Free Web NovelChapter 246: Chapter 246
Nathan’s POV
I held Lana carefully, every movement measured and restrained.
If she had truly pointed out the culprit, I would tear them apart with my own hands.
My wolf lifted its head, alert and snarling. The so-called janitor captured on the hospital’s surveillance footage hadn’t been there by coincidence. He had been planted, watching Aria, waiting. Which meant they knew she would be there...or worse, that someone had orchestrated Lana’s illness from the very beginning.
That thought made my blood turn to ice.
The trail led us to the abandoned auto repair shop. The janitor’s car confirmed Aria’s location, yet when we stormed the place, he was nowhere among those captured.
This wasn’t a single man’s crime.
It was a web.
I looked down at Lana again, my grip instinctively tightening, not enough to hurt her, never that, but enough to ground myself. She stared back at me with wide, unguarded eyes, her tiny fingers clutching my sleeve as if she sensed the storm raging inside me.
“Lana,” I said softly, lowering my voice, though the edge beneath it could have frozen steel. “Do you remember anything? Anyone?”
She blinked. Then her lips parted.
“Da-da!”
My brows knit instantly.
She wriggled slightly, growing animated. “Sis... sister!”
The words struck harder than any blow.
I stilled completely.
At first, I dismissed it as coincidence. She was just a baby—barely able to form words, let alone identify culprits. And yet... she said it again. Clearer this time.
“Da-da. Sister.”
My wolf went very still.
Instinct screamed that this wasn’t random.
Could it be...?
I pulled out my phone and sent Collins a short message, my thumb hovering for half a second before I pressed send.
Check anyone linked as ‘father’ or ‘sister.’ Anyone close, anyone hidden.
Lana suddenly scrunched up her little face, frustration bubbling over as a small whimper escaped her. I immediately softened, my wolf retreating as I shifted her gently against my chest.
“It’s alright,” I murmured, resting a hand against her back.
I let my scent roll out deliberately. The effect was immediate. Her breathing slowed.
Within moments, she drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Her toy slipped from her loosening grip, but I caught it before it hit the floor and placed it carefully on the bedside table. I glanced at the simple stuffed bear longer than I intended to.
She liked it.
That knowledge settled somewhere quiet inside me.
I tucked Lana in gently, ensuring the blanket didn’t press against her injuries, then stood silently and left the room.
Aria’s POV
I woke quietly, as if drifting back from the edge of a long, dark river.
The first thing I saw was white. Endless, sterile white stretching across the ceiling above me. My body throbbed dully, every bone aching as though I had been torn apart and stitched back together wrong. My wolf lay curled deep inside me, exhausted, breathing shallowly, but alive.
I tried to speak.
Pain scraped my throat, dry and raw, forcing only a broken sound past my lips. Swallowing hurt, breathing hurt. Slowly, carefully, I turned my head.
I was in a hospital room.
My heartbeat began to race.
As the initial panic receded, memory surged back in fragments...echoes without sight. Laughter. Low, cruel voices. The hollow emptiness of that warehouse. Even blindfolded, my wolf had memorized every sound, every threat.
My chest tightened painfully.
Then another image rose unbidden...Nathan breaking through the darkness like a beast unleashed, kicking the looming shadow away. He had crouched in front of me, his voice low and strange, gentle in a way I had almost forgotten.
I frowned and pushed the image aside.
Lana.
Before I was taken... Lana was still at the hospital.
Fear flooded my veins like ice water. My wolf jerked awake, snarling weakly. I forced myself upright, ignoring the sharp protest of my body. During my struggle, I knocked down a glass off the table.
It shattered against the floor.
Footsteps rushed toward the door. A nurse peeked in, her eyes widening before she turned and called out excitedly, “Luna Aria is awake!”
Suddenly, the room filled.
Doctors crowded around me, voices overlapping, questions firing rapidly.
“She woke up earlier than expected.”
“Vitals?”
“No abnormalities. Her recovery looks stable.”
Their words blurred together, overwhelming my senses.
“My child...” I rasped, panic clawing at my throat. “Where’s my child?”
A nurse leaned close, understanding instantly. “Luna Aria wants to see Lana!”
The room fell silent.
I recognized her. She was the nurse who had cared for Lana before.
“You...” My voice trembled.
She smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Lana is perfectly healthy. I’ll bring her to you right away.”
The doctors, finally realizing my agitation, gave brief instructions and dispersed.
Moments later, Lana was placed gently into my arms.
The instant she saw me, her big eyes filled with tears. She clutched my arm tightly, crying as if afraid I would disappear again.
My heart shattered.
“It’s okay,” I murmured, rocking her despite the pain lancing through my body. “Mommy’s here. Mommy’s okay.”
“Mommy...” she whimpered against my chest, her tiny nose red.
My wolf stirred weakly, wrapping around her scent.The nurse watching us wiped at her eyes.
“Thank you,” I said hoarsely, looking up at her. “For taking care of her.”
She flustered instantly. “Your voice...let me get you some water!”
She hurried out just as the door opened again, a cold draft brushing my skin.
I looked up.
Nathan stood there. Our gazes locked.
“Daddy!” Lana chirped brightly.
I frowned instinctively, shooting her a look.
Lana shrank back slightly, confused, hurt.
As if saying... but he is my daddy...
“She got it right,” Nathan said calmly, closing the door behind him and taking a seat nearby.
My lips pressed together.
He had saved me, but that didn’t erase everything between us. Unsure how to face him, I shifted, my posture guarded. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
“Do you know who did this?” he asked, shifting the conversation away from us.
