Free Web NovelChapter 260: Chapter 260
Aria’s POV
The moment I stepped into the lounge of the Starlight Bar, I felt it.
The air was thick with alcohol, arrogance, and territorial tension that scraped against my wolf’s senses. My gaze landed on Rowland first.
His lips were curved upward, but the amusement I remembered was gone, replaced by a chill so sharp it pricked my skin.
Rowland lowered his gaze, his fingers tapping idly against the rim of his glass. The faint clinks echoed strangely loud to my ears, falling into rhythm with his heartbeat. The overhead light cast shadows across his face, obscuring his expression, but my wolf didn’t need to see it to know.
His eyes kept drifting toward the staircase, as though he was waiting for someone.
I slid my phone into my pocket and stepped up to their table.
“What are you doing?”
My voice cut cleanly through the noise, cool and edged with displeasure.
Rowland’s head snapped up instantly.
The chill around him vanished like mist under moonlight. His eyes locked onto me with fierce intensity.
Nathan straightened as if struck by lightning. His hazy, unfocused eyes finally found me.
“Aria...”
His voice was hoarse, dragged out by alcohol and longing. The sound scraped against my nerves.
“You seem sober enough,” I said flatly, not even looking at him.
My attention stayed on Rowland.
His grin spread wide, bright and unguarded. “No,” he said cheerfully, “I’m very much drunk.”
He winked.
The mirth in his eyes overflowed in a reckless and unapologetic manner.
I felt it immediately, the spike in Nathan’s emotions. It was sour and burning. My wolf bristled.
Nathan reached for me but I shifted just in time.
His fingers closed on nothing but air, the motion clumsy and desperate. The emptiness in his eyes mirrored the space he failed to grasp.
I turned to him then, my gaze cold and detached, the way I’d look at a stranger who’d crossed a line.
He opened his mouth, but the words collapsed before they could escape.
“Since you are both awake,” I said evenly, “go home on your own.”
My gaze flicked to Rowland, sharp with warning. I could feel the strange tension between uncle and nephew.
Rowland shook his head immediately, his grin returning full force. “I drove here. Can’t exactly drive back.”
I raised my hand and smacked him lightly on the head.
“Then call a driver.”
He let out an exaggerated sigh, his shoulders slumping. “Oh...”
Unmoved, I swiped my phone. “I’ve already called one for you. Just give them the address when they arrive.”
I slipped the phone away and turned to leave..
“Aria!” Nathan surged up suddenly, strength flaring out of nowhere. “We’re still married!”
His hand closed around my arm.
My wolf growled within me.
The contact was abrupt, possessive and wrong.
I paused and turned slowly, meeting Nathan’s gaze. freewёbnoνel.com
This time, I didn’t bother masking it—my eyes were empty, cold, the way I looked at a stranger who meant nothing to my pack. I felt it instantly, the way his scent wavered, sharp with alcohol and panic.
“You need to sign those divorce papers so that we can sever our mate bond officially. We are over Nathan, we are never getting back together,” I said flatly.
My eyes dropped to his hand gripping my wrist. His touch sent no spark, no pull, only irritation. Once upon a time, my wolf had recognized him as mate. Now, she was silent, distant, as if that bond had already been severed by his own betrayal.
Rowland stepped forward, his presence solid and steady, placing a firm hand over Nathan’s. His wolf flared beneath the surface.
“Uncle Nathan, you’re drunk. Let her go.”
The two of us stood together against him. Nathan trembled, barely upright, yet stubborn pride kept him standing.
“I won’t sign those divorce papers,” he slurred, eyes dark and feverish as they locked onto mine. “You’ll always be Luna Aria, my luna and wife.”
Obsession rolled off him in suffocating waves, making my wolf bristle. My expression turned icy, and beside me, Rowland’s demeanor hardened, his jaw tightening like he was holding his own beast on a short leash.
“Nathan,” I said coolly, every word sharp as a claw, “you cheated during our marriage. You spread rumors about your own wife. You sided with your lover to harm me and Lana.” My gaze sliced into him. “What right do you have to keep me by your side?”
The words landed, but not like I’d expected. I felt no satisfaction, no rage-fueled relief. Only a dull calm. I realized, in that moment, that I cared more about walking away than tearing him apart.
“Cheated?” Nathan swayed, shaking his head violently as if trying to claw his way back to clarity.
“No... Aria, you misunderstood. Sophia and I are just business partners, employer and employee. I had Collins investigate into what happened to Lana, it wasn’t her. I wasn’t siding with her...”
He reached for me again, clumsy and desperate, his eyes glassy, stripped of reason. I watched him quietly, struck by how absurd it all felt. Once, I would have howled in pain at the sight of him like this.
Now, I simply stepped back. His hand fell limply to his side.
Rowland moved instantly, positioning himself between us, pushing Nathan back into his seat. He unlocked Nathan’s phone, dailed a number and raised it to his ear.
“Collins, come to Starlight Bar,” Rowland said, voice crisp.
“Alpha Rowland?” Collins sounded unsettled. “How do you have Alpha Nathan’s phone? Alpha Nathan asked me to stay with Ms. Darvin at the hospital. I’m not free.”
My lips curved into a derisive smile as I looked at Nathan. He’d left his assistant to guard Sophia, but hadn’t spared a single thought for me or Lana when we were in danger. To a werewolf, protection was instinct. To him, it had been a choice and he’d chosen wrong.
Sensing the shift in my mood, Rowland ended the call abruptly.
“Then let your Alpha Nathan sleep on the street once the bar closes.”
The image was ridiculous enough that a chuckle escaped me, easing the heaviness in my chest.
Seeing my smile, Rowland relaxed. “Collins should be here soon. Aria, I’m drunk too. Are you really going to leave me to a driver?”
I felt the gazes of both Alpha on me, waiting to hear what I would say.
