Chapter 196
Chapter 196
Finished
Jace trailed after Carmen for a while before she finally spoke, her voice as the moonlight on a winter lake. “Then drive me back to Ashmoor p>
Jace, the notorious rich rogue of Mooncrest, immediately scrambled to open the car door for her, a half–eager grin hanging on his face.
Carmen had just lifted one foot to enter the car when a black Maybach screeched to a halt in front of them.
The passenger door was flung open, and a tall man in a dark suit leapt out like a shadow unchained. In the blink of an eye, he yanked Carmen behind him and threw a solid punch at Jace’s face.
Carmen blinked. Even she hadn’t expected Duke to suddenly show up.
Her pupils dilated in surprise, but she quickly regained composure, slipping once again into her cool, detached aura like a second skin.
Jace, too stunned to react, took the punch square on his cheekbone. A dull crack echoed as Duke’s fist landed with ruthless precision, the force snapping Jace’s head to the side. A bruised flush bloomed immediately, deep violet spreading like rot under the skin.
Reeling, Jace staggered back a few steps, nearly collapsing.
He steadied himself, panting, fury rising in his eyes. “Who the hell are you p>
Duke said nothing. His thin lips remained pressed into a hard line, and a dangerous gleam lit up in his storm–grey eyes. Without hesitation, he drove another punch into Jace’s gut.
Jace let out a low groan, doubling over. His pride—one nurtured by privilege and bloodline–burned hotter than the pain. No one laid hands on the Mooncrest elite. No one, except Carmen. And now this bastard?
He threw a kick at Duke’s knee, teeth bared.
Carmen, by now, had retreated a few steps and leaned leisurely against Duke’s Maybach, arms crossed, watching the scuffle with mild interest.
Jace’s kick never landed.
Duke caught his ankle midair, twisted, and slammed him onto the pavement in one clean, brutal motion. The sound of impact echoed in the still night.
Standing over him, Duke’s voice was like a blade–low, cold, absolute. “If you want your family to survive the season, stay the hell away from Carmen p>
The wind picked up, lifting strands of Carmen’s ink–black hair as she studied Duke.
Veins bulged along his neck, his jaw clenched tight, and the tension in his frame radiated power. The gold–rimmed glasses on his face gave him a deceptive refinement, but his fists told another story–one of violence, efficiency, and control.
Carmen’s eyes narrowed. One word popped into her mind: dangerous.
She flicked a lock of hair around her finger lazily, her gaze traveling across the sharp cut of Duke’s waistcoat and the lean muscle beneath.
Wide shoulders. Tapered waist. Long legs. A wolf in scholar’s clothing.
If she hadn’t already known he batted for the other team, she might have been interested.
Duke turned, his eyes locking with hers. For a moment, Carmen didn’t shift her gaze. And Duke saw it–the flash of something far from the soft, helpless image she’d once presented.
No. This was not the same girl he’d seen trembling outside the Silverfang Den, scared and desperate.
3:54 PM P P.
Chapter 196
Finished
He blinked. Was he imagining it?
Carmen quickly noticed the change in his expression and dropped the mask. In the next heartbeat, her body tensed, eyes flicking downward, hands gripping the hem of her coat with practiced innocence. Her lips quivered ever so slightly, and her entire demeanor screamed vulnerability.
Duke exhaled slowly.
Must’ve been the light. Or his imagination.
He walked to her without a word, opened the door, and shoved her gently into the passenger seat. Then he circled around to the driver’s side and slid in.
Tires screeched against asphalt as they peeled away, leaving Jace lying on the curb, one hand over his bruised ribs.
Watching the Maybach disappear, he wailed with theatrical despair.
“Carmen–You said I’m your little wolf! How could you ride off with the guy who just wrecked my face? That’s so cold… so
cruel p>
Inside the car, silence stretched thin between Carmen and Duke.
His hands were clenched around the steering wheel, his jaw tight.
“You shouldn’t be out this late by yourself,” he said, voice clipped. “You have any idea what would’ve happened if I hadn’t passed by p>
“No one asked you to stop,” she muttered under her breath.
But Duke didn’t hear it–or pretended not to.
“This is the third time,” he ground out. “First time at Silverfang Den–you were dragged into a booth with five drunk pack heirs. I pulled you out. Second time, back alley near Mooncrest Station–if not for the patrol, who knows what those Rogues would’ve done. And tonight? Carmen, are you trying to get yourself killed p>
She turned her head to look out the window, lips pressed into a silent smile. The streetlights flickered past, one by one, reflecting in her eyes like slivers of cold moonlight.
“Some things,” she whispered, “aren’t as dangerous as they look”
Duke’s jaw ticked. He didn’t understand her.
He wasn’t supposed to
But that was the whole point.
Carmen never wanted to be understood–only underestimated. And that made her all the more lethal.
Send Gifts
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