on cue for Benjamin’s usual waking hours. The text instantly reminded me of the private, high-tier recovery and body-conditioning facility.

While Edgar’s new training ground here at the villa was top-of-the-line for raw combat, it didn’t have those specialized, high-density cell-regeneration pods. To maximize Silas’s soul integration without tearing my physical muscles apart, I needed to run my body through those specific pods to rebuild my stamina and bone density.

Today was Sunday, meaning the academy grounds would be practically deserted. It was the perfect time to drop in unnoticed using the VIP access card Benjamin had given me. It wasn’t like I was going to the academy but Benjamin told me we had to pass the academy to get there.

It probably had some link to the academy. That was probably why the Principal had some sort of influence there too.

I quickly typed back:

Brianna:I’m free. I actually need to hit the facility you gave me acces to, to use the recovery pods. And since it’s my first time, this companion of yours doesn’t want to cause a scene. Are you available?

The reply came back almost instantly:

Benjamin:Of course I’m free! Shall I come pick you up? My driver is already ready.

I paused. I didn’t have a personal vehicle yet, and this upper-district villa was a considerable distance from the district in Grey Moon territory where the Casino was located. Taking him up on a ride was the most logical choice.

Brianna:Yeah, you can come over. Hold on, let me send you the address.

I paused again, realizing I didn’t actually know the exact residential coordinates of this place yet. I stepped toward the main hall where one of the uniformed Morningstar house managers was organizing the staff.

"Excuse me," I said smoothly. "What’s the exact street address for this property?"

The manager bowed respectfully. "It is 104 Morningstar Crest, Upper North District, Miss Wells."

I typed the address into the chat and hit send.

A second later, the chat bubble showed three animated dots as Benjamin began typing. Then the dots vanished. Then they appeared again, flickering back and forth for nearly a minute as if he kept typing and erasing his words in utter disbelief.

Finally, a message popped through:

Benjamin:Isn’t that... isn’t that one of my Uncle’s private residences?!