Free Web NovelChapter 82: Chapter 82
Aria’s POV
My breath came out in shaky puffs, turning to fog in the cold night air. I could feel how pale I was. My wolf paced anxiously beneath my skin.
The medicine.
The damn medicine was gone. freēwēbnovel.com
I must have dropped it in the chaos of the crowd when I fled earlier. I hadn’t realized until I got Lana back to the hotel and reached for my pocket, only to touch nothing but fabric.
I didn’t think. I just ran back out into the freezing wind.
Lana needed it.
My pup needed it.
My flashlight cut across the street in frantic sweeps as I crawled along the pavement of the bar, sniffing for even a faint trace.
I have to find it. I have to.
"Is this what you are looking for?"
A hand entered my light, holding the exact bottle I was desperate for.
Relief burst through me so fast I nearly sobbed. "Yes!" I snatched it with trembling fingers. "Thank—"
I froze when my mind registered the familiar voice that had just spoken.
Nathan.
I lifted my gaze to him, his scent hit me like a punch to the chest.
He raised a brow, cool and unreadable, pretending not to notice how my breath stuttered.
"Aren’t you going to give her the medicine?"
His voice rolled through me, deep and rough, pulling at strings I’d spent several months severing.
I stumbled back instantly, my muscles snapping tight, instinct throwing up walls. My wolf growled low in my chest.
Nathan’s hand had almost reached toward me, but he let it fall as if he hadn’t moved at all.
I ignored the twist in my stomach. Lana was all that mattered.
Still clutching her against me, I fumbled with the bottle. But my hands were slick with sweat, shaking uncontrollably. The cap refused to budge.
"Come on—open—please—"
I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. Lana whimpered in my arms, her scent sour with discomfort.
Before I could react, Nathan’s warm hand closed over mine, steady and firm. My entire body locked up, every nerve on edge, but... I didn’t pull away.
Because he wasn’t touching me.
He was trying to help her.
He wordlessly took the bottle, opened it with ease, and placed two pills in my palm.
We didn’t speak.
We just existed in a pocket of heavy silence.
I focused on Lana, pushing everything else aside. "Good girl... open up," I whispered.
She swallowed the pills without fuss.
I exhaled shakily, relief hitting me like a wave—only to be replaced by the sharp reminder of everything Nathan had done. Everything he’d taken.
A small act of kindness wasn’t enough to erase the past.
I turned away, my face cold, my steps stiff. I didn’t owe him a smile, only civility.
But before I could take more than a few steps, he was suddenly at my side.
"The medicine won’t work instantly," he said, his voice cool but firm.
"Let me help."
I stopped despite myself.
---
We walked back to the hotel together—an uncomfortable, tense silence between us. My wolf stayed alert, ears perked, tail down, eyes trained on Nathan with wary distrust.
Inside, Nathan immediately took charge.
"Get a warm towel," he said, already unwrapping Lana from her blanket with a gentleness that clashed painfully with the man I remembered.
I got the towel, hovering anxiously as I touched Lana’s forehead.
It was normal temperature. Thanks to the Moon goddess.
But her little wolf energy was weak. Far too weak.
"Lana?" My voice cracked as I stroked her cheek. She didn’t respond. She didn’t even open her eyes.
Panic clawed up my throat. My heartbeat turned feral and frantic.
What if the medicine wasn’t enough?
What if something worse was happening?
My vision blurred. My wolf whimpered inside me, terrified.
I adjusted the thermostat, wiping her tiny body with trembling hands, fighting the rising hysteria.
Come on, pup... stay with me... please...
A steady hand suddenly closed around mine, warm and grounding.
"Don’t be afraid," Nathan murmured.
But fear was all I had.
Because Lana was my entire world.
And because letting Nathan close, even for a moment, felt like walking into the lion’s den with my throat exposed.
Nathan’s POV
The moment her fingers brushed mine, something sharp and electric raced through me.
Aria jerked her hand back as if burned.
The warmth that had lingered on my palm disappeared instantly, leaving behind a hollow ache I wasn’t prepared for.
I stared at my own hand like an idiot.
The faint softness of her skin... the confusing spark it sent down my nerves... all gone.
My lashes lowered twice, a slight flicker to hide the flash of gloom twisting through me. My wolf let out a low, unsettled rumble. He didn’t care that she hated me now. He only cared that she had pulled away.
My fingers curled slowly into my palm and brushed against each other, instinctively trying to reclaim something that had already slipped through my grasp.
The room felt warmer all of a sudden.
Or maybe it was just me.
Aria looked flushed and unsteady for a moment—but the second she glanced at the child, all her dizziness evaporated. Her instincts kicked in immediately, fierce and focused, the way any she-wolf guarding her pup would.
A heavy silence settled over us.
Only the rustling of towels, wipes, and tiny clothes filled the air as we worked side by side, tending to the small, trembling bundle between us.
It was a strange calm, one that was unsettling, yet... grounding.
As if being near her after all this time was a storm finally quieting.
Gradually, the child’s complexion softened from deathly pale to a weak but healthy shade of pink.
Relief washed through me... more than it should have.
Aria’s shoulders dropped. She slumped onto the carpet, drained completely.
My chest tightened.
I shouldn’t stare at her, but I did.
From where I stood, I could see her lowered head, stray strands of hair sticking to her damp forehead. Through them, I glimpsed her eyes.
A year had changed her.
She used to be gentle in a way that felt soft, almost fragile—so meek it bordered on dull. But now...now her gentleness felt earned. Like tempered steel.
Soft enough to soothe a child, strong enough to face down the world alone if she had to.
The baby opened her eyes, weak but fighting. She gave Aria a faint little smile.
She leaned closer, whispering to the girl. Her voice was soft, lilting... almost magical.
Something shifted inside me.
Something I had locked away so tightly I thought it was dead.
My wolf pressed forward in my chest,
He liked this, just as much as I did.
I shouldn’t feel this way.
I was still legally married to her, yet she was comforting a child who, if everyone was to be believed, had nothing to do with me.
I should have been furious, I should have felt betrayed. Instead, warmth surged through me. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
What the hell was wrong with me?
"Moo-mah..."
The little girl’s tiny hands lifted, waving in the air with newfound energy. Her gaze drifted toward me, her big, round, impossibly pure eyes locking onto mine.
My heart stopped.
Those eyes...they were bright and familiar.
I swallowed hard, my breath catching.
Why did she look at me like that...
Why did she resemble me? Everyone had assured me this child wasn’t mine.
Logic told me it was impossible.
But my wolf... my wolf pressed closer to the front of my mind, staring back at the pup with something almost like recognition.
And I couldn’t shake the question clawing through my chest,
Why does she look so much like me?
