Free Web NovelChapter 160: Chapter 160
Nathan’s POV
My head snapped to the side, heat blooming across my cheek. It stung hard it must have left a red mark. But my wolf’s healing was fast, it would disappear pretty soon. I felt utterly humiliated.
Behind me, Sophia gasped and scrambled toward me, her fingertips brushing my cheek.
“Nathan, she hit you! Aria, what is wrong with you?” she snapped, pointing a trembling finger at Aria.
Aria turned sharply, the faint growl in her chest not escaping my ears. She swatted Sophia’s hand away like one would dismiss a gnat before stepping forward, Lana in her arms, her glare sharp enough to cut.
“Sophia,” she said coldly, “don’t think having Nathan’s backing makes you untouchable.”
A shiver ran through the air. Even my wolf stilled.
Sophia paled. “W-what do you mean by that? You are not planning to do something bad to me, are you?”
Aria didn’t bother answering. Her attention drifted away. She was clearly done with both of us. She adjusted Lana, turned, and headed to her room.
“Aria!” I barked, the command instinctively laced with alpha energy.
She didn’t even pause.
Sophia growled low, frustration bubbling in her scent. “Nathan, she’s gone too far. How dare she hit you? Who does she think she is?”
Her voice was just noise.
Because in my head, her words twisted into teeth sinking into raw nerves.
Who gives Aria the courage to do what she just did?
Was it Rowland? Francis?
My hands curled into tight fists. A possessive anger surged through me, riding the edge of a shift. My wolf paced inside me, jealous, furious and maddened by the scent of other males lingering faintly on Aria.
Trying to focus, I pulled Sophia into my arms, more for control than comfort and deliberately spoke loud enough for Aria to hear.
“I don’t care who’s backing her,” I said sharply. “No one threatens my chief attorney.”
Sophia stiffened, then practically melted against me, inhaling my scent like it was salvation.
I hated the feeling that rose in me, because it wasn’t her I wanted.
It was Aria.
And judging from the sudden halt of footsteps behind her bedroom door, she heard me.
A moment later, the door slammed shut, the sound echoing through the hallway like a final warning.
Sophia huffed, crossing her arms, but I could barely hear her over the pounding of my own pulse. Over the burning sensation on my cheek. Over my wolf pacing, snarling, torn between guilt and anger.
“Aria needs to be taught a lesson,” Sophia muttered.
I didn’t respond. Instead, I spoke louder again, making sure Aria could hear through the walls.
“Sophia, your contributions to Hemsworth Group have been exceptional. I’ll host a celebration for you at Hemsworth Villa in a few days.”
It was petty, it was provocation, it was me losing control.
And I knew it.
But I still couldn’t help it. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Aria’s POV freewebnσvel.cøm
My eyes narrowed, a sharp, sardonic glint slicing through the dim light.
A celebration for Sophia at Hemsworth Villa? The thought curled in my chest like smoke. Nathan is doing this on purpose. He wants a reaction out of me.
A cold laugh slipped from my lips before I could stop it. My wolf rumbled lowly, offended and impatient.
I locked the door behind me and stood upright, forcing myself to breathe. My wolf prowled just beneath my skin, pacing, restless. Sophia’s last smug and defiant look kept flashing behind my eyes, stirring a growl deep in my throat.
I placed Lana gently in her crib, brushing a thumb across her soft cheek. The moment she settled, my hands dropped to my sides, my fingers slowly curling into fists. My claws threatened to push through, desperate for release.
Have I been too passive?
The thought stung more than I expected.
Is that why they dare to mock me? Why they think they can belittle me in my own territory?
A cold certainty settled in my bones.
If that’s the case... then I’ve allowed far too much.
My face stayed still and quiet, but inside, a storm gathered. The image of Nathan standing close to Sophia played again in my mind. My wolf snarled at the memory, demanding dominance and justice.
I lowered my lashes, hiding the fury burning in my gaze, and sat on the bed. One hand rhythmically patted Lana’s back, soothing her tiny breaths. With the other, I dialed a familiar number.
The call connected after one ring.
“Ari!” The excited voice burst through the speaker, rich with a familiar accent that wrapped warmly around my tense heart.
Just hearing it made the fury in my chest unclench. I answered in the same fluent tone, letting myself relax for a few precious moments. This voice belonged to someone who never doubted me, who never underestimated me, who knew exactly who I was.
When the call ended, the other party switched to accented English, chuckling warmly.
“Okay, Ari.”
I set my phone aside and exhaled slowly.
Leaning over Lana’s crib, I began to hum her lullaby, soft and low. She snuggled deeper into her blanket, her little breaths evening out.
The next day came too quickly, slipping past like a shadow on restless paws.
I had agreed to help Francis with some legal paperwork at his research lab. It was nothing permanent, nothing binding. Just enough to keep my mind from spiraling the way my wolf tended to when I stayed in Hemsworth Villa too long.
By the time I returned, the entrance to the villa was already chaos.
Luxury cars were piled along the road like metal ornaments, unable to move forward. Well-dressed socialites stepped out and continued on foot. The air was thick with wolf scents, expensive colognes and entitled chatter, making my wolf wrinkle her nose.
The taxi driver slowed to a stop so abruptly my wolf bristled.
“I can’t go any further,” he muttered, peering ahead. “You’ll have to get out here.”
His doubt radiated off him. He glanced at me and at the people alighting from their luxury cars in their luxury wears and shook his head in dismay.
His lip curled as if he’d caught a whiff of something rotten.
“Please step out, ma’am,” he repeated, his voice sharper and ruder.
I had already collected my purse. But his tone prickled under my skin. My wolf lifted her head, ears flat with warning. I gave him a single cold and sharp look.
That alone made him bristle. “What’s with that look?”
I stilled, my hand on my bag, my voice calm but edged. “Is this how you treat your passengers?”
He scoffed. “I told you to get out. Don’t you understand?”
My wolf’s claws scraped under my skin. The audacity of him to speak to me in that manner.
I leveled him with a colder stare. “I’ll be filing a complaint.” And stepped out.
The entrance to Hemsworth Villa was even more of a spectacle.
Guests were having their invitations checked, gossiping in glittering clusters.
“Oh my gosh, is that the newest Dior dress?”
“Yours is so lovely, so stylish!”
I ignored them. My wolf ignored them.
I stepped up to the gate, looking directly at Ethan, the head guard and gestured for him to open it.
Before he could speak, a socialite waiting her turn in line scoffed loudly.
“Who are you?”
