MARIA

Patricia froze.

The moment the figure came into full view, my breath hitched and I froze.

How could it be possible?

My entire body went rigid.

"Adrien...?" I whispered, my voice barely audible, laced with shock and disbelief. "How... how is it possible?"

Patricia let out a strained, almost mocking laugh, even though her body trembled. "If it isn’t the weak Alpha who supposedly lost his wolf... then who else could it be?" she spat.

I couldn’t move, and couldn’t think.

Adrien...was standing here, right in front of me, but he wasn’t just standing...He looked dangerous, fully of energy and alive in a way that didn’t make sense.

Wasn’t he still battling with the poison?

My eyes locked with his through the reflection, and a chill ran down my spine.

Then he moved slowly and deliberately towards us.

Adrien didn’t say anything at all.

He simply walked past Patricia, picked up a bucket filled with ice water, and without hesitation...splashed it straight onto her.

Patricia gasped loudly, her body jerking violently from the shock. "You psycho!" she screamed, her voice filled with fury and disbelief. "What is wrong with you?!"

Her eyes burned with rage as she turned sharply. "Grab him!" she ordered the men behind her. "Chain him down!"

The masked men rushed forward immediately but before they could even touch him...

Adrien moved fast.

Too fast, I barely registered the movement on my head.

Within seconds, the room erupted into chaos.

He dodged the first attack effortlessly, his movements sharp and precise. His fist connected with one of the guards, sending him crashing into the wall. Another came from behind—Adrien twisted, grabbing him and throwing him across the room like he weighed nothing.

A third tried to restrain him yet again but failed completely.

One after the other, they fell. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Groaning.

Broken.

Defeated.

And just like that...a heavy silence returned to the room.

Patricia stared at him, her confidence shattered, her expression now laced with fear. "That’s... impossible," she muttered. "Didn’t you already lose your wolf? How are you this strong?"

"It was Maria..." he said calmly.

My breath caught, his gaze dropping to me, and for a second, everything else faded and subconsciously, I f ound myself nodding faintly, even though I didn’t fully understand why.

And then Adrien’s smile widened.

Then his gaze shifted back to Patricia.

"No... wrong. It’s all thanks to my mate."

My heart skipped.

The word hit me harder than anything else he had said.

Mate.

He actually used it.

For a second, everything else faded, my thoughts stumbling over themselves as I tried to process it.

I blinked, completely lost, my gaze fixed on him as confusion tightened in my chest.

And how is it all thanks to... me?

"How...?" I whispered under my breath, the question slipping out before I could stop it, quiet but filled with uncertainty.

But Adrien didn’t answer, he didn’t even look at me.

Instead, his gaze remained locked on Patricia, sharp and unyielding, like she was the only thing that mattered in that moment.

And suddenly, in one swift motion, he moved fast and decisively. He grabbed her before she could react, forcing her down into a chair with a strength that left no room for resistance. The movement was controlled, almost effortless, as he secured her tightly, binding her before she even had the chance to fight back properly.

She struggled and fought against it but it was completely useless.

Adrien turned to me again and this time... his eyes softened slightly.

"Maria," he called.

I hesitated just for a second but still I leaned in closer to him.

"Oh shit...Adrien, untie her first," he added, nodding toward me, like he was correcting himself, like this was just a minor detail he had overlooked.

My hands trembled slightly as I moved. Not just from the strain of being bound for so long, but from everything else, the confusion, the fear, the uncertainty still clinging to me like a second skin.

I hesitated for half a second.

Then followed his instruction.

Carefully.

Slowly.

The ropes loosened, the pressure around my wrists easing as I worked them free. The moment they slipped off completely, I pulled my hands forward, rubbing at the raw skin instinctively, trying to shake off the lingering sting.

Freedom.

It should have felt relieving, but it didn’t because nothing about this moment felt normal.

The moment I was free, he looked at me again, like I was the only thing in the room that mattered.

"Slap her."

I froze.

The word didn’t register at first.

Didn’t make sense.

"What?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, caught somewhere between disbelief and confusion.

"Slap her," he repeated calmly, like he was asking me to do something simple, something ordinary.

Patricia’s eyes widened instantly, shock flashing across her face as she struggled on the chair.

"Don’t you dare—!"

But before she could finish...

My hand moved, almost on its own, like something inside me had already made the decision before I could think.

Smack!

The sound echoed sharply through the room, loud and unforgiving, cutting through the silence like a crack of thunder.

Her head snapped to the side from the impact, her hair shifting with the force as her cheek flushed instantly, a deep red blooming across her skin.

Silence followed.

It settled over the room like a weight, pressing down on everything, stretching the moment out longer than it should have been.

Then slowly...A smile spread across my lips. It was faint at first, almost unnoticeable like it had formed without my permission.

I didn’t even realize it, didn’t understand where it came from, but it was there.

Adrien’s lips curved as well, a subtle shift, but unmistakable.

"Good," he said quietly.

His voice was calm, controlled, but there was something beneath it. He turned his attention to Patricia, his expression changing instantly, the softness gone, replaced by something cold and unforgiving glare.

"Let this be a warning," he said, his voice dropping, each word deliberate, sharp. "No one... messes with my mate."

His words hung in the air like a threat carved into stone.

A promise.

Unbreakable.

"And if they do..." he continued, his eyes hardening, the intensity in them impossible to ignore. "They’ll face me."