Free Web NovelChapter 65: Chapter 65
Aria’s POV
I don’t know how long I sat there, my eyes open, staring into the suffocating dark. My wolf kept watch even as my mind drifted—alert, restless, tense.
Eventually, a pale sliver of moon slipped between the clouds, casting silver light through the branches outside. The shadows twisted along the wall, stretching into monstrous shapes like wolves hunched and snarling.
My heartbeat thudded so hard it hurt, like my ribs were too small to cage it. My wolf stirred uneasily under my skin, pacing, sensing danger even in the stillness of the room.
Maybe the peaceful life I’d been trying so desperately to build... had already shattered without me noticing.
Lana shifted in my arms with a tiny fussing sound, a soft cry that snapped me out of the numb fog swallowing me whole. I blinked, my mind slowly clawing its way back from that hollow, frozen place.
"Shh, baby... I’m here," I murmured.
I adjusted my hold and carried her to the bed, rocking gently. My wolf hummed around us, instinctively soothing her pup. It didn’t take long, Lana settled quickly, her little lips twitching into the faintest dreamy smile.
Whatever world she drifted into... it had to be gentle and safe. Everything mine never was.
Watching her sleep eased the ache in my chest just a little. Just enough for me to breathe.
I leaned down and pressed my forehead lightly to hers, closing my eyes.
Moon Goddess... please.
Let her grow up healthy, happy and safe.
Let her never know the darkness that shaped me. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
And Peter...
Please let him come out of this untouched. He didn’t deserve any of this.
The night deepened around me, shadows stretching across the room. Exhaustion crept into my bones until sleep finally dragged me under.
But my dreams weren’t peaceful.
It felt like someone cracked open my skull and spilled my memories into a spinning slideshow—scene after scene from my childhood flashing by.
My mother’s cold punishments.
Teachers who didn’t care enough to look at me. Classmates whose laughter felt like knives.
And then Sophia.
Always glowing, always adored.
While I was scolded, she was praised. freeweɓnovel.cøm
While I was overlooked, she was cherished.
Everywhere I walked in darkness, she stood in the warm spotlight, lifted high like she was born for a pedestal.
It wasn’t one single wound that haunted me.
It was the thousands of small cuts.
The ones no one ever saw.
The next morning, I jolted awake, gasping. My forehead was damp with cold sweat. My chest felt hollow, like someone had scooped something out of me during the night.
I couldn’t remember a single detail from the dream, but my body remembered the dread.
A sudden knock on the door dragged me back to reality.
I opened it to find Peter standing there, looking just as exhausted as I felt. S There were shadows under his eyes, his shoulders were tense.
He forced a smile."I have to go into the office. It might be a long day, call me if anything comes up."
He lifted his phone slightly, trying to act casual.
Guilt twisted hard inside me. I wanted to say something, but the brittle brightness in his smile made the words die on my tongue.
I only nodded silently, hoping it was enough.
After Peter left, I tiptoed into the living room and paused beside the sofa.
My gaze landed on the divorce agreement I’d taken to Hemsworth Group yesterday.
The one that got me nowhere.
They’d told me Nathan wasn’t in the office.
But moments later, Peter was summoned back, only to get slapped with a breach of contract notice.
My fingers curled into fists, my nails biting into my skin. My wolf growled low in my chest, the sound vibrating through me.
Nathan... what exactly are you trying to do to me?
Nathan’s POV
The top floor of Hemsworth Group was quiet for anyone who wasn’t me. I sat behind my desk, flipping through documents without absorbing a single word. My wolf paced beneath my skin, restless, irritated.
Every page I turned felt like sandpaper against my patience.
Collins, my beta and assistant, stood beside me, his voice low and overly cautious."Alpha Nathan, Mr. Peter Clinton is the firm’s star attorney, right up there with Ms. Sophia Darvin..."
My eyes didn’t so much as twitch. It was cold and bored.
Of course he was talking about Peter Clinton.
I let out a dry laugh, finally cutting him a glance sharp enough to make him flinch."Oh? So now that Peter is gone, the entire Hemsworth Group is going to collapse?"
The way Collins stiffened told me enough.
My wolf smirked at the scent of his fear.
Peter wasn’t the problem. He’d been valuable, but replaceable.
The real issue was that he’d taken Aria in.
He’d stepped into territory that didn’t belong to him.
Collins kept his head bowed, pretending to meditate on the floor, probably praying to every deity he knew.
He was probably thinking about the plan I’d laid out. About how far I was willing to go.
He had no idea.
Peter might have been a rising star, brilliant and respected. A wolf among sheep in the courtroom.
And now?
He’d just clawed himself right into my bad side.
My wolf growled low in satisfaction. You don’t touch what’s mine.
A knock at the door snapped the air. The secretary peeked in like she expected to be burned alive."Alpha Nathan, Mr. Clinton is here."
I rested my elbows on the desk. Speak of the devil...A cold pulse flickered through my eyes.
Then I smiled, a curve of my lips with no warmth or humanity.
"Let him in."
Moments later, Peter and I sat across from each other with only a coffee table separating us.
I narrowed my eyes, studying him. Really looking at him for the first time.
This man who dared hide my mate from me. This man who thought he could tangle with an Alpha’s luna.
After a long silence, I finally spoke, my voice curling with disdain.
"Thirty million dollars. You raised it that fast?"
