Free Web NovelChapter 179: Chapter 179
Aria’s POV
He didn’t respond. I tried my earlier tactic. “Please, I really need to use the restroom, please”.
He glanced at me through the rearview mirror, seeing the expression on my face, he stopped the car.
“I am a man and you are a woman anyway. I am a stronger wolf than you.”
I didn’t argue because deep down, I knew he said the truth..He was bulky and huge. Even if I shifted into my wolf and tried to fight him, he would still overpower me because I was still a bit weak from the incident that happened two days ago.
He came down and opened the door for me. Then he undid the silver chain.
His eyes flicked to my simple, comfortable outfit, the kind I preferred since giving birth to Lana. Clothes with pockets. And thank the Moon Goddess for that.
When he was scouring our environment, I slipped my fingers into my pocket and found my phone. My heart pounded as I tapped the emergency shortcut.
It didn’t work.
Damn it.
Either we’d driven out of network range—or the signal was being blocked.
I hid the phone again, keeping my expression flustered, innocent.
“Alright, get out the car”, he said.
But I didn’t move. He glared at me. “What now?”
“I... don’t have tissues.”
He tossed my bag at me. I used the moment to shove the phone into the bag as if that had been its place all along. Then I pulled a tissue out to keep him fooled.
He checked the bag, saw the phone inside, and smirked. I knew he was going to search for it, just to make sure I wasn’t harbouring any escape plans.
He threw the bag back and growled for me to get out. Then he started watching videos on his phone, disgusting laughter echoing inside the car.
Good, he was distracted.
I stepped out.
The gravel gave way to waist-high grass. Each step had to be careful and calculated. No obvious tracks. I moved slowly, pretending to search for a private spot.
Thirty feet away, I saw a bent tree that had dense brush.
Then, I slipped behind a trunk and ran.
My wolf surged forward in my mind, pushing my legs faster.
Run, run, run—do not stop.
Branches whipped at my arms. The air grew colder under the tree canopy.
The only place this isolated place leads to is Crescent city.
A red-light district.
And beyond that, open sea.
He’ll either dump me for the sharks... or sell me.
I’d never see Lana again. Never confront my enemies. I’d die nameless, degraded, forgotten. freёwebnovel.com
“No.” I hissed through my teeth. “Never.”
I burst deeper into the woods my human body given way to my wolf as I transformed on four limbs, running like my life depended on it.
Nathan’s POV
The office air felt thick with tension, and my wolf stirred at the scent of unease. Collins’s voice cut through it, clipped, urgent. “Alpha Nathan, we have news.”
Collins pulled up the surveillance footage from the hospital entrance, laying out every possible path Aria could have taken.
I rose from my chair. “Let’s check the supermarket first,” I commanded, my tone low and heavy. My wolf snarled quietly beneath my ribs; instincts told me to move fast.
The office door swung open abruptly. The nanny appeared, clutching Lana like a fragile thing. My gaze fell instantly on the baby. Her cries stopped as she caught my eyes, and something deep inside me stirred. It was a connection, a bond. Even though she might not be mine, my wolf and I both recognized her as part of my pack.
I felt that invisible thread between us, an instinctive pull I couldn’t name but understood perfectly. I averted my gaze briefly “Bring her along,” I said, in a clipped but careful voice.
Collins relayed instructions to Ethan to wait at the villa, but I barely heard him. My wolf was alert, tracking every flicker of scent and movement on the way until we stormed into the supermarket.
The air changed the second we stepped in—people stiffened, senses flaring, just like my wolf’s. My bodyguards flanked me like a pack surrounding its alpha.
Collins stood beside me, holding Lana. My wolf flared at the scent of familiarity in the corner. Sandra, the housekeeper that used to work in my villa. She froze as our gazes collided. My wolf’s hackles rose. Aria’s scent is fresh here. She might be close.
Sandra attempted to slip away but it was futile. I reached her before she could do so. My eyes locked on hers, icy and commanding, my voice low, each word carrying the weight of a predator and alpha.
“Where is my wife?”
“I...I don’t know” she stuttered.
Her fear was palpable. My wolf snarled internally at her hesitation. She doesn’t know or she’s lying. Either way, this will not stand.
I turned sharply. “Check the surveillance outside the supermarket. Let’s go.”
Collins hesitated, but I didn’t give him time to overthink. Out the door, my senses locked on every detail. My phone vibrated, but Ethan’s voice over the line cut through the static. “Alpha Nathan, I found a button on the path leading to Hemsworth Villa. Might be from Luna Aria”
I commanded swiftly, “keep checking the surveillance Collins. We are heading back to Hemsworth Villa”
The vehicle raced down the road at top speed. In no time, I was standing by Ethan, who had been waiting by the roadside.
Ethan hurriedly stepped forward. "Alpha Nathan." He then showed me the button in his hand.
Feeling the golden embossing inside the button, my expression turned grim. It was from a niche brand Aria particularly liked.
I asked, "Did you find this here?"
Ethan nodded repeatedly.
I knelt, my gaze scanning the ground like a predator stalking prey. I researched the brand myself. It prided itself on simplicity and comfort, but more importantly, durability. Each button was hand-stitched to withstand anything short of a violent struggle.
I held the loose button between my fingers, a cold dread slithered down my spine.
This shouldn’t come off. Not unless... unless she fought.
My wolf stirred sharply, hackles rising, a low growl rumbling in my chest. No. Don’t think it. Don’t you dare think it.
But the most terrifying possibility clawed its way into my mind anyway.
Aria was in real danger.
