Free Web NovelChapter 394: Chapter 394
Nathan’s POV
The question hit harder than any blow. My mind went blank.
Then she began listing it. “You are wrongfully imprisoned.”
“Your partner believes rumors instead of you.”
“You spend a year in prison. Your career is destroyed.”
“Outside, your partner is rumored to be close to your adopted sister.”
Each sentence was like a claw across my chest.
I saw it from Aria’s side. The loneliness she must have felt, the betrayal, the humiliation.
Her wolf, hurt and cornered, with no mate standing beside her.
By the end, Grandma’s voice was dry.
“Nathan,” she muttered, “you really are something else.”
I sat there with my head lowered, my shoulders heavy, listening to every word without arguing back.
My wolf curled inward, hurt.
Grandma sighed on the other end of the line. I could hear the tenderness beneath her sternness.
“Nathan,” she said, “women need care and attention. Now she’s surrounded by capable, outstanding men, and you finally feel threatened. But have you ever thought about how she felt back then, when you were her whole world?”
The words pierced deep into my soul like daggers.
Back then...When her wolf had leaned toward mine without hesitation, when I was her only choice—and I still turned away.
“I know,” I said quietly. “I was wrong.”
My voice held no pride, only truth.
Grandma hummed, satisfied. “At least you’ve realized it.”
Then she added, “I’ll help you as much as I can. But I can’t promise anything. Whether you win her back depends on how you act from now on.”
My heart jumped. My wolf lifted its head sharply.
“Grandma... you mean it?” I asked, disbelief and hope colliding in my chest.
She chuckled softly. “Of course. I still want to hold the pup Aria gives you someday. If you’re not anxious, I certainly am.”
I almost laughed.
“I’ll be going to Asterfell in a few days,” she continued. “So behave yourself.”
“Yes,” I said quickly. “I’ll listen this time. I swear.”
My wolf thumped its tail inside me, restless with anticipation.
“You’d better,” Grandma replied.
Aria’s POV
Shevron Estates was quiet, but my wolf wasn’t.
It never really was these days.
I stood near the window, my phone pressed to my ear. My senses stretched outward, instinctively mapping territory, exits and movement.
“Please keep your eyes open,” I told Jonathan and Williams. “Watch the surroundings. If anyone unfamiliar lingers too long, I want to know. Also don’t let Tyler and his wife out of sight.”
I ended the call, my jaw tight.
Protection had become second nature. Trust had not. Before I could set the phone down, it rang again.
The name on the screen made my wolf stiffen.
Nathan.
My brows drew together. He never called me directly ever since we severed our bond. Messages usually came through Collins.
What could be urgent enough for him to cross that boundary?
After a brief hesitation, I answered.
“Alpha Nathan. What can I do for you?”
Even to my own ears, my voice sounded cool and controlled. No warmth.
On the other end, there was a fa
int pause, like my tone had cut deeper than I intended.
“My grandmother is coming to Asterfell,” he said. His voice was familiar... but held a weight that tugged at something in my chest. “She said she wants to see you. I... didn’t tell her about our divorce.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
The woman who had played a huge role in the union between Nathan and I. She was childhood friends with my grandmother and had communicated with her about her desire for me to marry Nathan. I had already fallen for Nathan at the time. That made things a bit easier. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
After marriage... we had never even gone to visit her, nor has she come back from overseas. I heard the death of her daughter and daughter in law in an accident in Asterfell made her travel overseas. She had been there for decades.
I pressed my lips together.
“Nathan, we’re divorced. I have no business meeting with her. You should explain it to her,” I said.
There was silence.
I could almost hear his breathing.
“I told her you might not want to meet,” he said finally, his voice low. “She still insists. Even knowing we might be separated.”
That surprised me. I ran a hand through my hair, messing it up without realizing.
This was awkward.
Nathan’s grandmother was friends with my alte grandma. She did nothing bad to me. If she came all this way to Asterfell and I refused to see her as she wanted...it felt wrong.
Maybe I should meet her once. Explain everything clearly and end it properly.
“When does she land?” I asked, already tired.
“This afternoon,” he said quickly.
There was something in his voice, something almost like... anticipation.
I ignored it.
“Tell me the time. I’ll pick her up at the airport,” I said. Better to talk on the road, no pressure, no territory advantage.
“I don’t know her exact arrival,” he said at once. “She’s already on the plane.”
My wolf’s ears twitched.
That was convenient.
“She said she wants a calm talk with you,” he continued. “She’ll be tired. Why not come to Crescent Manor tonight? That’s what she told me to pass on.”
Crescent Manor.
I went still. We barely stepped foot there when we were married. And now... after divorce?
Suspicion curled in my stomach.
Then he added quietly, “She also wants to see Lana.”
My mind blanked for a second.
Lana, our pup.
No matter what happened between us, that blood tie couldn’t be erased.
Nathan’s grandmother had every right to meet her.
I exhaled slowly.
“Fine,” I said at last. “But we’re not staying overnight.”
