True to Stephan’s usual direct and forceful methods, bis original n was in level the entire mountain with repeated bombings. That way, no matter how many threats Johanna or the masterminds behind het posed, they’d all be buried under the rubble.
and over.
And that was exactly what he had started to do mobilizing his men and fin power to bombard the sountain over and
Il felicia and Imogen hadn’t taken the risk ofing to this <b>ce</b>, Stephan wouldn’t have stopped.
But now that they were here, Stephan had no choice but to halt the operation.
Felicia instinctively shrank back, trying to nudge Imogen to the front as a shield Imogen caught her movement and nced at her before stepping forward and addressing Stephan directly,” What are you ring at?”
Stephan was speechless,
Felicia suppressed <b>a </b><bugh</b>, <b>thinking </b><b>to </b>herself that Imogen’s fierceness was truly unmatched.
Stephan, caught off guard, looked a little helpless and innocent. “Imogen, who am I ring at?”
“Don’t you think I can’t tell!” tmogen, fullymitted to protecting Felicia, took a stance that was utterly unreasonable and overprotective<b>. </b>“<b>You’d </b>better treat <b>your </b>wife well, you If you’re mean to her, 1 pve you a spanking myself!”
Stephan nced at <b>Felicia </b>again and <b>saw </b>her hiding behind Imogan, <b>avoiding </b>his <b>gaze</b>. She looked excamly lilur someone who had been wronged.
Stephan <b>sighed</b>, expressing <b>a </b>mix <b>of </b>amusement and exasperation. He ultimately gave. “Alright, alright. I got it
It was hard to argue with such misced usations.
Scarlet, standing <b>nearby</b>, quietly observed the scene and came to one conclusion in her mind, “Foor Mr. Russell.”
Imogen, shifting <b>back </b><b>to </b><b>a </b>serious <b>tone</b>, furrowed her brows and <b>asked</b>, “Have you found any sign of them? Could they have been killed in the explosions?”
“We’re still searching.” Stephan replied<b>, </b><b>scanning </b>the surrounding area. The mountain was now crawling with his men, but theplex terrain made the search time–consuming
thear me?
Stephan guessed that Johanna wouldn’t have dared to make such a bold threat without someone powerful backing her. That someone could only be Fete ti they were both here, he intended to take them dom in one fell swoop <ul><li>Stephan was about to say something when his sharp eyes caught a ted mark on Felicia’s wrist. He immediately asked, “What happened to your wrist?” </li></ul>
The faint bruise<b>, </b><b>clearly </b>caused by being tied up, stood out <b>starkly </b>against <b>Felicia’s </b>fair skin.
Felicia nced down at it. The mack didn’t hurt, but it looked worse <b>than </b>it felt. She hadn’t expected <b>Stephan </b>to notice <b>it </b>so quickly even though she had tried to stay in the background.
With a sigh of resignation, Felicia decided there <b>was </b>no point in hiding and stepped forward. <b>“</b><b>It’s </b>nothing. There <b>was </b>just <b>a </b><b>minor </b>situation earlier. It’s fine now.”
“What kind of situation leaves marks like that?” Stephan frowned, clearly unwilling to let the matter slide,
Before he could press further, Imogen suddenly seemed to have recalled something. “Oh right, there’s something more important about Felicia!”
“What is it?” Stephan asked.
“Felicia’s been “Imogen began, but before she <b>could </b>finish, a sharp gust of windswept past them, and an icy presence suddenly enveloped the group.
Felicia <b>spun </b>around, just in time to see <b>a </b>figure lunging toward Imogen
The gleam of a de shed, cold and <b>blinding</b>, <b>making </b>it hard to do.
The attack happened so fast that no one had the time <b>to </b>react. Imogen stood frozen, unable to move.
Stephan, however<b>, </b>was the <b>quickest </b>to act. He longed forward, grabbing Imogen and yanking her out of harm’s way. The force of his pull sent her sprawling, and she was caught just in time by Scarlet.
At the same moment, Stephan didn’t dodge or retreat<b>. </b>Instead, he charged straight toward the attacker, meeting the de head–on with a <b>fierce </b>counter–attack