In front of all those people, she didn’t deny me. That meant… she was going to shield me, right?


    I tested the waters, reaching for her hand, wanting to cement that connection.


    But before my fingers brushed her skin, she stepped back sharply. Her eyes were frozen steel, pine–scented pheromones slicing the air. “Stay away from me.”


    My body locked, drenched in cold, my heart stopping for a beat.


    What? Just a moment ago things seemed fine…


    I stood stunned—until she suddenly stepped forward, face nk, and slipped her arm through mine. Her voice dripped with honey, soft enough to make my scalp tingle. “Carl, stay close to me. I’d never shortchange you.”


    My head went nk. My Omega instincts screamed. Was she… about to mark me?


    Then it hit.


    A surge of peppermint mmed into the room, sharp as des, crushing the air from my lungs.


    Kirby. The real one.


    His dominance flooded over me, suffocating, undeniable. No mimicry could ever match it.


    “Let go.” His voice was cial, deadly, echoing with amand that pierced bone.


    My knees weakened. Rationally, I knew I should obey Leslie–she was my chance, my Alpha lifeline.


    But my body betrayed me. Kirby’s words weren’t just sound–they werew. My fingers wrenched free on their own, retreating a stumbling pace, then another, until I turned and fled, shoving through the crowd like a coward chased by death.


    My chest thundered. One thought pounded over and over: <i>If </i><i>I </i><i>stayed</i>, <i>I’d </i><i>die</i><i>. </i>


    Kirby’s POV


    I stood rigid, peppermint boiling in my veins<b>, </b>storm clouds crashing inside me.


    That Omega shriveled with a singlemand, scattering like a rat. Pathetic.


    <b>18:53 </b>Mon<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>22 </b>


    Chapter 328 The Price


    <b>32 </b>


    Finished


    Leslie brushed her hair back with a careless hand, turned her eyes on me. Her gaze was cold, scorn bright as frost. “You’ve scared off mypanion, Kirby. Truly impressive.”


    Her words cut, sharp as barbs.


    I knew she didn’t respect Carl. I knew she wielded him like a weapon, to drive me mad.


    That face, carved so close to mine, yet twisted by weak smiles and greedy ttery–it disgusted <ol><li>me. </li></ol>


    But what tore deeper was myself. That she could suffer a cheap imitation of me at her side, yet meet me with nothing but ice.


    It felt like drowning in a pit where no light reached, while she zed above, untouchable.


    “I’ll pay you back,” I rasped, the words dragged raw from my throat.


    Her brows pinched, confusion flickering. “What?”


    I stepped closer, towering, her pine fragrance searing me like frost. My eyes burned, veins tight, and I let her see it: the sleepless rage, the sorrow, the desperation.


    “Take me,” I said, voice rough with a ragged edge. “I’ll repay you—with myself.”


    If she could tolerate a substitute, why not me?


    For <i>a </i>heartbeat, I hated how broken I sounded, how pathetic. But the jealousy was too much, the despair suffocating.


    Carl’s greedy stare had clung to her like filth, desecrating her, and I couldn’t hold back.


    But she onlyughed, low and cutting.


    Her eyes met mine, cial. “You? I couldn’t afford you.”


    The words slid into me like knives, cruel in their calm.


    And I bled silently, smiling through the pain.


    Send Gifts


    ?????


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