Free Web NovelChapter 139: Chapter 139
Aria’s POV
Rowland looked as effortlessly charming as ever, but I caught the rapid flick of his heartbeat. He seemed surprised.
“I am staying here temporarily,” he said with a shrug. “I didn’t know you were here. Asterfell is big, but... looks like fate wanted to play a trick on me.”
His eyes stayed on me longer than they should have. They were warm, familiar and too unguarded.
The moment he found out I was Nathan’s wife, he had worn calm like a mask outwardly, despite being shocked and confused on the inside. He probably must have heard the rumors by now, the ugly ones. The ones that labelled me criminal, traitor, the wolf who sold secrets to enemies.
He hadn’t known the “incompetent husband” I used to mention... was the famous Nathan Hemsworth, Alpha of the Ironclaw Pack.
He sat across from me, his eyes softening. I felt a strange re ftension coil in the air.
I smiled politely. “I moved.”
He inhaled sharply. “You returned to Hemsworth Villa. Are you leaving again so soon? Is Uncle Nathan treating you badly?”
My brows pulled together. Why was he acting like this? “I’ve been planning to divorce Nathan for a while. Staying together would be... wrong.”
My wolf trembled at the word “divorce,” but I pushed her back. We had agreed: We’re done.
I reached for Lana’s bottle, trying to distract myself. Rowland snatched it with a sudden burst of eagerness.
“I’ll make it,” he said, almost too quickly. freeweɓnovel.cøm
I hesitated, but those bright, earnest eyes caught me off guard.
“...Alright.”
He came back with warm formula, smiling as Lana latched onto the bottle with her tiny fangs peeking through. Rowland chuckled softly, he looked enchanted.
It was... sweet to witness.
That’s when the restaurant doors slammed open.
A bone-deep alpha roar ripped through the room.
“Aria!”
The sound froze my blood. My wolf flinched violently, her tail tucked, the same instinct she always had around Nathan. Heavy footsteps stormed closer.
Rowland stood and turned. “Uncle Nathan?”
But Nathan didn’t look at him.
He walked straight past, his eyes locked on me like a predator who’d found his runaway mate.
My heart stumbled.
I hated that my wolf rose inside me, ears up, trembling, confused by his presence.
I tore my gaze away, my jaw tightening. The warmth from earlier shattered instantly. Nathan always had a way of destroying whatever peace I built.
His face darkened, his jaw flexing. He glared at Rowland with cold, territorial fury.
“You still know I’m your uncle?” he said. “Then do you know who she is?”
Rowland shrugged, defiant. “Aren’t you two getting a divorce?”
My breath caught as Rowland said those words so causally.
Nathan laughed in a sharp but humorless tone. “Who said we were getting a divorce?”
Before I could react, his arm yanked me forward, pulling me flush against him.
I froze, my breath catching.
His scent hit me hard. My wolf staggered under it, disoriented by the sudden closeness and the authority pouring off him.
“Nathan—!” I shoved his chest, my eyes wide. “I said the divorce papers will be sent to your office soon!”
At my words, Nathan’s fingers clamped around my wrist, burning hot. His eyes were dark and feral, emotion snapping through them like lightning.
“Impossible!” His voice thundered. The restaurant went completely silent.
Before I could fight back, he wrapped both arms around my waist, locking me against him with desperate, overpowering force.
My wolf went motionless, she was confused, startled and stunned.
This isn’t him... Nathan doesn’t—Nathan never—
The only time he’d ever touched me without indifference was the night he’d been drugged. He had never shown anger, or desperation, or anything even close to this kind of loss of control.
His chest rumbled with a low, warning growl as he glared at Rowland like a threat.
“We’re not divorcing,” he said, his voice dropping to a lethal, possessive whisper. “She’ll always be your elder. Don’t even think about it.”
I barely registered Rowland’s face turning pale.
Because Nathan’s arms tightened again, and in the next heartbeat— freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
I was physically pulled away, lifted, dragged out of the restaurant by my furious Alpha husband.
My heart pounded.
I didn’t know whether to fight him...
or be terrified by the emotion in his grip.
Nathan’S POV
Aria thrashed in my grip, but the moment I felt her wolf flare in panic, instinct overrode everything. I lifted her into my arms, locking her against my chest before she could bolt again.
The restaurant had already been cleared by my men. Only Rowland remained, stiff as stone, his scent sharp with irritation and something I didn’t care to name.
Collins glanced between the two of us, swallowed hard, and backed away like a wolf who didn’t want to get caught up in a battle between Alphas.
Coward, my wolf snarled.
But I couldn’t blame him. Rowland in a mood wasn’t something even I liked dealing with.
Collins scampered out to the car, and I followed, Aria still in my arms. Her body was trembling, not from fear... but from fury at me.
The car’s cool air hit me, but it did nothing to cool the heat raging under my skin. I slid into the backseat with her still pinned against me. She clutched Lana tightly, forcing herself to remain still so she wouldn’t wake the pup.
Even then, she struggled in the safest way she could manage, refusing to be still for me.
And her eyes...Those cold eyes.
The ones she had since she walked out of prison. Except now, there were new emotions swirling in them, a mix of hurt, anger... and disgust.
The disgust slammed into my chest like a physical blow.
My wolf reeled. Our mate looks at us like we’re filth.
I stared at her, unable to look away.
When my gaze met that open disgust again, something inside my chest tore clean open.
Before I could stop myself, my voice came out low and rough, almost impossible to hear.
“Why?”
She blinked, stunned. She didn’t understand the question at first.
What I actually meant was, Why did you leave me? Why did you run without a word? Why can’t you look at me without hate?
I simplified the question for her, “Why did you leave without saying goodbye?”
