Free Web NovelChapter 88: Chapter 88
Aria’s POV
He shrugged, his palms up, he was too relaxed for the storm brewing inside me. "Last time at the bar, a client bailed. I ran into you. This time? Another meeting in a different place."
His honesty, his annoying, unshaken confidence, threw me off balance. I studied him, searching for cracks, tells or lies.
I found nothing.
He’d never shown interest in me before.
Never chased me, never wanted me.
My body confirmed nothing happened tonight. There was no scent of him on me.
No remnants of physical contact beyond him carrying me.
So if it wasn’t him...
Then who?
A cold shiver crept up my spine, raising tiny bumps along my arms. My wolf growled, restless, suddenly alert.
"If I hadn’t been here," Nathan said, stepping slightly closer, "what would’ve happened to you?"
His voice dropped lower, becoming a bit persuasive.
"Come back to Hemsworth Villa. It’s the safest place for you."
His gaze slid to Lana, curled against my chest.
"Not just you," he added quietly. "Think about the baby."
The moment he spoke about Lana, a mix of fear an rage filled me.
My wolf lunged inside me, wanting to shield my pup from everything, especially from him.
"And why should I trust you?" I snapped, clutching Lana so tightly she stirred. "What makes you the good guy here?"
My voice rose, raw and bitter, ripping through the quiet of the room.
"You?"
The man who had destroyed my life? ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Who had taken my freedom?
Who had thrown me into a cell and walked away?
The words trembled on my tongue but I didn’t say them out loud.
Nathan’s POV
Her eyes, red, shining and full of accusation hit me harder than any claw to the ribs. For a second, I forgot how to breathe. The words I meant to say tangled somewhere in my throat.
She was blaming me... for a year ago.
My wolf bristled at the thought, a low, uneasy growl curling in my chest. She was the one who betrayed us. That was the truth I’d lived with.
But looking at her now, how tear-rimmed, trembling and wounded she was, caused something inside me to waver.
Why did she look like I had wronged her?
A dark pulse throbbed behind my eyes as the memory of Peter’s incomplete file surfaced. It had missing pieces, gaps, questions I’d shoved aside because anger had been easier to hold than doubt.
Could I have... misunderstood?
The thought tasted bitter.
Aria wiped her face with the back of her hand, and when her gaze lifted again, it was all steel.
"I don’t trust you," she snapped.
"Lana is mine, and I care about her safety more than you ever could.
Now get out of this room. I won’t say it again."
Her voice didn’t waver.
The air between us thickened. She didn’t want me near.
And for reasons I refused to admit, that stung more than it should’ve.
I stared at her small, stubborn back, feeling that strange weight settle onto my chest again. A heaviness I wasn’t used to. One I didn’t know how to deal with.
Finally, I forced myself to stand. The legs of the chair scraped quietly against the floor, but even that small sound felt loud in the space between us.
"You can stay here in this suite for as long as you want, it is already paid for. But you should know It’s not safe for you out here," I said, my voice low and steady, maybe a bit too steady for the storm building beneath my ribs. "If you change your mind... you know where to find me."
I lingered just a heartbeat longer, Then I turned and walked out.
Aria’s POV
The moment the door clicked shut behind Nathan, my knees gave out. I collapsed onto the bed, clutching Lana so tightly she squirmed a little. I whispered an apology and pressed my cheek to her warm forehead, trying to slow my racing heart.
But Nathan’s warning wouldn’t stop echoing inside my head.
Do you really think this drugging was an accident?
A cold shiver crawled down my spine, my wolf bristling beneath my skin. I didn’t want to believe him but every instinct I’d spent years sharpening as both a lawyer and a wolf screamed that he was right.
I pushed myself up, forcing my shaky legs to move, and yanked the curtains shut. Darkness wrapped the room, but it didn’t soothe me. If anything, it made the dread worse.
Aphrodisiac this time... what if next time it’s something stronger? A sedative? A paralytic?
My arms tightened around Lana automatically, protectively.
If I were ever rendered unconscious...
What would happen to her?
My wolf snarled at the thought, feral and terrified.
I couldn’t stay here. Not another second neither can I stay in my hotel room. I immediately left, went back to my hotel room and got busy.
I shoved clothes into my bag with one hand while holding Lana with the other. My movements were fast and precise, driven by instinct. Someone had been waiting for me, watching me. That wasn’t paranoia; it was the unmistakable tug of danger thrumming along my senses. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
This hotel wasn’t safe.
Not for me and definitely not for my pup.
Within minutes, I’d marched downstairs and checked out. My pulse hammered the whole time.
With Lana in my arms, I left the hotel. A prickling chill crawled up the back of my neck before I even realized I’d slowed my steps.
My wolf stirred uneasily.
Someone’s watching.
