Free Web NovelChapter 71: Chapter 71
My fur bristled, instincts screaming.
"Luna Aria."
I spun around. My stomach dropped. A chill raced down my spine.
Collins, Nathan’s beta, stood a short distance away.
My heart dropped like I’d plunged into an icy pit. The cold seeped into my bones, and my wolf growled low in my chest, warning me.
Why is Collins here? Why now?
His expression unreadable, but his voice carried weight."You need to apologize to Ms. Sophia Darvin."
My brows lifted in shock. Peter was hospitalized with a perforated stomach because someone had forced him to drink. And Collins... Collins was standing here, at the hospital, telling me to apologize to Sophia Darvin?
It hit me like a thunderclap. My stomach twisted, my face went pale, and the world seemed to shrink.
"Did you do this?" I demanded sharply, my voice cracking, raw with pain and desperation. My wolf bristled at every syllable, claws unsheathed in my chest, trembling under the surface.
Collins pressed his lips together and said nothing, like a machine wound tight and repeating the same phrase."Luna Aria, please apologize to Ms. Sophia Darvin."
I staggered back two steps, staring at him as if he were some grotesque monster. My wolf snarled, low and dangerous, restless under my skin.
Then, as if waking from a nightmare, I spun around frantically, my eyes scanning every shadow, every corner, searching for one figure.
Where is he?
He’s here. He has to be.
Why doesn’t he have the courage to face me?
My chest ached, and my eyes burned red with fury and despair. Every instinct screamed at me to hunt, but I forced myself to stay rooted. My gaze snapped back to Collins, hatred flaring like fire.
At first, I had thought Peter was only forced to drink because of some twisted financial scheme. Now... the truth slammed into me.
A deep, hoarse voice echoed in my mind, squeezing my heart until it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
It’s Nathan. It’s him. freewēbnoveℓ.com
I screamed inside, silent but furious, my arms trembling with rage.
No wonder.
He was using Peter as a pawn to force me into submission.
Grief twisted into bitter mockery, curling inside me like smoke in my lungs. I laughed quietly, tears streaking my cheeks. This is so cruel, so vile.
To coerce me into apologizing to Sophia... he had stooped to this.
"This doesn’t require Alpha Nathan’s involvement," Collins said coldly, as if implying that Peter—or even I—were insignificant enough that Nathan wouldn’t bother showing up himself. freewebnσvel.cøm
I clenched my fists until my knuckles burned, my fingers trembling with barely restrained fury.
"If something happens to Peter," I said loudly, my voice sharp as steel,"that’s a life lost."
"Nathan," I hissed through teeth, icy resolve cutting every word,"just because you have power, you think you can ignore someone’s life to achieve your goals?"
I shouted, the words ripping from my chest, my wolf howling inside me,"Do you realize you’re committing murder?" I knew Nathan was nearby, I knew he could hear me.
Collins lowered his head, like a puppet that didn’t understand the fury radiating from me.
Exhaustion hit me like a tidal wave, pulling the last shards of strength from my bones.
"Leave. I won’t go. I won’t," I spat, my voice hoarse, each word clawing through the fatigue that weighed me down.
Clutching Peter’s hospital admission form like a lifeline, I stumbled forward, my frail figure dwarfed by the sterile, dimly lit corridor. My wolf prowled under my skin, every instinct alert to threats, to control, to power—I couldn’t let anyone touch him.
Collins gave one long, calculating look before turning and walking away. My stomach twisted. I knew his allegiance wasn’t entirely free, but right now, I didn’t have time to care.
Nathan’s POV
I was standing outside, letting the cold night wind wash over me. The air bit at my skin, but the fury boiling inside made even winter feel warm. Collins stepped closer, and the chill of my aura did the rest.
He shuddered.
"Alpha Nathan," he greeted, bowing his head.
I lifted my eyes to him. My enhanced hearing still replayed her voice, raw and breaking:
Do you realize you’re committing murder?
The words echoed like claws scraping my ribs. My chest tightened, anger burning like wildfire through my veins.
I forced my voice steady."Tell her, either she apologizes to Sophia willingly, or I can’t guarantee Peter’s safety."
Even saying his name made my jaw clench. Peter, the man she defended... the man she would cry over.
I lifted my gaze to the massive Hemsworth Group sign glowing against the hospital building. This was my territory. My rules apply here. And yet... something sharp twisted in me.
Why did it feel like the more I pushed her, the more I was the one losing control?
Collins saw the flicker in my expression—he always noticed too much. Sweat gathered on his forehead despite the freezing air.
"Alpha Nathan..." he began carefully,"forcing Luna Aria like this—could it backfire?"
He hesitated. It annoyed me more than it should that he had asked that.
"Are you truly trying to make her apologize to Ms. Sophia Darvin? Or is this... about making her leave Peter for good?"
My wolf snapped to attention, baring its teeth.
I shot Collins a cold, cutting glance.
"You’re on her side?"
The pressure of my aura hit him full-force. His breath stuttered, he lowered his head so fast it was almost a bow.
"N–No, sir. I’ll take care of it right away."
Good.
Because if anyone dared take Aria’s side over mine... even I didn’t know how far my wolf would go.
