TRADING MY CHEATING HUSBAND FOR THE LYCAN KING novel Chapter 29

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CHAPTER 19: BURN THEM ALL

EMBER’S POV

I’m drowning.

Gale’s hand is around my throat, squeezing, his breath hot and reeking of whiskey. The living room of our Seattle apartment tilts sideways. He’s yelling something–I can never remember what sets him off, just that his face goes dark and suddenly I’m against the wall.

“Nobody respects me because of you,” he snarls, shaking me hard enough that my teeth rattle. “You humiliate me. Every fucking day.”

I try to speak, to apologize for whatever I did wrong this time, but his grip tightens.

Then the glass. He grabs it from the side table and hurls it at the wall beside my head. It explodes in a shower of crystal, shards biting into my cheek.

He laughs–cold, mirthless–and releases me.

“Clean it up,” he says, walking away. “And be more careful about making me angry.”

I’m on my knees in the wreckage, hands shaking, when the memory fractures-

“Ember.”

The voice cuts through the nightmare.

“Breathe.”

My eyes snap open and I’m gasping, thrashing against restraints that aren’t there. My heart is trying to escape my ribs. There’s a monitor beside me beeping frantically, tracking my panic in real time.

Not Seattle. Not our apartment.

The room is white and sterile. Medical. Safe.

Knox sits in the chair beside my bed, still wearing his tuxedo but it’s wrecked–bow tie gone, collar unbuttoned, sleeves pushed to his elbows. There’s something dark on his white cuff. Blood, maybe. His hair is disheveled like he’s been running his hands through it for hours.

His eyes lock onto mine–wild, relieved, furious.

“In through your nose,” he says, voice rough and controlled. “Four counts. Hold it. Out through your mouth for six. Do it.”

I obey because I’m still drowning and his voice is the only thing keeping me tethered.

CHAPTER 19. BURN THEM ALL

In. One, two, three, four. Hold. Out. One, two, three, four, five, six.

Again.

The beeping slows. My vision clears.

+25 Points

I’m in a private clinic–expensive, quiet. An IV runs from my left arm. I’m wearing a soft gray hospital gown that smells like lavender and antiseptic.

“What happened?” My voice comes out hoarse.

Knox leans forward, elbows on his knees. His jaw is tight enough to crack teeth.

“You tell me. What do you remember?”

The bathroom. Logan’s cold smile. The envelope. The letter.

“I-” My throat closes.

“You collapsed in the women’s bathroom,” Knox says when I don’t continue. “Someone screamed. Security found you unconscious on the floor.” He pauses, something dark flickering across his face. “I carried you here myself. You’ve been out for three hours. The doctor says you had a panic attack.”

Three hours. The dinner must be long over.

“I watched the security footage,” he continues, and now his voice drops to something lethal. I saw him. Logan Reeves. He followed you into that bathroom and locked the door behind

him.”

His hands curl into fists on his thighs.

“What did he say to you?”

I swallow hard, my mouth dry. “Water?”

His expression hardens but he doesn’t push. He presses a button and within seconds a nurse appears. She brings water with a flexible straw. I drink gratefully while Knox watches me like he’s cataloging every breath I take.

The nurse checks my vitals, makes notes, disappears.

The second she’s gone, Knox leans forward again. “Tell me.”

“He made me an offer.” The words feel heavy. “One billion dollars to disappear. Tonight. He

said there was a car waiting. New identity, new life. Anywhere I wanted to go.”

Knox’s eyes flash gold for half a second. “In exchange for what?”

< CHAPTER 19. BURN THEM ALL

“A letter.” My hands start shaking again. “He wanted me to sign a letter.”

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