?Chapter 137:

A hundred thousand?! My jaw dropped.

“Yeah, you didn’t know? This is the original piece,” he said, like a man trying to sell me a car. “There are knock-offs all over the ce, but this? This is the one people kill for. Top Alphas, big-time yers—even human collectors would do just about anything to get their hands on it.”

His words almost convinced me, but I forced myself to stand firm. Sure, it was valuable. But that meant Ryder had thought I was worth it. He’d given it to me, trusted me with it. And I wasn’t about to sell it.

“Jason, I told you—no. This ne isn’t going anywhere.” My voice was firm.

His lips twisted into a grimace. “Look, we could even lease it out. My life’s on the line, Jaz.”

I clenched my fists in the sand, the coarse grains biting into my skin as I turned to him. “Just how did you get yourself into this mess, Jason?” He looked away, his jaw tight, but I caught a sh of guilt in his eyes before he dropped his gaze.

“Jason. Spill it.”

He stayed silent, and I pressed, “What the hell happened?”

For a moment, he didn’t say anything, just stared off into the distance as if he might find an answer written on the horizon. Finally, he sighed.

“So, you’re really not gonna help me?”

I rolled my eyes. “Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t know how! You haven’t told me a single thing about how you got into this mess!” He sighed, his shoulders slumping.

“Fine. I got in deep. I’ll give you the detailster. But right now, helping me is easy.” His eyes drifted down to the ne again.

I clutched it, the cool metal grounding me. “Why won’t you tell me what happened?”

He hesitated, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “Jaz, I don’t want to drag you into my mess. It’s better if you don’t know.” His weak attempt at a smile didn’t hide the exhaustion written all over him—dark circles, tense lines around his mouth, a haunted look in his eyes.

He looked barely like the Jason I used to know.

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“Jason, I don’t—”

“They’re going to kill me, Jaz.” He clenched his fists, his voice raw. “The pack’s involved.”

My breath hitched. “What the hell, Jason? You got the pack wrapped up in this?”

He wouldn’t even look at me. He just stood there, kicking at the sand, fists clenched like he wanted to take a swing at the whole damn universe.

“What were you thinking?” I couldn’t help the frustration boiling over in my voice. “You actually went and gambled with the pack?” Part of me wanted to grab him, shake him until some sense rattled into his thick skull. He’d never been great at keeping his nose clean, but this was next-level. The mess he’d gotten himself into… it was a mountain, and he expected me to just hand over a rope. And yet.

With a heavy sigh, I reached up to the sp of the ne, my fingers hovering there. Jason’s face lit up, his whole body going still, eyes wide and hopeful.

“This—” I started, but the words were cut off by a faint rustling. I froze, squinting into the trees, and Jason followed my gaze, cursing under his breath. His expression twisted into that nervous, jittery look again.

“I gotta go.” And before I could even react, he reached out, plucked the ne from my hand, and bolted, tearing off in the opposite direction of the noise, leaving me standing there, mouth hanging open like an idiot.

The noise. Right. My thoughts snapped back. I didn’t need to see who it was this time; one sniff, and Ryder’s scent filled my nostrils. My heart hammered, realizing the ne he’d given me was gone. The realization hit me hard—he had taken it.

I was right. His eyes were on me before I even saw him; I could feel his fiery gaze burning into my back.

Heart pounding, I turned, pasting on a smile that I was sure looked all kinds of fake.

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