Chapter 26

GABRIELLA'S POV

"Wrong, hm?" Beta Benson took a step toward me.

“Yes,” I exhaled shakily, taking another step back, “wrong. Something is wrong.”

I instinctively clutched the USB drive tighter in my hand, forcing my voice not to waver. "Someone's spying. There's footage of the hallway outside my room. Someone filmed Jack kissing me. It wasn’t an accident. It was planned."

“What the actual hell are you talking about?” He cast me a disapproving stare like I wasn't worthy of his time. Like i was some sort of worthless piece of scrap he wanted to deal with right now.

His eyes scanned me slowly, unreadable as always. The same man who stood beside Jax in every meeting, beside every war by every strategy, and every quiet corner of this mansion. There was a cold detachment in the way he watched me, like I was a disruption, not a person.

"And what makes you so sure it's not just what it looks like?" he asked, voice flat.

My jaw clenched. "Because I was there. I know the truth. Jax doesn’t. Not yet."

“What did you take from there? You did not come here to steal, did you?” He asked, his eyes flicking to my tightly closed fist, then he glanced at the screens behind me.

“I was restless,” I replied cautiously, sliding the USB deeper into my pocket.

I narrowed my eyes. “And besides… steal? From a bunch of security feeds? What, is the Alpha's fridge cam too sacred to touch?”

His brow lifted, his eyes sharpening. “You’ve got a sharp tongue for someone who always looks like she’s two seconds away from crying.”

“Better a sharp tongue than a dull brain,” I snapped back. “Which is what you'd have to be working with if you think I'd come here just to snoop around for fun or to steal!”

That got him. His lips twitched, but not into a smile. It was more like irritation barely held at bay.

“Careful, girl,” he said quietly. “I don’t take kindly to insults.”

“And I don’t take kindly to being accused like I’m some pack rat,” I said, stepping closer. “You don’t like me. I get it. Maybe because I’m not from here. Maybe because I didn’t beg for your approval the moment I walked in. Or maybe because you had some sort of misinterpretation of me on my first day here, but don’t mistake silence for stupidity, Beta.”

He tilted his head slightly, watching me now, this time, not with disdain this time, but with something more alert and more thoughtful.

“Hm,” he muttered, as if recalibrating something in his mind. “So you do have teeth.”

“I have a lot more than teeth,” I replied, my voice cold. “And the next time you try to corner me, make sure you’re holding more than an empty assumption.”

We stared at each other for a beat. Hiis posture was still guarded, and mine defiant. And then it happened. I saw a flicker. A tiny shift in his gaze. It wasn’t admiration, no. But something close. Recognition. A sliver of respect he probably didn’t even realize had slipped through.

His lips twitched, almost into a smirk, but he never let it fully form. "Interesting."

I stepped back, needing space, needing air. The tension in the room was suffocating.

"I need to go," I said, edging toward the door.

He didn’t move to block me, but his eyes followed me with that same calculating stare. "Be careful who you trust, Gabriella."

"I could say the same to you," I muttered, slipping out into the hallway.

The second I stepped out, I felt something. I felt some sort of pull of fear crawling down my spine. The mansion was too quiet. Too still. The shadows felt too thick. My feet made barely a sound against the marble floors as I crept down the hall toward Jax's wing.

I kept glancing over my shoulder.

Was someone behind me? Or was I losing my mind?

No, there it was again. I heard a creak of the wood on the floor. A whisper of breath that was not my own.

I picked up my pace, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

My heart slammed against my ribs, breath catching with every step. I was close to Jax's door. So close. I could see it at the end of the hall, golden light still glowing beneath the frame. He was awake.

My steps quickened. I started walking faster. I was almost there.

Then arms shot out of the shadows.

A scream tore out of my throat as a gloved hand slammed over my mouth and yanked me back into the darkness.

I thrashed.

I kicked, clawed, bit down into the hand but they didn't let go.

The masked figure shoved me hard against the wall, pressing close. Their grip was tight but careful, holding me without truly hurting me.

"Scream again and I’ll change that," a deep, muffled voice warned. Not a growl, not a threat… they just wanted to intimidate me. Their voice was so quiet and calm. Measured. Scarier than a scream.

I froze.

The USB.

They reached for it in my pocket.

I jerked sideways, trying to shove it into my hoodie pocket, but their fingers found it first. They yanked it free.

"You don’t need this. He doesn't fucking have to see this!” They hissed.

"Give it back!" I screamed, trying to twist out of their hold.

They didn’t speak again. Instead, they turned to leave. And something inside me… I didn't know what it was. It felt like  some raw, desperate instinct acted. The desperation to prove my innocence to Jax was in that USB.

I lunged for them.

I grabbed the side of their mask and tried to rip it off.

They shoved me back. I tripped. My foot caught the edge of the hallway rug. I fell forward. Their knife—I hadn’t seen it until now—was suddenly in my abdomen.

I gasped.

Time slowed.

The masked figure froze. I saw the shock in their body language, the sudden jerk of their hand.

"Shit," they whispered.

Then they ran.

I crumpled.

My hands pressed to the wound, warm blood soaking through my fingers. The USB was gone. My knees hit the cold floor, and I choked on a sob as pain rippled up my spine. My hoodie felt heavy, wet.

I tried to scream. Only a broken gasp came out.

I dragged myself forward.

Jax's door. Just a few more feet. Please. Please.

Then I collapsed, and the pain stole my breath entirely.

"Jax," I whimpered.

The sound was so soft, I didn't think anyone would hear it.

But a second later, the door flew open.

Jax stood in the doorway, his eyes wide, bare chest rising and falling in stunned horror.

"Gabriella?"

He ran.

He slid to his knees beside me, hands hovering before finally cradling my face, then pressing down to try and stop the bleeding.

"No, no, no, baby…" he whispered, voice breaking. "Stay with me. Stay awake."

I was crying now. "I was coming to show you… I had proof… someone took the USB… I tried to stop them… they didn’t mean to… I don’t think they meant to stab me."

His eyes were wild. Golden. Glowing. His wolf was clawing to the surface.

He lifted me, holding me against his chest. My blood soaked into his skin.

His growl was low, guttural, barely human.

"Who did this to you?"

And that was the last thing I heard before everything went black.