Free Web NovelChapter 18: Chapter 18 Fake It Till You Make Her
Hudson’s POV
Hudson was scanning the hallway when the stairwell door suddenly burst open and Christina stormed out.
She looked furious. Beautiful, obviously—but also pissed as hell.
Then, like an unpleasant aftertaste, Niall followed her out.
Hudson clenched his jaw. He’d never met the man in person, but he recognized him from photos and extensive background checks.
Niall Granger.Her ex-mate with anger management issues and the emotional maturity of a wet sock.
The moment Hudson saw the expression on Niall’s face, he knew what was coming next. That look that idiots got right before they did something spectacularly stupid.
Hudson moved fast. Long strides, no hesitation.
Christina saw him coming, surprised, but there was no time to speak.
Niall had already raised his arm, launching a coward’s sucker punch from behind.
Hudson didn’t think. He just acted.
Hudson’s left arm wrapped around Christina’s waist and pulled her out of range.His right leg shot out at the same time, kicking Niall’s knee like a soccer player scoring a goal.
Niall folded like a broken lawn chair and slammed into the stairwell wall with a satisfying thud.
Christina didn’t flinch when she realized what had just happened. She just stared at Niall with contempt.
"Really? That’s your move?" She shook her head. "Trying to hit me when I turn around? God, Niall, I knew you were a spineless little worm, but this is pathetic even for you."
Hudson looked her over carefully. "You okay?"
She nodded. "I’m fine. Thank you."
"Let’s get out of here." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Christina hesitated. "Louisa’s still in surgery."
Hudson glanced meaningfully at Niall."Yeah, but you don’t need to spend the next few hours in a hallway with him. My beta is on standby. He’ll call the moment there’s news. Surgery could last all night. You being here won’t make time move any faster."
She considered this, then nodded. "You’re right."
Hudson walked her to the car, opened the door, and waited until she was settled before sliding into the driver’s seat and starting the engine.
But even as they drove away, his eyes kept flicking to the rearview mirror, as if she might disappear the moment he blinked.
What was she thinking about? Louisa? Niall? Or him?
Hudson didn’t believe in chance. He trusted planning and power, but he still thanked the Moon Goddess for guiding him back to Highrise City earlier than planned.
If he hadn’t returned when he did, he wouldn’t have known she had rejected Niall, wouldn’t have been the man she dragged away from a bar for a one-night stand, and definitely wouldn’t have ended up playing the role of her fake mate.
She didn’t know it yet, but he had no intention of staying fake for long.
That morning in the hotel, when he asked if she remembered him, her blank stare hadn’t surprised him.
Disappointed him, yes.
But surprised? Not really.
Seven years is a long time. From the moment Hudson met Christina at the jewelry design competition in Florence, he was irresistibly drawn to her. His wolf, Lycaon, became so restless he could barely keep him under control.
She’d only been a teenager then—bright-eyed and nervous, presenting her innovative piece on stage.
He wasn’t officially a judge, just doing a favor for a friend. But all his attention was on Christina. Lycaon always wanted to be near her. Holding back from claiming and marking her was a constant battle.
When she tripped coming off stage, he caught her before she hit the floor.She’d looked up, breathless and wide-eyed, thanked him like he’d saved her life, and disappeared before he could introduce himself.
If that was how mates felt, why wasn’t she having the same feeling? The way she looked at him like he was some sort of louche didn’t sit well.
He had no choice but to tell himself it was impossible. Christina was underage. He was essentially exiled from his pack, building his company from nothing in Europe while his stepmother positioned her own son as the next Alpha. He had nothing to offer her then.
But he never forgot her.
When he returned to Highrise as Alpha of the largest pack in the North, he made it his business to find her. She was engaged to Alpha Niall, supposedly her fated mate, with a wedding planned after a four-year engagement.
Lycaon cursed him for leaving Christina and goaded him to meet her.
"We must go to her. She’s in distress," Lycaon urged.
"Yes, we will go," he said.
Hudson had been mystified and heartbroken.Why had he felt such a powerful pull toward someone destined for another? He’d moved into the apartment next to hers, hoping to understand the pull that had haunted him for years.
But she had been living at the Frostpelt pack house, only returning after Niall rejected her.That evening when she kicked his door, he sensed her as his mate.
Now Hudson understood, what he’d felt back then hadn’t been simple attraction.It’s a premonition.As a powerful Alpha,he was more sensitive to fate’s guidance.Even though Christina hadn’t shifted when they met, Lycaon had recognized what she would become to him.
He expected her to acknowledge him, but she didn’t, and that drove him mad. While her scent put him in a frenzy, why wasn’t she recognizing him? The only reasoning could be that her old mate bond was rotting inside or her wolf maybe harmed.
Now she was in Hudson’s passenger seat, legs elegantly crossed, face turned toward the window, breathing steadily as if she hadn’t completely unraveled him just days ago in that hotel room.
He should have been watching the road, but his eyes kept drifting to her—her profile in the low light, the way her fingers twitched against her thigh, the soft scent of orange blossom and warm spices threading through the air.
Her scent made Lycaon pace restlessly inside him, eager to mark and claim. She smelled like trouble he’d gladly destroy himself for.
He had been completely sober that night at the hotel. He remembered everything.
He remembered the exact sound she made when he kissed the inside of her thigh. The way her hands gripped his hair. The way she arched her back as she reached her peak.
When they agreed to the fake engagement, she didn’t know he already had the endgame planned.
A real ring. A real mating. Her signature next to his on everything from a marriage license to a cemetery plot.
He needed to admit that when he mentioned "family pressure" to marry, it wasn’t entirely a lie. Since returning to Highrise City, the Sabreridge Pack elders had been insisting he find a Luna. But he’d refused all their suggestions for arranged matings. He had already found his fated mate.
Yet she hadn’t recognized him. So he planned to win her first, then gradually help her discover their destined bond. He could have easily used his Alpha authority to silence any pressure, but he let Christina believe the "marriage pressure" was real, knowing it would make her agree to their arrangement.
He stole another glance at her.
Heat rose within him just thinking about that night. The sound of her voice, her skin against his.
But another thought made his jaw clench—if he hadn’t appeared at that bar, would she have gone home with another Alpha? Someone with a pretty face like that smug bastard Niall?
His grip on the steering wheel tightened. Lycaon growled possessively. He would burn down the entire city before he let anyone like that near her again.
It was time to accelerate his plans. End the pretense. Transform this engagement into the permanent mate bond it was destined to be. He needed to help her heal from the damage Niall had caused, restore her wolf’s ability to sense their connection.
And if he had to lie, manipulate, or play every card he held to keep her by his side?
So be it. The Moon Goddess had given him a chance, and he wasn’t going to waste it.
