Free Web NovelChapter 101: Chapter 101
Aria’s POV
I shrugged, trying to brush off the weird feeling crawling up my spine as I stared at the man who just stood there, staring at me as though he knew me.
“I’ve never met him,” I said, shaking my head firmly in response to the young lady’s question.
The change in his eyes was immediate. Hope that had flickered once died out like a candle drowned in water.
The young lady sucked in a tiny breath. Her scent spiked with a mix of surprise and curiosity as her gaze drifted between the man and me.
“Well, I really did think you were someone I had heard about, someone very dear to Alpha Rowland”.
Alpha Rowland? I thought to myself. I knew there was something significantly different about his aura. He was an alpha, that explains it. Why did it feel as though we have met before? But why can I not recognize him?
He looked at me as though he had always known me.
I forced myself to ignore the tightening in my chest. Maybe he was bad news. I have a lot of drama going on in my life to accommodate any more acquaintances.
I decided to leave them both and be on my way.
“Sorry, I have to go,” I said, pretending to be apologetic as I gripped the stroller and started pushing.
But before I took even three steps, Alpha Rowland’s voice sliced through the air.
“I’m coming with you.”
He was suddenly right beside me, moving fast. The corners of my mouth twitched in annoyance. I forced my feet to keep moving, wishing I could shift and outrun him completely, but I couldn’t with Lana in tow.
He followed like a damn shadow.
Finally, I spun around. “Sir, please stop following me.”
He froze. Hurt flashed across his eyes, raw and unhidden.
Up close, I realized he looked very young. His commanding Alpha aura rolled off him in waves thick enough to choke. He was probably only a few years younger than me.
“Why?” he asked quietly.
Why? My wolf bristled.
I am not even sure I know you, stranger? You just seem familiar but I can’t tell for certain if I know you. Why are you on my heels like you’ve known it your whole life?
I clenched my jaw. “If you keep following me, I’ll call the cops.”
“Sure,” he said with a careless shrug, utterly unfazed.
And he kept walking behind me.
My scalp itched with frustration. What kind of lunatic Alpha was this? I sped up, nearly jogging, trying to lose him.
Then the young lady caught up with us, calling out, “Hey, lady, which neighborhood around here do you live in?”
My wolf stiffened so hard my muscles locked.
No. No, no, no.
They didn’t smell hostile, but that didn’t ease the rising panic clawing at my ribs. With all that had happened recently, I needed to disappear. I needed to protect my pup.
I walked faster and ended up bumping into a passerby.
I skidded to a halt so fast my boots scraped against the pavement.
“Sorry!” I yelped.
The man I’d bumped into didn’t even look at me, he just grunted, covered his head, and hobbled away.
My gaze locked on his limping leg.
That smells wrong...
His scent had hit me the moment we collided. It was not his wolf, it was something else.
And that limp... didn’t it hurt? I could help him. I could pay the medical bills...no, who was I kidding, I couldn’t even afford my own rent.
But in the blink of an eye, he vanished between two buildings like smoke in the wind.
I scratched my head, my wolf huffing irritably in the back of my mind.
Oddballs were everywhere today. My instincts feel off... why?
Before I could follow the man’s scent trail, Alpha Rowland’s voice rang out behind me again.
“You seriously don’t recognize me?”
I turned, blinking. My wolf bristled.
“I... Sir, what do you want?” I asked, hugging Lana’s stroller handle a little tighter.
“If I knew you, I wouldn’t forget a good-looking guy like you, right?”
My blunt honesty earned me a strange look. His eyes swept over my face, lingering on the scar across my cheek. I felt their heat.
Why does he look at me like that? Like he’s found something he lost? free𝑤ebnovel.com
“I thought—” he swallowed, his voice suddenly unsteady, “—I thought you were dead.”
Dead?
My wolf tensed. What does he mean by that?
“I mean no harm, I swear,” he blurted, waving his hands. “Let’s just... get to know each other. I’m Alpha Rowland Garfield. And you are...”
Before I could shut him down, the young lady rushed over breathlessly.
“I can vouch for him!”
Great, a duo.
I sighed internally. The Moon Goddess has a twisted sense of humor.
“I don’t care what your name is,” I said flatly, “and I’m not telling you mine.”
They trailed after me anyway.
Well... they couldn’t follow me all the way home hopefully. They would turn around once they get tired.
Resigned, I started pushing Lana’s stroller again.
Alpha Rowland walked beside me, practically glowing. Every few seconds he opened his mouth, then shut it again, like an excited wolf desperate to howl.
Finally, he blurted: “Is this your kid?”
“Yeah,” I said, not bothering to sugarcoat anything.
Alpha Rowland stopped in his tracks. freewebnovёl.ƈom
“Not your niece or nephew? Your own kid? You’ve got a child?”
I stared at him. “Do you need glasses?”
Lana might look more like Nathan, but she still had some resemblance to me. Any wolf should be able to tell instantly.
Alpha Rowland looked like the ground had just collapsed under him. His head bowed, his fists clenched, his scent sharp with regret maybe?
What is wrong with this guy?
But then, just as quickly, he lifted his head, his eyes burning with determination.
“Where’s the kid’s dad? Why are you alone? No nanny?”
