Free Web NovelChapter 286: Chapter 286
Aria’s POV
Nathan stood tall and shadowed in black, blocking our path. His Alpha aura filled the air, making the lights flicker.
Our eyes met.
“What are you doing here with him?” he rasped, his voice rough like gravel, his wolf barely leashed.
I looked away, grabbing Rowland’s hand to leave.
Nathan’s hand clamped my wrist. My wolf snarled and cowered at the same time, a confusing tangle of instinct.
I froze.
Rowland’s hand slid over Nathan’s grip. A low growl rolled out of both of them in a challenging manner.
“Uncle Nathan,” Rowland said softly, “you’re hurting her.”
“Let go,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
I lifted my gaze to Nathan like I was looking at something dead. Not someone, something.
An object that no longer mattered.
My stare was ice-cold. His scent brushed my senses, stirring an ache I smothered instantly. He flinched under my gaze.
Rowland’s hand slipped from Nathan’s hold, retracting slowly. His wolf still simmered, golden aura prickling with protectiveness, but he didn’t push further. I didn’t look back. This time, no one dared to stop me as I walked out with Rowland.
The bathroom fell silent, thick with tension.
“Alpha Nathan, let’s talk in the dining room,” my sharp ears heard Patrick say, his voice tight. His scent reeked of desperation and calculation.
Back in the dining room, Rowland and I returned to our table. Our food was served. Nathan had joined Peter on their table. He sat far from everyone else, but directly in my line of sight. He didn’t even pretend. His gaze was on me.
At our table, Rowland nudged a plate toward me. “Come on, try it,” he urged. His bright eyes, hopeful and pleading.
I took a bite of the cake. It was tangy on my tongue.
I wiped my mouth, hiding the flicker of emotion in my eyes as I remembered how much I used to love this meal.
“It’s... not bad,” I said, my voice clipped and professional, like speaking to a stranger. freewebnσvel.cøm
Rowland’s face fell. He looked away, his shoulders slumping.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, tilting my head, pretending not to know. My wolf knew he was hurt by my response. He probably expected me to be a bit more cheerful.
He tried a broken smile. “Nothing.”
But his grip on his utensils tightened until they creaked.
Something in my chest twisted. A dull ache, like claws dragging through fog.
He passed me pieces of steak here and there, despite his fractured smile. The atmosphere between us felt like standing in sunlight during snowfall, warmth and cold clashing.
Nathan’s POV
My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, claws scraping at the inside of my ribs as I watched them, Aria and Rowland seated at a table as though they were a couple. The food Sophia set in front of me sat untouched, the scent of roasted meat doing nothing for the gnawing hunger clawing at me. It wasn’t a hunger for food.
It was hunger for her.
Aria.
Sophia’s voice trembled as she leaned close. “Nathan, is there something wrong with the food here?”
I could smell the metallic tang of blood as she bit her lip, trying to get my attention.
I didn’t bother lifting my gaze. “Yeah.”
I pushed the bowl away, the faint scrape sounding far louder to my sharpened hearing. Her heartbeat stuttered, my wolf didn’t care. My instinct was fixed on one thing.
Clarence tried to jump in, her voice too forced, too cheerful. “Sophia, you should take a break too. You haven’t even eaten. You’re just focused on serving Nathan.”
Finally, I looked up, only because Clarence’s voice grated against my senses. The fluorescent lights reflected in her eyes, and I caught a scent on her nervousness. She was afraid, not because of me... but because of what they were hiding.
For the longest of time Aria’s father pretended Sophia’s mother was dead and she was an adopted orphan, Sophia loved throwing that identity like a banner. But now? “Mom?,” she’d said earlier. Since when did she have a mom?
The rumors about the Darvin family ran rampant like wildfire through the pack territories.
If Sophia’s mother was truly here...
Then the rumors weren’t rumors at all. They were true.
Aria...she had grown up in that family surrounded by manipulation and cruelty, a home where love was a weapon and affection a myth.
A sharp ache speared through my chest. My wolf whimpered as I stared at her from across the room like an animal chained too tightly. My heart felt like it was being squeezed, crushed with every breath she took without me.
I accepted Sophia’s invitation here because I was hoping to uncover the truth behind the recent scandals and my lingering guilt over Aria.
And then she was here.
I hadn’t expected to see her.
Now Aria and Rowland sat together, sharing a meal.
Every smile she gave him stabbed through my chest like a silvered claw. My wolf prowled beneath my skin, restless, tail lashing, whining to go to her. To claim what we’d lost.
I forced my voice to stay steady.
“Is there any drink?”
The words earned startled glances, but I didn’t care. I needed something, anything, to drown the storm ripping through me.
Patrick snapped his fingers, scrambling to please me. Moments later, a bottle materialized at my table.
I swallowed a glass, the burn running down my throat like fire, but it didn’t burn nearly as much as watching her with him.
“Nathan, drinking too much is bad for your health,” Sophia whispered, touching my arm.
My wolf flicked an ear in irritation.
I ignored her, reaching for another glass. Clarence motioned for Sophia to stop.
My gaze drifted back to Aria. My eyes followed her laugh, the way her hair swayed like dark waves. Each movement tugged at me like a hook through flesh. My wolf growled within me.
I drank and drank until the room blurred. My heartbeat roared in my ears.
Across the room, Aria watched me. Concern flickered in her eyes, then Rowland slid his chair, blocking her view. Her attention snapped back to him. He dropped a lobster into her bowl, voice soft, almost smug.
My vision tinted red.
He’s feeding her.
My wolf slammed against my ribs.
That’s MY place.
I tried to stand, my legs trembling. The floor seemed to tilt. Sophia rushed to my side, her hands on my arms.
“Nathan, you’re drunk,” she simpered. “Let me take you to the nearest hotel to rest.”
