Chapter 69: u fuel my hurt to anger

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: u fuel my hurt to anger

The formal sitting room held a different kind of tension.

Enzo, Reid, and Dean sat across from Dylan on the couches arranged for official discussions.

A servant set down a tray of refreshments and withdrew without being told.

Dylan kept his posture straight, hands resting loosely on his knees.

"I have to ask," he began. "What brings the three of you to the Blacksmith Territory so suddenly?"

Enzo didn’t reach for the tea. His grey eyes stayed fixed on Dylan with the usual flat look.

"I’ll cut to the chase. We’ve been hearing about certain shady dealings on your end. And you haven’t upheld our business arrangement for over a month."

Dylan inclined his head, as if the point were reasonable rather than dangerous.

"It wasn’t intentional. I have responsibilities to this territory. Certain matters had to be cut short."

Reid let out a short, sharp scoff.

"Listen to that. Sitting here and feeding us excuses. how brave of you."

Inside, Dylan’s pulse was hammering. Every instinct screamed how easily these three could end him before anyone could even move a muscle. He forced the fear down and kept his expression steady.

"Somethings have changed around here. I would have sent word myself, but the arrangement was clear—you are the only ones permitted to initiate contact."

"And the criminals multiplying across your borders? What exactly are you doing about them?" Dean demanded answers.

Reid leaned back, giving him a frown.

"If our own people weren’t more than capable of handling the little packs of goons that keep trying to sneak onto our grounds, I might have actually never believed you still had the nerve to ’deal’ with us yourself."

Dylan’s jaw tightened. "I have nothing to do with those men. And with respect—your reputations precede you. You’re not exactly celebrated figures in this territory."

Reid’s eyes narrowed.

"Who exactly are you trying to fool?"

Enzo rose from his seat. The sudden movement made Dylan flinch before he could stop himself. His gaze swept the room once, then settled back on him with open distaste.

"Where are your parents? Conversing with you is already giving me a headache."

"They’re on vacation," Dylan answered. "They trust me to handle the territory as king. Which I have been doing."

Enzo began to walk along the edge of the seating area. His attention drifted briefly to the guards stationed around the room—larger than ordinary pack soldiers, denser with muscle, the kind of bulk that didn’t come from ordinary training.

"Since when did your men become this... buff?"

Dylan’s mouth curved into a thin, knowing smile.

"One of the improvements we’ve made. In case certain brothers ever decided to come looking for trouble."

The atmosphere shifted at once. All three brothers fixed him with the same cold, lethal stare.

Then the guards moved.

Enzo was the first to close the distance. He caught the nearest guard by the wrist, twisted, and drove an elbow into the man’s throat hard enough to drop him instantly. Before the body fully hit the ground he had already pivoted, fist cracking across another jaw with enough force to send the man crashing to the wall.

Reid sidestepped one, stepped inside the guard’s reach, and delivered a rapid series of punches to the ribs, solar plexus, the side of the neck. The soldier staggered; Reid finished him with a clean uppercut that lifted the man off his feet before he collapsed in a heap.

Dean caught an incoming fist in one hand, used the momentum to wrench the attacker forward, and slammed his knee into the man’s face. Another guard rushed him from the side; Dean turned, ducked under the swing, and drove both fists into the man’s midsection in quick succession before slamming an open palm into his chest hard enough to send him skidding across the ruined floor.

The remaining guards finally pulled back, breathing hard, reforming a loose perimeter. The three Ellingtons stood amid the wreckage, chests rising withanger, the sharp edge of real violence already in their eyes.

"You’re going to regret this."

Dylan laughed mockingly. "Do you three actually believe you’re leaving this place alive?"

He snapped his fingers.

Around the room, the guards bit down hard. Something cracked between their teeth. A fine, powder-like substance burst into the air and spread quickly through the enclosed space.

Reid’s mouth twisted. "Cute. We’re fairly resistant to poisons."

"This isn’t poison. You’ll understand soon enough."

The guards surged forward again.

The brothers moved to meet them—only to find their bodies feeling slower than normal. Their limbs felt heavier. The usual explosive speed that made them nearly untouchable had become something much clumsier.

The guards were then able to land blows on the,

**

Jade’s smile was pure venom.

"No one is going to save you here. Scream as loud as you want. Cry for help. Your fake partners won’t hear a thing."

Amelia’s voice felt low yet deep.

"You’re making a grave mistake. You do not want to make me angry."

Jade gave an ugly laugh.

"The only mistake was ever letting a useless, wolfless orphan think she mattered. Your entire existence was just something I stepped on to climb higher. Your life made mine better. And nothing about that is going to change."

The other women rose as one.

Hands clamped around Amelia’s arms and Skye’s. They were dragged hard out of the gazebo and thrown onto the open grass beyond it. The first kicks and blows landed before either of them fully found their balance.

Amelia twisted instinctively, curling her body over Skye’s, taking the worst of the strikes across her back and shoulders. Pain flared bright and hot.

Skye’s eyes flashed with pure fury. Every muscle in her frame was coiled, ready to surge up and snap these fragile, arrogant women in half. The fact that she was even in this position—serving someone who wouldn’t fight back—scraped against her pride like sandpaper.

"Stop," Amelia gritted out, voice shaking with more than pain. The anger inside her was climbing fast, pressing against the thin control she still had. She could already feel the shift beginning, the familiar dangerous pressure building under her skin. "Stop it—"

The sky above the garden began to darken, clouds gathering with unnatural speed.

Jade stood over them, expression bright with cruel satisfaction as another kick drove into Amelia’s side.

"Look at you. Taking the hits meant for your little servant like some pathetic shield. Still playing the martyr. Still pretending you’re better than the rest of us. You’re nothing. You were nothing when Dylan kept you around out of convenience, and you’re nothing now that three dangerous men have decided you’re an entertaining toy. Beg. If you beg properly, I might even consider letting you crawl out of this territory in one piece."

Amelia’s head lifted.

The white streaks in her red hair began to glow with a soft, rising light. Her purple eyes flared open, the unnatural stare fixed on Jade with something far colder than ordinary rage.