I Ran From My Psycho Step-brother Straight Into The Alpha's Lap novel Chapter 192

**When Night Grows Softer Hope Returns To Lead Us by Asa Rowan Finn 192**

**Chapter 192**

**Samantha**

“Healer.”

The utterance sliced through the air with a sharpness that felt like a whip crack in the stillness of the room. My eyes shot upward, locking onto Maverick’s dark, penetrating gaze, which seemed to delve deep into the very essence of my being.

A wave of panic surged through me, overwhelming and relentless.

I swallowed hard, my throat constricted with fear as I desperately tried to recall the breathing techniques Sage had taught me. Inhale deeply. Exhale slowly.

“C-can I help you?”

The words tumbled out, jumbled and shaky, betraying the terror that gripped me, echoing in the silence like a confession I wished I could take back.

Maverick’s face twisted into a scowl, his trademark sneer firmly entrenched on his lips. He took a step closer, invading my personal space with a confidence that made my skin crawl.

I stumbled backward, my back colliding with the cold, unyielding wall behind me.

He was a living nightmare—a Beta who had overstayed his welcome in the Northwoods pack long after the vampire war had concluded. No one understood why he lingered, and to be honest, I had no desire to find out.

What I did know was that he instilled more fear in me than any wolf in this pack.

Except for one.

The one with the charming dimples and a smile that could brighten the darkest of days. The one I tried to avoid with every fiber of my being.

Maverick leaned in closer, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air around me. My heart raced, pounding violently against my ribs as if trying to escape the impending doom.

“Maverick. Back off.”

The voice that sliced through the tension was hard, unyielding as granite.

I closed my eyes momentarily, releasing a shaky breath, feeling the weight of the moment settle around me like a heavy cloak.

Player Two has entered the game.

“Can’t you see you’re scaring her?”

A massive shadow fell over me, and though he didn’t physically touch me, his presence was like a protective barrier between me and Maverick. The familiar scent of sunshine and pine enveloped me, wrapping me in a cocoon of safety.

Wyatt.

Maverick’s gaze flicked back and forth between us, his sneer deepening as if he relished the confrontation. “What? I can’t even talk to the help? It’s amusing to see one of you ‘princesses.’ The other two won’t even leave their shells.”

His words dripped with disdain, aimed at Ava and Rose.

Rage ignited within me, a fierce flame that surged through my chest.

He had no right to utter their names. He had no understanding of the battles we had fought to survive. Yes, they chose to stay inside.

Because the outside world was a treacherous minefield.

My presence here, working alongside the pack? It was nothing short of a miracle. I was living proof that we could be pieced back together, even if the fragments didn’t fit perfectly anymore.

“Pretty sure that’s none of your business, Beta,” Wyatt shot back, his voice icy and unyielding. The golden retriever energy he usually exuded had vanished, replaced by the sharp, commanding presence of an Alpha warrior.

The air crackled with tension, thick and palpable.

Maverick held Wyatt’s gaze for a heartbeat longer before he scoffed and turned on his heel, stalking away like a storm cloud retreating.

Only when his shadow vanished did I dare to exhale, a rush of relief flooding my senses.

I relaxed, but then Wyatt turned to face me, and my breath caught in my throat once more.

I looked up.

The man I couldn’t escape.

He was blindingly handsome, tall and lean, radiating an aura of power that was almost overwhelming. His features were so striking that they made my mind momentarily short-circuit. Every encounter with him turned me into a stammering fool.

“Did he bother you?” His voice was still tight, serious, as if he were ready to defend me against the very air around us.

I shook my head, my throat feeling dry and constricted.

He stepped closer, the distance between us diminishing. “Sam.”

That name.

Not Samantha. Sam.

He spoke it with a gentle reverence, as if I were something precious, fragile, and rare.

But I wasn’t.

I was a collection of jagged shards, glued together but far from whole. A broken thing that couldn’t even hold a simple conversation without feeling like I would shatter.

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