Free Web NovelChapter 244: Chapter 244
Aria’s POV
The sound of footsteps dragged me back from the edge of unconsciousness.
My blindfold had been removed. My eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, but instinct forced them open just enough for me to sense movement. Shadows multiplied across the concrete floor as people flooded into the abandoned auto shop. My wolf whimpered weakly inside me, wounded and shackled, urging me to curl inward.
So I did.
I pressed myself into the corner like a trapped animal, every nerve stretched thin. Hours, maybe days of torment had left my senses raw. Every echo, every scrape of boots against cement made my heart seize in terror.
“Francis agreed to the demands,” one man said hesitantly. “Are you sure you want to keep going?”
I recognized the sleazy voice. Even without seeing him, his scent made my stomach churn.
“What did they say?” the gravelly voice replied with a cruel laugh. “They said no physical violence.”
He clapped his hands together, the sharp sound slicing through the air.
“This,” he continued casually, “doesn’t count.”
My breath caught.
I was terrified from fear of what they might do. My wolf stirred weakly within me.. My dress, once soft silk, clung to me awkwardly, torn only where wounds were. They wanted me broken, not destroyed.
A larger presence shifted nearby. Heavy. Clumsy. Obedient.
The gravelly-voiced man laughed softly. “Do it right, and you’ll be rewarded. Mess it up...”
His teeth scraped together, the sound making my wolf recoil.
“Yes,” the large man answered quickly, greed thick in his voice.
“That’s Alpha Nathan’s woman,” the leader added mockingly. “Consider yourself lucky.”
Their laughter echoed through the hollow space, bouncing off rusted walls like taunts.
Cold flooded my veins. I knew what they intended.
The heavy footsteps moved closer. Sweat and aggression rolled off the man in suffocating waves. My body tensed violently, every instinct screaming run, even though there was nowhere to go.
“Stay away!” I screamed, my voice raw but sharp, cutting through the air. “Don’t touch me!”
I forced the words out with everything I had left.
“Who’s paying you?” I cried desperately. “I’ll give you more...twice as much, three times! Just let me go!” fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
My wolf clawed weakly at my chest, furious at my helplessness.
The man didn’t stop.
A sharp blow rang through my head, stars exploding behind my closed eyes. The world tilted, sound distorting.
“No violence,” the leader said lazily, as if correcting a child. His tone held no real warning.
Laughter followed.
I felt fabric tear, it was mine. Part of my body was left exposed. Humiliation burned hotter than pain. Cameras clicked on nearby.
I shook violently.
This isn’t happening.
This can’t be how it ends.
“I won’t let you get away with this,” I whispered hoarsely, my voice trembling but fierce. “Not you. Not the ones behind you.”
My wolf stirred at that, faint but proud.
The leader crouched in front of me, his presence pressing down like frostbite. “What do you have left to threaten us with?” he mocked softly, tapping my cheek.
Humiliation flooded my throat, bitter and choking.
“Continue,” he said, standing.
The man lunged forward.
I shut my eyes.
Tears spilled freely now, soaking into the concrete beneath my cheek.
Lana...I’m sorry.
I won’t be there to watch you grow.
My jaw clenched hard as I swallowed my cries. Darkness crept in from the edges of my vision, my breathing growing shallow, my wolf slipping further away.
For a fleeting moment, a terrible thought crossed my mind, if I end it myself, at least it will stop.
Just then,
An explosion shattered the world.
BOOM—
The iron door tore free from its hinges with a deafening crash, sunlight flooding the warehouse like a blade of fire. Dust and debris filled the air as cold wind rushed in.
My vision swam, glazed and unfocused, as though I were staring through murky water.
I blinked slowly, forcing my eyes to obey me. The first thing I saw was a pair of muddy leather shoes planted firmly on the cracked concrete floor. They were dirty, splattered with grime and dust, yet even through the filth, they carried an unmistakable gleam of luxury.
Footsteps echoed around me, sharp and commanding, reverberating through the hollow warehouse like gunshots to my overstimulated senses.
“Everyone, squat down! Hands on your head!”
The shout sliced through the air. My wolf flinched, half-awake, half-broken inside me. I smelled electric batons crackling to life as men in dark suits stormed in, their presence overwhelmingly predatory in its own way.
The chaos that had ruled this place moments ago vanished instantly.
And then...
I sensed him. My wolf, though weak, recognized that presence. Authority that bent the air itself.
“N...Nathan?”
My voice scraped out, dry and hoarse, barely recognizable even to my own ears. But the moment I spoke his name, something flickered back into my eyes, light returned where there had only been emptiness.
He stood there, right in front of me.
Nathan Hemsworth, Alpha of the Ironclaw Pack.
For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to just the two of us.
His eyes were dark, impossibly deep, scanning me with a chill so sharp it pricked my skin. I saw the moment he took in my condition...my torn dress, the blood, the bruises I couldn’t even feel anymore. Something dangerous flashed in his gaze.
Then his eyes met mine and everything changed.
The frost shattered.
