Free Web NovelChapter 300: Chapter 300 She Forced His Hand
Christina’s POV
"How is he?"
Ysolde rolled her eyes while peeling an apple. "Shouldn’t you be more worried about yourself? The doctor said your fever nearly fried your brain."
"I’m fine now," I insisted.
It had been three days since our miraculous rescue.
The helicopter that landed on the island hadn’t been a rescue team at all. Just a group of location scouts for some survival reality show, blown off course by the storm and straight onto our little patch of hell.
Talk about dumb luck. Their misfortune became our salvation.
With their help, Hudson and I were airlifted to the nearest hospital. I’d drifted in and out of consciousness during the journey, my fever spiking dangerously. When I finally came to, Ysolde was sitting beside my bed, her eyes puffy from crying.
An IV dripped fluids into my veins, and every muscle in my body screamed in protest when I tried to move.
But my first coherent thoughts weren’t about myself. "Hudson," I croaked. "Is he okay? His hand was infected."
"He’s fine," Ysolde said after I pestered her. "He... left."
"When?" I tried sitting up, but she pushed me back down.
"He woke up yesterday, still feverish. Came to check on you, then discharged himself against medical advice. Probably back in Highrise City by now."
"How was he?" I couldn’t help the worry creeping into my voice.
Ysolde shrugged. "Same old Hudson. All Alpha energy and intimidation. We didn’t exactly have a heart-to-heart."
"His hand?"
"Bandaged. That’s all I know."
"He shouldn’t have rushed out," I muttered. "Stubborn Alpha."
"What’s with you?" Ysolde scrutinized my face. "Suddenly you care so much about him? Had a change of heart on that island?"
I looked away, unable to answer because honestly, I wasn’t sure myself.
Those days stranded together had shifted something between us. The way he’d protected me, cared for me despite his own injuries.
"His wolf must be pushing him to recover quickly," Akira whispered in my mind. "Alphas hate showing weakness."
"Was Lea with him?" I asked Ysolde, suddenly remembering the blonde woman from the cruise.
"Who?"
"Lea. Blonde, stunning. She was with him on the cruise ship."
Ysolde frowned. "He didn’t mention any Lea when he gave me your ticket."
"Ha!" I jabbed a finger at her. "So you did collude with him to trick me onto that cruise!"
"Yeah, I did," she admitted without a hint of remorse. "So what? You were an idiot for breaking up with him. I’d be a crappy friend if I let you throw away a mate like that. He asked, I agreed. But he never mentioned another woman."
She handed me the plate of neatly sliced apple.
"Thanks." I nibbled at a piece, though it tasted like nothing. The meds had killed my taste buds.
"He was alone when he visited you," Ysolde added. "No blonde in tow."
I chewed slowly, lost in thought. Who was Lea really? Just a business associate or something more?
"Want me to find out?" Ysolde offered, reading my expression.
I should have said no. Hudson’s personal life wasn’t my business anymore. I’d made sure of that when I broke things off, convinced a powerful Alpha like him couldn’t possibly want forever with someone like me.
Yet I nodded anyway.
Ysolde threw herself into the investigation with alarming enthusiasm. She called contacts, pulled favors from fellow pack members, and within a day returned with answers.
Meanwhile, I languished in the hospital, the doctor refusing to discharge me until my temperature dropped to "normal werewolf levels."
Ysolde burst into my room the next afternoon. "You won’t believe what I found."
"Spill it," I demanded.
What she revealed was shocking, but not entirely surprising.
I wasn’t shocked that Lea and Hudson had known each other for years. I’d guessed as much from their interactions.
I wasn’t even shocked that Lea was in love with him. That had been painfully obvious.
What floored me was learning she’d been behind the sabotage at the Aureate Awards. Back then, I hadn’t even known she existed. Yet while married to Pierre, she’d already been plotting to push me out of Hudson’s life.
"I might almost admire her if she wasn’t trying to steal your mate," Ysolde said, perching on the edge of my bed. "But here’s the real kicker—you know what she did while you two were stranded?"
"What?"
"She sent out search teams initially, even hired private contractors. Decent move. But she didn’t stay on the cruise. She flew back to Highrise City while you were still missing. Turns out she runs a massive company that specializes in corporate takeovers, and she used that leverage to attack Laurent Global Holdings. She was trying to seize control while Hudson was presumed dead."
I frowned. "Why? If she cares about him, why try to swallow his pack’s main asset while he could still be alive?"
"Don’t ask me," Ysolde spread her hands. "I’m no business expert. But I asked Emmett, and he said she picked the perfect moment. Hudson holds controlling shares as Alpha of the Sabreridge pack. He’s the brain and heart of LGH. With him missing, the pack council was in chaos. Lea leveraged her position as his ’old friend’ and ’potential future Luna’ to gain influence with the board."
"She claimed to be his future Luna?" My blood boiled. Akira growled inside me.
"Exactly. Since you two never had a public mating ceremony and separated for two months, most of the pack believed your bond was broken. If Hudson died, she’d positioned herself perfectly to step in as both CEO and Luna."
"But why?" I asked, still struggling to understand. "Just for money?"
"That’s what Emmett thinks. LGH is massive—it controls half the Sabreridge pack’s territory and assets. But if you ask me," Ysolde leaned closer, "she wants more than money. She wants Hudson, and she’s willing to use anything as leverage."
She gave me a look that was half sympathy, half warning. "You know why Hudson left the hospital so quickly?" ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Why?"
"Lea forced his hand. She told him if he wanted his company and his pack’s security back, he had to mate with her. Officially."
