Free Web NovelChapter 113: Chapter 113
Aria’s POV
My breath caught. How did he always sense my hesitation? My wolf pressed against my ribs, conflicted.
Even though I’d returned to Hemsworth Villa, my decision to divorce him was set like carved stone. Bringing it up while I slept in his territory, under his roof, felt... wrong and maybe dangerous.
“No, nothing,” I said quickly, biting my lip.
The divorce agreement I’d sent to his company had gone unanswered. He’d ignored it.
Fine. I’d print another copy and present it to him face-to-face. Alpha or not, he wouldn’t avoid it forever.
I was done here.
Lifting Lana into my arms, I rose from the table and walked out first, not trusting myself to look back. My wolf whined softly, traitorously, as Nathan’s scent faded behind me.
As soon as my door shut, I leaned against it, exhaling the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
On the other side of the house, I heard the faint scrape of a chair. It seemed Nathan’s appetite had turned cold.
I pushed thoughts about him aside and knelt beside my suitcase, unpacking my plain clothes one by one. There was nothing fancy, just the basics I’d taken when I fled this pack months ago. As I tugged a sweater free, a small silk handkerchief slipped out and floated to the floor like a fallen feather.
My breath hitched
The numbers stitched in the corner caught my eye. That was the number Rowland had written earlier today.
I swallowed hard, tossed it onto the bedside table, and forced myself to unpack faster, desperate to distract my wolf from the rising unease curling in my stomach.
When the suitcase was finally empty, I grabbed my phone and entered the number, then sent a friend request
Before I could even lower my hand, the request was accepted.
I blinked. That was fast.
The name Rowland Garfield flashed on my screen.
A beat later, his first message appeared:
[That’s my name.]
Why emphasize his name? My wolf perked its ears, wary.
Then another message popped up:
[The lead from the hospital is gone.]
My fingers froze above the screen. In the corner, I saw him typing again... but no third message came.
Unease prickled along my spine. I didn’t wait. I called him immediately, pacing the room as my wolf huffed anxiously.
He picked up on the first ring.
“What do you mean the lead from the hospital is gone?” I demanded. “What about the golden retriever? Did the check-up show anything?”
He hesitated. I could hear the embarrassment in his voice, thick and heavy like guilt as he explained everything to me, every detail, every excuse the hospital gave him. He left nothing out.
“The dog’s dead?” I repeated, barely above a murmur.
“Yeah,” he said, voice like stone. “Hospital claims it was critical. They euthanized it per regulations.”
My wolf bristled. That sounded too convenient.
There was no way fate lined up that neatly, not with everything else going wrong.
“I thought,” I began slowly, “that even if regulations apply, they need the owner’s consent. And the owner wasn’t even there. So how did the doctor get permission?” freewebnσvel.cѳm
A dead silence fell across the line.
Then I heard Rowland inhale sharply.
“...I’ll check the surveillance,” he muttered, his voice dropping to a predator’s growl. “They must’ve run tests before putting the dog down. I’ll get those records.”
As he spoke, his dominant energy spiked like claws scraping the ground.
“Who the hell is bold enough to pull something like this in Asterfell?” he growled.
I ignored the threatening noises. Nothing I could do from here anyway.
I sighed softly and pulled the phone away, ready to end the call.
“Aria...” Rowland’s voice stopped me.
My thumb hovered over the hang-up button.Before I could respond, a sudden knock rattled the door.
I stiffened instantly. My wolf stood alert, her ears high, her body tense.
“Hold on,” I whispered.
I exhaled and opened the door.
Nathan stood there.
My breath faltered, just for a heartbeat.
His eyes immediately locked on the glowing screen in my hand, his nostrils flaring as he tried to check the name on the screen.
“Who are you talking to?” he asked, his voice low and calm. But the suspicion rolling off his wolf was unmistakable.
I quickly turned the screen off and placed the phone aside. My irritation flared hot.
“Nathan,” I said pointedly, “I literally laid down the second rule at dinner.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it.
One word slipped out, tight and controlled:
“Okay.”
I sighed and softened my tone. “What’s up?”
Nathan’s POV
I cleared my throat, looking away from Aria’s screen, but not before my gaze snagged on the last thing visible on the screen.
Through her fingers, I read just one word.
It was the surname, Garfield.
My jaw tightened and instantly, one face flashed through my mind.
No way, there was no damn way Rowland Garfield was in Asterfell and I didn’t know about it.
