From Bait to Queen: The Rejected Mate's Destiny
Chapter 7
Dean POV:
The screen in the VIP box went black.
"What happened?" Karina complained. "I wanted to see her ripped apart."
I stared at the static. A sudden, sharp pain pierced my chest-like a violin string pulled until it snapped.
"Dean?" Karina touched my arm.
I flinched. Her touch felt wrong. The sweet scent that usually surrounded her was gone, replaced by something acrid. Sweat. And lies.
"We're leaving," I growled.
"But my winnings!"
"Now!" I roared. The Alpha Command slipped out.
We drove back to the penthouse in silence. A void opened up inside me, a black hole sucking in the air. I doubled over, gasping.
Hayley? I pushed the thought through the mind-link.
Silence. The silence of a disconnected line.
"Alpha!" Marcus burst in. "The Blood Pit... it's gone. Explosion. No survivors found yet."
"No," I whispered.
"She might have escaped," Karina said, leaning in the doorway. "Rats are good at running."
I looked at her. Really looked at her. Without the fog in my brain, she looked... plastic. Cruel.
"Shut up," I snarled.
I pulled up the traffic cams on my tablet. In the smoke, a large figure emerged carrying a small, limp body. Brennen.
Hayley wasn't moving. Her head hung at a sickening angle.
The realization hit me like a physical blow. The drug, the hex, whatever had been clouding my mind-it shattered the moment the bond severed.
"Get the car," I ordered Marcus.
"Where are we going?"
"To the ruins. I need to see it."
