Chapter 145
Trista’s POV
This was Los Angeles.
This was Ironthorn territory.
This was the playground of Cassian and Howard, and everyone who shared their blood.
I should have seen this coming a mile away.
Night fell fast, and the LA temperature plummeted with it.
Finished.
I stood on the curb, pulling my coat tighter. The white mist of my breath vanished into the air–looking like a wish torn to shreds before it could even hit the ground.
“Luna Trista p>
A car window slid down a short distance away. It was Wynn.
I stopped and watched as the car pulled up beside me.
After I got in, as we talked, I started piecing together exactly what had gone down inside Ironthorn over the last few days.
Alaina had been so blindsided by my arrest that she’d lost control and had to be rushed to the healing
center.
Fred had gotten into a screaming match with Cassian and they were still in a cold war.
Even Wynn had nearly been shipped abroad to “learn some manners
That was how that Alpha wolf operated.
On the surface, he preached “staying calm” and “following procedure,” but behind the scenes, he used pack law and power to bulldoze everyone into his lane.
Anyone who tried to reach out and pull me back from the edge was systematically crushed by Cassian’s
aura.
While I was talking to Wynn, my phone buzzed.
The second I answered, my father’s voice hit me–hoarse and frantic. “Trista, get here now. Your mother is in the ER p>
My heart bottomed out.
Wynn drove like a maniac to the healing center.
The ER doors were sealed shut; no one was getting in.
The healers wouldn’t let family linger in the hallway, so they herded us into a ward to wait.
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Finished
The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant and the sour pheromones of anxiety. My wolf was pacing in my chest, scratching at the walls, desperate to do something, yet utterly helpless.
That’s when a knock came at the door.
A middle–aged woman walked in leading a little girl in a beanie. Before she even cleared the threshold, she dropped to her knees. The three of us jumped.
“Shannon, what are you doing? Get up p>
My father rushed over to help her, his voice shaking with panic.
I recognized her. It was Emlen’s mate, Shannon Stephens.
Shannon clung to my father’s sleeve, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. “Please, help us. You have to get Emlen out of there p>
My temples started throbbing.
“Shannon,” I said, my throat tight. “Emlen and I have no bad blood. Why the hell did he frame me p>
They were mates. He wouldn’t have kept her in the dark.
Shannon looked up at me, her eyes filled with pure despair. “Trista, he’s always played by the rules. He would never do something like this on his own p>
She reached up with trembling hands and pulled the beanie off the little girl’s head.
As the soft wool came away, it revealed a perfectly round, bald little head.
My heart sank.
“Zelda was diagnosed with leukemia three months ago,” Shannon rasped. “We’ve sold everything. Borrowed from everyone. Every cent of our savings is gone. We can’t even cover tomorrow’s treatment, and in two days, the rent on the repair shop is due… Without Emlen, I can’t do this alone. Please, help us p>
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The little girl reached out and grabbed a corner of my coat, looking up at me with tear–filled eyes. “Trista, I want to see my daddy… sob p>
I couldn’t speak.
My hands balled into fists at my sides, my knuckles turning white.
My cousin’s child was dying. They were desperate for cash.
He’d been pushed to the edge, making him the perfect prey.
All Cassian had to do was reach out, and by pulling on the strings of that father–daughter bond, he could force Emlen to turn on me.
Cassian could stand there looking composed–acting like he was just a bystander–because he knew Emlen would never recant as long as Zelda’s life was on the line.
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In that ward, my mother was in critical condition, Shannon and her daughter were breaking down, and Emlen was refusing visitors in custody p>
The feeling of being boxed in, of having no way out, was driving my wolf insane.
I didn’t say another word. I turned and walked out.
The hallway lights were blinding. I leaned against the wall and called Cassian over and over.
Every time, it was just the silence of a busy signal. My logic was being scorched away by pure rage.
I went to the Ironthorn packhouse. I even risked the humiliation of going to Samantha’s apartment, tracking her scent building by building.
Nothing.
He wasn’t anywhere.
Finally, I was pushed to the high grounds of Blue Bay–Ironthorn’s city territory.
It was one in the morning.
The elevator chimed, and the doors slid open.
I was leaning against the hallway wall, so exhausted I was drifting, staying upright only by sheer willpower.
Footsteps echoed from the end of the hall.
I looked up. It was Cassian.
He carried the chill of the night on him, his presence heavy enough to make the air in the hallway feel like lead.
He looked at me for two seconds before speaking. “You looking for me p>
I’d been locked up for forty–eight hours, then spent the entire day chasing him across the city.
Every bone in my body was screaming in pain, but my mind was shredded.
Between worrying about my mom in a healing pod, the sick nine–year–old pup, and the reality that my case was spiraling out of control, I was at my breaking point.
Seeing his face, the body that had felt numb was suddenly jump–started by fury. I practically lunged at him.
I hated him so much in that moment that I swung a hand to slap him.
His reflexes were faster. He caught my wrist mid–air.
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Sara Lili
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.