Marked By My Best Friend's Dad

TRICKED

~Duncan

Waiting until 8 p.m. felt like slow torture. Every minute dragged, the clock mocking me while I paced the study, whiskey untouched.

At 7:55 I left the estate in the Mitsubishi, windows down, night air cutting sharp across my skin. Thorne followed in the SUV behind me.

We pulled up to The Obsidian Grand at exactly 8:00.

I stepped out, coat open, and looked at my Beta.

“Lock it down,” I said. “Whole hotel. No one in, no one out, no one leaves their room. Clear the staff from the top floors.”

Thorne nodded once. Guards moved like shadows, quiet, efficient. Within minutes the building was sealed. Guests would think it was a security drill. They’d stay put.

I didn’t wait to watch.

I walked through the empty lobby alone, took the private elevator straight to the penthouse suite, the same one she’d run from last time.

The door was already unlocked. I’d had it arranged.

I stepped inside.

The lights were low, city glow spilling through the windows. The room smelled faintly of her already, like she’d been here moments ago, or like the bond was playing tricks on me.

I shrugged off my coat, tossed it over the chair, and poured a drink I didn’t plan to finish.

Then I waited.

“It’s been a while, Duncan.”

The voice slid down my spine like ice water. I knew it instantly, smooth, sultry, laced with that clingy obsession I thought I’d buried years ago.

Anastasia.

I turned slowly, every muscle locking tight.

She stood in the doorway of the bedroom, wine glass already in her hand, wearing a red dress cut so low it was practically a suggestion.

Her dark hair fell in perfect waves, lips painted the same blood red as the wine.

I thought I’d gotten rid of her for good.

“What the f**k are you doing here?” I growled. “How did you know I’d be here?”

She smiled, taking a slow sip from my glass.

“I called you here.”

My blood turned cold.

“You?” I stepped closer, voice dropping dangerously low. “The photos of Iris? Her i********:?”

She shrugged, casual as if we were discussing the weather.

“Pictures came straight from her f*******:. It was more than easy enough to find. The i********: account? I made it. Fake handle, fake posts, just enough to get your attention.” Her smile sharpened. “And it worked, didn’t it? If you’d known it was me sending them, you wouldn’t have shown up.”

She reached out, fingers brushing my arm.

I caught her wrist hard, stopping her cold.

“Fool,” I snarled. “What do you know about my relationship with her?”

She didn’t even flinch, she just tilted her head, eyes gleaming with mockery.

“I don’t know much,” she said softly. “But I know she’s special. Driving you insane. Making the big bad Alpha chase a girl who doesn’t want him.”

Her words hit me hard.

I snapped.

My hand shot to her throat, slamming her back against the wall. The wine glass shattered on the floor, red splashing across the marble like blood.

“Shut your mouth,” I growled, fingers tightening just enough to make her eyes widen.

She gasped, but that sick little smile didn’t leave her lips.

Because she knew, she always knew how to push me right to the edge.

And tonight, with Iris’s scent still lingering in my head and my wolf screaming for her, Anastasia had just picked the worst possible moment to play her games.

Anastasia gasped under my grip, but her eyes gleamed with that twisted thrill she’d always had, like fear was foreplay to her.

I tightened my fingers just enough to make her lips part, her breath coming short and sharp.

“Get one thing straight,” I said, voice low and lethal. “You don’t know a damn thing about her. You don’t get to say her name. You don’t get to touch anything that’s mine.”

She tried to smile, even with my hand on her throat. “You’re acting so possessive with her while you treated me back then with nonchalance,” she rasped. “Even when she’s running away from you.”

I slammed her harder against the wall, hard enough that a picture frame rattled nearby.

“You think this is a game?” I snarled. “You forged messages, used her photos, lured me here like some desperate pup? You’re pathetic.”

Her nails scraped at my wrist, but she didn’t fight hard. She never did. She liked this, liked pushing until I snapped.

But tonight, I wasn’t playing.

I leaned in close, lips brushing her ear.

“You have ten seconds to get out of this room,” I whispered. “If you’re still here after that, I’ll make sure no one finds the body after I pull your heart out.”

Her bravado cracked, just a flicker in her eyes.

“One.”

She swallowed.

“Two.”

Her hands dropped.

“Three.”

She twisted out of my grip, stumbling back a step, rubbing her throat.

I didn’t move, I just stared at her.

She grabbed her purse from the side table, heels clicking fast as she backed toward the door.

“This isn’t over, Duncan,” she said, voice shaky but trying to be brave.

I smiled coldly.

“It is for you.”

She slipped out, door clicking shut behind her.

I stood there a moment, chest rising and falling hard, rage simmering under my skin.

Then I grabbed my phone and dialed Thorne.

“Anastasia Voss just left the suite,” I said the second he answered. “Find her. Tail her. If she goes near Iris, end her life without thinking twice.”

Thorne didn’t ask questions. “Understood, Alpha.”

I hung up.

The room felt too empty now.

I poured another drink, downed it in one burn.

I dialed Iris’s number three times.

First ring, she picked it up almost immediately, then cut it dead.

The second call rang twice before the line went silent.

The third went straight to voicemail.

I stared at the screen, thumb hovering, jaw tight enough to ache.

She was ignoring me.

After everything, after she’d come apart on my c**k just hours ago, screaming my name like a prayer she was cutting me off like I was nothing.

I tossed the phone onto the desk harder than necessary. It clattered, screen lighting up with her name one last time before going dark.

Thorne’s voice came from the doorway. “Alpha?”

“Find her,” I said, not looking up. “Now. I want to know exactly where she is, who she’s with, what she’s doing.”

He nodded once and disappeared.

I poured another whiskey, downed it in one burn, and let the heat settle in my chest.