Free Web NovelChapter 164: Chapter 164
Aria’s POV
“Oh my goodness!,” a woman whispered. “This is a very beautiful royal ballroom. Alpha Nathan really went all out for Sophia.”
“Look at the piano up there!” someone else added. “There’s a woman behind it. Did she get here before us? Maybe she’s a pianist he hired?”
Their curiosity crackled through the air, directed at me, the woman behind the piano whom none of them truly recognized yet as I was backing them.
Sophia took the microphone then, all sweetness and grace.
“Thank you all for attending the celebration Nathan arranged for me,” she said. “I’m truly honored.”
She removed her shawl and the room erupted.
Her gown caught the light like a glittering constellation, jeweled from bodice to hem.
Several guests gasped outright, whispering to one another about its rarity.
Their admiration changed naturally toward Nathan.
He sat lounging on a nearby sofa, his wine glass swirling lazily between his fingers.
His wolf aura was calm and controlled, but cloaked in shadows I couldn’t read.
From where they sat, all they could see was the elegant line of his jaw as he lifted the glass to his lips...looking a bit troubled and absentminded.
I had made sure to use my scent blocking potion to avoid being detected until I chose to reveal myself.
I lowered my eyes to the keys, the black and white notes blurring under the tremor in my fingertips. My lashes fluttered, betraying the storm coiling in my chest. My wolf stirred, restless, sensing every heartbeat around me...the quickened pulse of Rowland’s gaze cutting through the crowd. How could I not feel it?
I pressed my lips together and let my fingers fly over the piano in a frantic rhythm, matching the erratic thrum of my own heart. This was the Spring Concerto, its rapid tempo was a shield, a mask for the chaos inside me. Each note was a heartbeat, each arpeggio a clawing at the cage of my restless soul.
Memories surged unbidden, like shadows crossing moonlit ground. Words I had spoken to sway Rowland echoed through my mind: “Love can turn to hate.” I had thought them very smart and decisive, but now they felt like teeth sinking back into me. My wolf growled low in my chest, sensing the dissonance. My own heart betrayed me even as I tried to command it.
The concerto reached its climax. My fingers danced with joy and fury, as if I could fling my tangled emotions into the world and leave them there. “Why did I ever fall for Nathan?, when did it begin?”
I let my mind wander, drifting back to college. Four years of seeing only him, Nathan, filling my vision, coloring my nights. Then, six months away, someone else had slipped into that space, leaving marks I couldn’t ignore.
I faltered, recalling Rowland’s impulsive words, and my claws of thought scraped at my calm composure. Was that a proposal? My lips pressed tighter, and I forced my eyes down again. I’ve decided. I’m done with Nathan. Rowland is irrelevant. I’ll trust only myself from now on.
Nathan’s POV
Moments after we got into the ballroom, my gaze drifted toward the grand piano positioned in the center of the hall, its glossy black surface reflecting the chandeliers like a pool of moonlit water. I had arranged for Sophia’s favorite international private band to play tonight, an indulgence that cost more than most packs’ yearly budgets.
It was a gesture meant to prove something.
to her, to myself and to everyone watching.
Maybe it was pathetic, but I wanted her to feel valued.
My thoughts drifted, unfocused, as my eyes moved against my intention toward the entrance. I’d left the ballroom door slightly ajar, just wide enough for one person to slip through.
Aria.
But instead of her silhouette, only a thin slash moonlight bled through the opening, freewebnσvel.cøm
Didn’t she say she’d come?
The thought came sharper than I wanted to admit.
I dipped my head slightly, letting my hair fall forward to hide the flicker of disappointment in my eyes. My wolf shifted restlessly under my skin, pacing, his ears pricked, searching the air for her scent.
Nothing, only the cloying scents and perfumes of guests and the sugary whiff of champagne.
The ballroom was starting to swell with voices; conversation, laughter, footsteps as couples drifted onto the dance floor. The sound made my nerves tighten instead of easing them.
My wolf didn’t like crowds, he liked her, he wanted her here.
A persistent irritation clawed at my chest, twisting itself tighter the longer Aria remained absent. I rolled my shoulders to shake off the unease, but it only grew heavier.
Then, finally the music changed.
A soft, fluid stream of piano notes washed over the hall, sliding into my ears like cool water. The melody was calm, precise... and for some reason, it soothed me.
My wolf’s hackles lowered slightly, my heartbeat slowed. The storm inside me quieted.
Why?
What was it about the sound that made me feel... steadier?
Frowning, I turned toward the piano, trying to see who was playing.
But the angle was terrible, only the curved body of the grand piano was visible, its silhouette was blocking everything behind it. My gaze dropped lower instinctively.
And that’s when I saw it.
The hem of an elegant, luxurious gown, spilling across the polished floor like liquid starlight. The skirt pooled around slender legs hidden beneath layers of delicate fabric.
Something in my chest tightened.
My wolf lifted his head.
That woman...
My breath caught, sharp and sudden. Even though I could sense no scent around her, nor see her face, there was just something about her that kept calling my attention to her, my wolf was drawn to her..
Could that be Aria?
