Free Web NovelChapter 369: Chapter 369
Nathan’s POV
I saw the disbelief on Aria’s face, the shock in Amelia and Chloe’s eyes. Collins froze for a moment too, registering the predator I had become, tense and unrestrained and for the first time, I felt real fear.
Fear that everyone viewed me as a monster that I was not. My jaw tightened and I took control of my wolf, rearing it in. I released Aria’s wrist.
She retreated inside, her eyes wary.
She was about to close the door when i stopped it gently with my hand.
The space between Aria and me was the width of a hand, but it felt like a canyon. My throat burned, my chest tight like I’d run miles in wolf form.
Just then, I sensed Rowland’s presence, he was on his way up.
“Is it because of Rowland that you won’t forgive me, Aria?” The second her name and his were in the same sentence, my wolf surged forward, claws scraping the inside of my bones. I tasted iron at the back of my throat.
Aria’s eyes snapped to mine and gods, I used to live in that gaze. Now it was winter, pure, cutting winter.
“Rowland?” Anger flickered in her scent.
“How could this possibly be about me, Uncle Nathan? I know I can be quite charming but Aria hasn’t given in to the idea of being with me.”
Rowland’s words infuriated me. Every muscle in my body went rigid.
Everyone turned in his direction. He was now standing beside me, in casual clothes, wearing a smug grin on his face.
Aria frowned and moved to him without thinking.
My wolf snarled low in my chest.
“Why are you out of the hospital already?” she asked, already checking him over like he belonged to her.
He shrugged and grinned. “I wanted to surprise you. So as soon as I got discharged, I came straight to you. I hope you do not mind?”
I hope you do you mind?
I did.
I minded the way she touched him. I minded the way his pulse ticked faster when she did. The way she didn’t step back. The way her scent softened just a fraction around him.
She sighed and pushed his face away by the forehead. That should’ve calmed me but it didn’t.
Because she was still close enough to feel his warmth. Chloe gagged and Amelia laughed.
They all ignored me, all four of them, like I was already a ghost. Their attention was on Rowland.
My fists clenched, my bones creaked and veins stood out along my arms as my wolf pushed against my control, demanding I step forward, bare my throat, stake my claim, do something...
But I had no claim anymore.
“Uncle Nathan, what brings you here?” Rowland said at last, fake surprise dripping from every word.
He was enjoying this.
Aria followed his gaze back to me, void of warmth. My chest hollowed out.
“Aria,” I said, forcing the wolf down, forcing my voice to stay human and steady. “I will meet any demands and make any amends, just for your forgiveness.”
I took a deep agonizing breath and added.
“I’ll wait for you.”
Because that’s what a ex-mate who really wants his mate back does. Even when he’s the one she’s walking away from.
I turned before my control snapped. My jaw ached from clenching. Every step away felt like my spine was being peeled open.
But I stopped.
I looked back at Rowland.
My vision sharpened, predator to predator.
“Rowland,” I said, voice low, edged. “Remember your responsibilities, you’re not a child anymore.”
Then I walked away without looking back. freёwebnoѵel.com
Aria’s POV
Nathan leaving didn’t bother me, but my wolf didn’t like the way his words lingered in the air after he walked off. They clung to my senses, like the scent of blood before a storm.
My brows drew together as I turned to Rowland. “What did he mean by that?”
Rowland lifted a shoulder in a helpless shrug. “He’s just being mysterious. Probably jealous of us.”
Jealous.
My wolf stirred, pacing behind my ribs. I narrowed my eyes, studying him the way wolves do when we’re testing truth from lie. I listened for a chnage in his heartbeat and breathing. I checked his eye movement.
Rowland just blinked at me, his eyes wide and innocent.
I exhaled slowly and dropped my gaze. Fine, maybe there was really nothing more to it.
I slipped my arm under his, careful of his injuries. “You may be discharged, but your wolf’s still recovering. Don’t stand too long.”
The moment his fingers brushed mine, heat crept up his cheeks. He walked with me obediently, but when the others looked ahead, I felt it, just for a second.
His scent spiked with a mix of anger and frustration. I glanced at him in time to see his eyes slid toward the door Nathan had been standing by. His jaw tightened.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, guiding him into a seat.
He blinked, his expression smoothing over too quickly. “Nothing. The perfume in here is just... dizzying.”
Chloe rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might stick. Amelia snorted a laugh. Heat touched my face, and I shot Rowland a warning look.
He shrank a little, unfairly accused, and drank thw water Amelia gave him like a scolded pup.
Chloe popped candy into her mouth, her jaw working as she spoke. “Aria, you did the right thing. Nathan doesn’t deserve forgiveness. Money and gifts don’t erase anything. If he really meant his apology, he’d sit in a cell for at least a year.”
My lips curved, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Of course I won’t forgive him.”
The word forgive tasted bitter.
Amelia hesitated, her scent turning cautious. “But... Aria. Lana is both yours and his pup. Are you really going to keep fighting forever?”
Silence swallowed the room.
